As a socially-conscious entrepreneur, Sirasit was inspired to start working on climate change solutions after recognizing the potential for a circular economy in Thailand.

Currently, Thailand is facing a significant problem with waste management and recycling. The country produces 2 million tons of PET waste a year, yet only 0.5 million tons are recycled, leaving a significant amount of untreated waste in the environment. “One of the main reasons for this issue is the lack of awareness about recycling among the population. Most people are unaware of the products and packaging designs that can be recycled, leading to recyclable products ending up in landfills or oceans. Adding to that, most households are not in the practice of separating recyclable waste,” Sirasit shared.

Recognizing this problem, Sirasit and his team developed an automated waste collection unit, known as the reverse vending machine, which can monitor and control the quality of plastic waste and aluminum disposed of, detect the brand, shape, or type of waste, and separate, crush and store waste for recycling.

One of the biggest challenges Sirasit faced in trying to solve climate change in emerging markets is the lack of awareness about recycling among the population. However, Sirasit and his team at Micro Greentech have implemented a solution that involves providing incentives to users in order to enhance the value of recycling waste in the community. The incentives could be used to redeem various products and services in their ecosystem.

Sirasit's participation in the Seedstars program, specifically the SUP Challenge and Thailand Waste Management & Recycling Academy, has also helped him and his team in spreading awareness about their solution and the problem they are trying to solve. Micro Greentech had the opportunity to leverage bigger platforms to talk about their solution not only locally but on an international level as well. This helped to increase the visibility of their solution and generate interest among potential customers and partners. He said, "Having a big cooperation behind our backs has built confidence amongst the team and the courage to bring about a big change towards the recycling industry of Thailand."

Indeed, Sirasit Sachdev is a socially-conscious entrepreneur who is dedicated to finding solutions to climate change and promoting a circular economy in Thailand through his company Micro Greentech. We’re grateful we get to support him build innovative solutions to bring about change in his country.

Learn more about the SUP Challenge here and the Thailand Waste Management & Recycling Academy here.