Waste management has never been easy in any circumstance. Yet the pandemic struck, and new challenges came into context, waiting for a creative solution. I decided to join the ISWA-SWIS winter school 2022 to explore new possibilities in tackling the urgent issue of marine plastics pollution, which is a part of the waste management problem.
My name is Kwankamol Chittrakul, a civil engineer from Thailand who has been selected to participate in this year’s program. Traveling across the world to Arlington, Texas, I have a wonderful experience with all my new friends over two weeks. We started the program with intensive pieces of training about landfills with the landfill visits. Seeing the entire working face, I got to learn about various ongoing projects in different landfills. The takeaway message I learned was how important a feasibility study is and the fact that there is no single perfect solution to all the problems.
Each day, we also had interactive group discussions, which allowed us to apply what we had learned to an actual project. My teammates and group leader, Sabrina, are excellent people from worldwide. I love the atmosphere while working with them. We shared knowledge, presented, and came up with solutions to solve the problems in waste management in Bangkok, the city I came from.
Apart from studying, getting to know more about Texas was also essential. So, every day after the class, we did a lot of activities, including a baseball game, exploring the neighborhood, and shopping. Thanks to Summer, we were granted extra time for all this fun!
Not just landfills – Sustainability matters.
One week passed, and the weekend was our free time. We went to see authentic Texan life in Forthworth and historical sites in Dallas. Week two began with a theme change, focusing on sustainable waste management. Learning about waste management practices from different parts of the world was eye-opening. Moreover, I found that many projects presented in the class had the potential for business opportunities. During the course, the atmosphere was perfect for knowledge exchange since people always be skeptical and thrived on learning more. The speakers were also keen to discuss their topics, so they welcomed every inquiry.
Lastly, we did a presentation for our group project when the program was about to come to an end. Thanks to our superb teamwork, we finally won the best project award! On our last day, we had a gala dinner to say goodbye to these precious past two weeks in which everyone came in their national custom. The performances of all the team were masterpieces. The following day, we parted with smiles, knowing that as long as we were connected, the world was never too big for us. Tackling the waste issue is still as complicated as it be, but with the network we have, we can definitely make a change.
