Thais and Chinese team up to localise technological solutions
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To effectively manage food waste, scientists and engineers first need to understand its content – and that can vary around the world.
“In China, food waste probably contains less water than in Thailand,” Thiti Bovornratanaraks, an associate professor in the science faculty at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, said in an interview in the Thai capital. “If you eat noodles, people usually finish the broth. But Thai people tend to throw away the soup.
“Here we may need to spend more time to get rid of the water before processing.”
He oversees a joint project with China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group (CECEP) Talroad Technology to develop Bangkok as a smart city environmentally, agriculturally and in terms of education and training. The collaboration started in 2020 to tackle issues such as air pollution and solid waste treatment, as well as training talent.
While the Chinese company introduces new technologies to Thailand, the university provides expertise on how to localise them, Thiti said, adding that both parties benefited.