In Thailand, the first project involved setting up a national coordination committee consisting of representatives from the public sector, service companies, as well as Merck and the GIZ.. A series of events is to create awareness of the challenges posed by eco-friendly disposal. Following an initial workshop, a practical workshop on water and wastewater took place in June 2010. In October 2010, together with the Thai chemicals association, Merck organized a "Let's Care Safety Camp” for customers, authorities and selected students. The reclamation of recyclable materials was one of the areas of focus. In January 2011, the coordination committee approved the PPP action plan for this year. This provides for the signing of agreements, incorporating Retrologistik into Thai legal standards, regular meetings of the partners and customer seminars. Involving more customers in the Retrologistik system is also planned.
A program for transport and storage safety as well as for eco-friendly disposal has been established in Indonesia. It was presented in a highly visible way in order to attract the relevant partners, including not only disposal and logistic firms, but also government institutions and customers. In spring 2011, a bottle washing unit was installed at a disposal company. It cleans fully emptied bottles. The construction of the unit was based on Merck know-how and was approved by specialists from Merck. The authorities issued the permits to transport the emptied bottles. Seven customer training modules were prepared in cooperation with the environment ministry. In addition, the aim is to integrate Retrologistik into the national curriculum. An expansion of the project to other regions of Indonesia is planned.
For many years now, safety summits for customers have been regularly held in the Philippines with experts from GIZ, Merck and local authorities. Tremendous progress has also been made in implementing the Retrologistik concept specifically for cell tests for photometers. In the Luzon region, for example, multiple companies are taking part in the system for environmentally friendly disposal. This is taking place via transport companies and disposal facilities, which have the required permits. The system is to be expanded to further regions of the island nation. Special attention is paid to safe sea transport to the disposal facility by ship. The next step involves the return of the emptied bottles. For this purpose, GIZ/Merkc will be conducting a baseline study in the chemical industry.
