the fight of a Frenchman against pollution

Tristan Lecomte recycles plastic from the beaches of Thailand. He has also planted 20 million trees around the world, including one million in Thailand. Behind the postcard images, Thai beaches also have another reality: that of plastic pollution. The kingdom is one of the biggest polluters of the world’s oceans. Some beaches look like open-air trash cans. “There are bottles, plastic bags, milk cartons, flip flops, toothbrushes, lighters“, explains the founder of Second Life and Pure Project. So much waste that comes from the sea.

Tristan Lecomte, a 48-year-old Frenchman living in Thailand, imagined a new economic model two years ago. It pays hundreds of individual collectors to recycle waste. Some have made it their job and it is an additional income for others. The Frenchman gives work to the poorest communities while ridding the country of some of its plastic. In a few hours, 200kg of plastic were recovered. They will be recycled. The fuel obtained is sold to industrial furnaces which will use it to make energy or coal. What avoid using coal or oil to create energy.