Single Point Energy and Environment has successfully courted PTT and Bangchak Petroleum to join its quest to churn out crude oil from plastic waste.

The three companies yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding to study polymer energy technology jointly and explore possible marketing means to sell the crude oil.

Single Point chairman Mechai Viravaidya said if polymer energy technology, which is imported from Poland, were successfully implemented in Thailand, it could help eliminate the Kingdom's plastic waste, which is estimated to be about 7.5 million tonnes at the moment.

"We estimate that plastic waste could churn out sufficient crude oil to reduce imports 12 per cent and help the country save more than Bt87 billion a year," he said.

Single Point managing director Santivipha Panichkul said the machinery involved was imported from Poland for Bt65 million. It has the capacity to produce 4,500 litres of crude oil from 6 tonnes of plastic waste a day.

The company expects to break even within four years.

She said many garbage-collecting groups had shown interest in joining the programme, including Group 15 Co - a subsidiary of Group 79 Co, which has the concession to handle waste in Bangkok. The Pattaya municipality has also shown interest.

"Right now, the volume of waste has been on the rise and it has become a big problem everywhere. Thus, to turn plastic waste - which would take more than 500 years to degrade - into crude oil would benefit all parties," she said.

Group 79 now handles 10,000 tonnes of waste a day, while about 30 million tonnes of waste have already been buried, said Group 15 managing director Varavit Sasomsap.

PTT senior executive vice president Chaiwat Choorit said his company's research centre would lend assistance with the research.

"It will take a while before we can tell how the crude oil will be purchased and at what price," he said, adding it remained unclear whether the output could be used as fuel or needed to be refined.

He said the project was attractive, because half of the crude oil could be turned into diesel, 20 per cent into petrol and 30 per cent into bunker oil.

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