RefillNotLandfill in Champasak

The Champasak Department of Information, Culture, and Tourism (DICT) supported by the Marketing Task Force, held an event on January 14, 2019 at Champasak town. The occasion was attended by the local government and business owners.

The Deputy Governor of Champasak province welcomed the participants with a reminder to reduce our plastic usage and impact it will have on the destination.

Then, the RefillNotLandfill campaign’s partner Terraclear, demonstrated their product, a ceramic water filter. Their goal is to provide access for clean water for rural communities in Laos, and they aim to provide 100,000 locally-made filters by 2019.

Mrs. Mala Chanthalam, the Deputy Director for Tourism in DICT, gave the closing remarks urging business owners and the government to work together towards reducing the negative impact on the environment brought about by tourism.

By using refillable water bottles when travelling, we immediately save four 500ml plastic water bottles a day (an average adult drinks about 2 liters/day). An aluminum water bottle can easily last up to 4 years; that’s 6,000 plastic bottles not ending up discarded on a landfill. At the time of writing, there are 24 water refilling stations in Southern Laos: 5 in Paksong, 3 in Champasak, 7 in Si Phan Don, and 9 stations in Pakse.