Zero Baht Stores: How ‘Grandpa Garbage’ turned waste into sustainable communities

His story begins over three decades ago when living under a bridge in Bangkok and with a young child to feed, Pirathorn hatched a plan to escape poverty.

Little did he know that his ingenious idea would provide a remedy for the global problem of waste management – a challenge that has plagued Thailand and other countries for decades.

His Zero Baht Store is leading a trend for communities to step in where governments have failed, providing a way out of poverty while simultaneously contributing to environmental sustainability.

The man whom locals affectionately call Grandpa Garbage recounts his remarkable journey in the humble surroundings of his home in Bangkok’s On Nut 14 Rai government housing project.

Living under a bridge

Over 30 years ago, Pirathorn, his young wife and newborn baby were among some 3,000 families living hand-to-mouth beneath Bangkok’s bridges.

He had spent his teenage years roaming across southern provinces in search of work, with no identification documents. Pirathorn and his older brother followed their mother from Trang to Phatthalung and then to Ranong, working as miners, cattle-raisers, and fishermen. All the while a single question nagged at the boy: “Who am I?”

His mother knew who his father was but saw no need to reveal the information.

However, when Pirathorn expressed a desire to learn more about his own story, she took him to meet his father, who was working on a coffee plantation in Chumphon province. During that first encounter with his dad, Pirathorn learned that he had five sisters.

After uncovering his roots, the next step was to establish a legal identity. Following multiple requests, his father eventually agreed to help the seven children obtain Thai citizenship through the legal process. At the age of 21, Pirathorn, now recognised as a Thai citizen, returned to non-formal education and later enlisted in the military. After being discharged, he moved from the South to seek new opportunities in the capital city.

However, Bangkok’s better employment opportunities came with higher living costs.

Needing to support his new wife, Om Buarin, Pirathorn took a job as a security guard for a well-known automotive company. But they soon found the income was not enough to cover their living expenses. Desperate to cut costs, the newlywed couple took the advice of acquaintances and explored Makkasan Bridge in the Nana Nua area.

"There wasn’t much space under the bridge, so we dug down to make the space more liveable. However, it got extremely hot during the day. And when it rained heavily, there was flooding which brought snakes and monitor lizards."

Pirathorn and Om's first daughter was born under the bridge, but the family never went hungry.
“Back then, we ate pizza every day. My daughter sat under the bridge, and there were a lot of foreigners around. As they walked back and forth, they would bring pizza to share. They thought we were beggars.”

Pirathorn's life under the bridge began in 1987. Three years later, the government began clearing the bridge communities .

The calls for better living conditions and an end to poverty were led by Suwit Watnu, a social activist who mobilised communities living under eight bridges in Bangkok.

New community, old problems

After negotiations that lasted until 2001, the government finally allocated 160 million baht to purchase land for housing in the Ratchaburana, Sai Mai, and On Nut areas of Bangkok. More than 3,000 families were relocated to the new housing projects, with long-term leases of 30 years.

Pirathorn and his family moved to the community in On Nut 14 Rai.

“I was thrilled to finally get my own house,” he recounts. “I think it is the pinnacle of life.”

However, when people from diverse backgrounds are forced to live together in relative poverty, problems arise quickly. Pirathorn witnessed how conflicts and disagreements were quick to flair among his neighbours, leading to tensions and disputes. He described his community as a "red zone" during those early times. He managed by keeping interactions with neighbours to a minimum.

One day, a government agency invited members of the community to visit a waste management project in Phitsanulok province.

"At first, I didn’t want to go, but when they said they would pay each of us 2,000 baht, I quickly agreed."

He and his neighbours returned with the money but without any fresh ideas to improve life in their community.

Inspiration strikes

The inspiration came soon after when Pirathorn was struck by a thought while accompanying his wife on a shopping trip:

"People who come to this market all have something in common: money for shopping. But if one day you don't have money, what can you do? You can collect garbage to sell and use the money to buy things."

Pirathorn and two of his neighbours pooled their government payments from the Phitsanulok visit to make 6,000 baht. With this “starting capital”, they purchased laundry detergent, soap, toothpaste, eggs, rice, and other daily necessities. They loaded the items onto a tricycle and pedalled to the nearby Rong Phoon community.

First, they asked the community leader to announce their new scheme: exchanging goods for garbage. The exchange rate was determined by the weight of the garbage, with people receiving goods of equivalent value.

"We tried it out and, hey, it worked! On the first day, we made a profit of between 600 and 700 baht,” Pirathorn recounts.

The next step was to get the community involved via local youngsters.

"After we had been operating for a while, I let the kids become partners during the school holidays. They competed with each other because it was additional income for them."

After a while, Pirathorn decided that on days when they couldn't go out to collect garbage, they would just offer the necessities anyway.

This led to the business’s expansion and evolution into the Zero Baht Store.

The prototype shop launched in 2003, at a time when the concept of a cashless society was barely known. The aim was to tackle the problem of hunger among grassroots people while also tackling waste problems affecting the community and the wider environment.

In the early stages, the Zero Baht Store operated without resident and government agency cooperation.

However, as the business thrived and grocery stores in the vicinity began to close down, Pirathorn faced criticism. When people from the community started exchanging garbage for alcohol and the usual drunkenness and quarrelling ensued, the criticism grew louder.

"People mentioned, "Customers used to buy liquor and beer at our shop. Nowadays, we no longer sell them."

But the Zero Baht Store managed to overcome the hiccups, thanks to the respect that Pirathorn had built up in the community.

"When I met someone , I would always 'wai' them. The next day, they would 'wai' me back. Then, I would invite them to exchange garbage. The parents didn't have money, and the kids would collect the household garbage. Finally, the whole community started wai-ing me. From initial conflict, gradual changes occurred."

Two layers of profit

The Zero Baht Store operates as a cooperative, earning profit from the difference between the cost and selling price of its products.

It generates a second layer of profits from selling garbage – a significant source of revenue compared with product sales. This is because the shop collects and sorts large quantities of garbage, selling it directly to recycling factories without intermediaries.

The shop also trades with specialised factories, such as those processing only plastic or metal, resulting in competitive pricing and substantial profits.

Starting with just three people, the Zero Baht Store has grown to over 100 members in the past 22 years. All are from the On Nut 14 Rai community, and the shop has generated profits every year.

"It's a two-time profit. So, we have never suffered losses," Pirathorn says.

Located opposite the Zero Baht Store is an organic vegetable garden where community members can also swap their garbage for goods. It also handles wet waste, using it as fertiliser. Here, women in the community also get the opportunity to learn skills such as transforming garbage into dishwashing liquid, bio-extract, decorations, or anything that adds value to the waste.

"In the rainy season, this area is green and lush. Cats, birds, and even egrets come to eat fish here. Squirrels are everywhere."

Zero Baht Stores spread

The Zero Baht Store concept has spread to other parts of Thailand, demonstrating its adaptability to local conditions.

Pirathorn was approached by a monk from Loei province, who was sceptical about the idea could working in remote mountain communities of the North.

"The monk encounters residents on Buddhist holy days, so I suggested he establish a Zero Baht Store only on these days. People were encouraged to bring their garbage on those specific days, and once a certain amount was collected, the monk would distribute donated items such as toothpaste to residents. The temple warden eventually established a permanent Zero Baht Store, which means the community no longer burns its garbage."

The ability to obtain necessities without spending money not only motivates the villagers to handle garbage responsibly but also fosters their enthusiasm for community collaboration.

The idea spread to the Northeast after a community chief from Kalasin province visited a Zero Baht Store and was impressed by what he saw.

However, gaining the collaboration of the hardworking villagers proved challenging.

"When we called them together, they chided us, pointing out they were tired after labouring all day in the fields.
Pirathorn advised the chief to offer detergent, soap, and toothpaste to lure community members to the meeting and ask them to bring their garbage. The formula proved successful, with initial resistance turning into demands for more frequent meetings. Now, garbage is being removed responsibly from the community while villagers are getting necessities without having to spend money.

"There is no single solution to managing waste,” Pirathorn points out. “It can be done in every dimension: it depends on how we start."

Public recognition and enthusiasm for the Zero Baht Store have grown through television coverage in the 15 years since it launched.

Public and private sector groups, as well as educational institutions, have studied the business model. However, the Zero Baht Store still has a network of only seven branches nationwide, including those in Loei and Kalasin.

The original branch in Bangkok remains the only Zero Baht Store in the capital, having withstood the test of time.

Pirathorn is now urging others to get involved so that this success story can spread to more communities.
"Establishing the Zero Baht Store garnered a lot of media attention. Plenty of people come to observe our operations. However, I would be truly proud if they not only admired the project but also actively engaged and participated."

The People