A conference in Bangkok was told that Thailand and its people must take responsibility for being among the worst polluters of the environment in the world.
The plastic bags that the Thais use and throw out each year would wrap four times around the earth.
And it was revealed that each and every person in Thailand uses a staggering eight bags a day on average.
A meeting of environmentalists in Jatujak district was conducted under the banner: “What to do about the plastic?”
Leading environmentalist Khwanrudee Chotichonataweewong had no quibble with a University of Georgia, USA, assessment in 2016 that Thailand was the sixth worst polluter of the ocean in the world.
And it was high time that the issue and the root causes were addressed.
Khwanrudee said that the nation generated 26 million tons of trash per year or 73,000 tons a day.
Only 19% is recycled compared to 30-40% in more developed nations.
Plastic made up for around 30% of the trash in some areas.
Thais were using eight plastic bags each per day – hardly surprising when you see double thickness of bags for just a simple trip to the market, she said.
She said the quantity would easily wrap four times around the earth if laid end to end.
Much of the plastic bottles and bags ends up in the sea.
And it was high time that the issue and the root causes were addressed.
She called on the government to work with environmentalists to find a solution to the growing problem.
Certainly the major supermarkets could take the first step by training their checkout staff to take more care when packing shopping. Putting one or two items in a bag is not acceptable.
Encouraging shoppers to take their own bags would also be a step forward,as would charging for plastic bags.
Providing more skips for people to dispose of plastic bottles and cartons would also help. We have to start somewhere to make the photos above a thing of the past.
(Source:-Naewna News)