Debris, plastic bags, plastic bottles, straws. These are things that should never end up in the stomach of a sea creature. Yet this is a depressingly common occurrence, as veterinarian Weerapong Laovechprasit has discovered in his work at the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. The autopsies he has conducted have turned up rope, Styrofoam, coins and worse. The huge quantities of waste in the oceans is proving fatal to creatures both great and small: sea turtles, dolphins, even whales.
(Photo by Patipat Janthong)
It's a full-blown crisis, yet Weerapong admits to getting upset when raising the issue on social media; the levels of ignorance and lack of concern, especially with regard to single-use plastics, is alarming.
"People don't think a small piece of plastic can be harmful. They say it's only one straw or one plastic bag," he said. But it all adds up: millions upon millions, every day. And it's not just marine life that is being killed by plastic. Birds and land animals are also mistaking synthetic waste materials for food, often dying slow, excruciating deaths as a result.
Realising the severity and the urgency of the problem, earlier this year, the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment implemented a roadmap aimed at introducing a blanket ban on several types of plastic by 2025. By the end of this year, cap seals, oxo-degradable plastics and microbeads are all set to be phased out. By 2022, thin plastic bags and Styrofoam food containers will be banned. By 2025, the country is expected to be free from plastic cups and straws.
The roadmap coincides with recent efforts from private retailers that have jumped on the bandwagon and implemented their own measures to reduce plastic bag use. Central Department Stores, for example, has stopped giving out plastic bags in all its branches. Several branches of Tesco Lotus are totally plastic-free. Supermarket chains such as Big C do not to give out plastic bags on the 4th of every month. The Mall Group charges 1 baht per plastic bag. These measures help encourage customers to reuse plastic bags or use tote bags instead.
Such initiatives are a clearly a step in the right direction. However, some environmental experts do not believe the campaigns will make much difference.
"These campaigns don't significantly reduce the amount of plastic bags," said Tara Buakamsri, Thailand's country director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia. "Department stores and convenience stores should run a no plastic bag policy in every single branch and charge 2-3 baht per bag. And the income from the bags should go to an independent organisation in order to improve the ecosystem."
According to figures from the Department of Pollution Control, 2 million tonnes of plastic are thrown away each year in Thailand, equivalent to 12% of total waste. Of this number, only 500,000 tonnes can be recycled. The rest is contaminated and has to be either buried or burnt.
Out of the 45 billion plastic bags used every year in this country, around 18 billion are from markets, 13 billion from grocery stores and another 13 billion from department and convenience stores. On average, a Bangkok citizen uses eight plastic bags per day; that's 80 million bags each day in the capital alone. Add to that the country's poor waste management, and you get the world's sixth biggest contributor to ocean waste.
Recycling bins are provided at a school for children to learn how to separate waste. (Photo by Apichart Jinakul)
Environmental expert Sonthi Kotchawat of the Thai Academic Environment Association supports the idea of charging customers for plastic bags and agrees that it should be more than 1 baht per bag.
"In Europe, a plastic bag costs 7-8 baht, even 20 baht in some countries. South Korea charges 8 baht, in Hong Kong it's 5 baht," he said.
Tara and Sonthi are both critical of the current state policy, which they believe falls short of a concrete action plan. They argue that it lacks severe penalty protocols to dissuade the production as well as use of plastic bags. In Kenya, for example, the law completely prohibits the manufacture, sale and use of single-use plastic bags. Any violation results in a fine of 1.25 million baht or up to four years' imprisonment.
Could Thailand introduce similarly strict laws?
"It would be difficult," said Tara. "Large plastic and petrochemical manufacturers in Thailand have both economic and political power. If the government launched a policy like Kenya, there would be conflicts of interest. These manufacturers export their products too. It could affect the economy."
Chadsanan Masawangphairojan, founder of waste management start-up GooGreens, suggests less severe punishment.
"There should be penalties to make the law more effective, but it can be a smaller fine or community service, such as cleaning the street for a week," she suggested.
Sonthi, meanwhile, looks to Europe, whose no-plastic policies he believes can be adapted and implemented in Thailand.
"Every store in Germany which provides plastic bags must pay a recycling tax, so the stores charge lots of money for them," he said. "For plastic bottles, customers have to pay a deposit, which they get back when they recycle them.
"Denmark is the first country to tax plastic bags. When a customer pays for a plastic bag, the money is collected as tax and stores receive a small cut. In Denmark, the same plastic bag is reused 70 times a year. Only four bags are thrown away per year."
In addition to stores and customers, Tara recommends that private companies extend producer responsibility strategies.
"Producers should be responsible for their products from the beginning to the end," he said.
"This would encourage the design of environmentally friendly products. Companies in Europe and South Korea have adopted such a strategy. They take plastic products back from customers after use, and have facilities to separate the different parts and recycle them."
Although plastic waste causes pollution and wreaks havoc on the environment, Chadsanan is of the opinion that plastic is still necessary, especially for hygiene reasons.
"I agree that we should stop using cap seals," she said. "But medical devices such as syringes need to be hygienic for the sake of public health."
The GooGreens founder maintains that waste management is paramount. She has worked with Sub-district Administrative Organization (SAO) in tambon Srisajorakhenoi in Samut Prakan to set up rubbish saving banks. This smart project motivates locals to sort their own waste, resulting in less waste to landfill and more income for themselves.
"Twelve villages in tambon Srisajorakhenoi have been sorting their own waste for the last three to four years," she said. "Everyone has an account. Villagers separate recyclables and drop them off at SAO designated spots. The SAO sells the items and deposits money in the villagers' accounts. If they don't withdraw the money within a year, they receive 20% interest."
Another positive initiative, Chadsanan adds, is turning single-use plastics into biodiesel -- the brainchild of Prof Tharapong Vitidsant of the Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University.
"The biodiesel can be turned into diesel fuel for vehicles at less than 10 baht per litre," she said. "A factory will be set up in Sa Kaeo next month. If people realise that single-use plastics can be used for petrol, they won't throw them away."
