After volunteers rowed kayaks down a stretch of the Chao Phraya River to collect rubbish, the vice rector of Thammasat University is preparing to present their findings to the government.
"If individuals can't be responsible for the rubbish they produce, they shouldn't be allowed to take responsibility for other things too. Putting rubbish in a bin is the first process of waste segregation," said Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, vice rector of sustainability at Thammasat University as he wrapped up the campaign.
"If waste is not in a bin, we can't take the next steps," he added.
The university recently started the initiative by using kayaks to collect garbage.
From Dec 10 to 23, 420 volunteers collected 2,160.4 kilogrammes of rubbish along a 400-kilometre stretch of the river running through 10 provinces.
The campaign also aimed to raise social awareness, and send a message to people not to throw rubbish in the river.
Mr Prinya said the volunteers also recorded information about the refuse they collected as well as the wastewater being discharged into the river.
Of the waste collected, 1,505.4kg was ordinary waste, 387.4kg was recyclable waste, 220.8kg was organic waste and 46.8kg was hazardous waste.
Mr Prinya said the Interior Ministry should examine areas along the river where the problem was worst.
Thailand is in the world's top 10 marine waste producers with 1.3 million tonnes created per year.
The number one marine debris producer is China with 8.82 million tonnes, followed by 3.22 million tonnes from Indonesia and 1.88 million tonnes from the Philippines.
According to the Pollution Control Department (PCD), Thailand produces 27 million tonnes of rubbish annually. However, only 7.2 million tonnes is properly managed.
The rest is dumped in open ground or out at sea.
In another development, Pralong Damrongthai, director-general of the PCD told the media that the department is drafting guidelines to reduce the amount of rubbish, especially single-use plastic bags, in state agencies.
The is in line with the cabinet's July 17 resolution to let state agencies spearhead the reduction of rubbish.
The government subsequently created a project to back up the resolution.
Under the plan, the PCD will issue guidelines for state agencies to sort and reduce waste.
At least 2.53 million state officials will follow guidelines prescribed by the PCD at offices and their homes, said Mr Pralong.
According to the plan, state agencies must reduce the amount of waste produced in their offices by at least 5%, by 10% for styrofoam cups, as well as use cloth bags instead of single-use plastic bags.
The project will become effective early 2019.