As Thailand was on the path of eliminating single-use plastic bags and foam boxes, the COVID-19 stay-at-home measures have reversed the trajectory, leading to tons of plastic wastes accumulated from the take-away food measures. According to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa, “with Thailand being hit by the spread of COVID-19 and forcing people to spend more time at home, the amount of plastic waste generated has surged by 15 percent.”
The minister said that despite the stay-at-home and food delivery food measures, consumers can still play their part in helping the environment by adopting better rubbish awareness. “With the rise in plastic rubbish during the pandemic, we have launched a project called ‘Song Plastic Klap Ban (Send Plastic Back Home) to help manage the rise in household waste generated by stay-at-home measures,” said Varawut.
In the first phase of implementation, a public campaign will encourage people to separate infectious waste from recyclables and general household waste, said the minister. In the second phase, several stores and supermarkets will serve as drop-off locations for plastic waste that will later be transported to a waste hub for recycling. “We hope to expand this model of recalling plastic waste to cover many other provinces and encourage more partners to join us in the future,” the minister added.
Source: Xinhua.net
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