Thai shoppers refused 1.5 bn plastic bags over past year

The Pollution Control Department reported that the government’s waste-management policy has successfully reduced the use of 1.5 billion plastic bags since August 17 last year, and that the department aims to eliminate seven types of plastic by 2022.
Pralong Damrongthai, PCD’s director-general, said the government’s waste-management policy “focuses on waste separation, cutting down on the use of plastic bags and Styrofoam containers and urging officials at seaside national parks to prevent the dumping of waste into the ocean.
“As for the private sector, we have urged convenience stores and department stores to launch plastic-reducing campaigns such as no-plastic bag day or giving discounts to customers who bring their own bags.”
Pralong added that this has resulted in the reduction of approximately 4,385 tonnes of plastic. To add to this success, the PCD is preparing a 2019-2027 roadmap to reduce or stop the use of seven kids of plastic by 2022.
“We plan to stop the use of three kinds of plastic products by the end of this year, namely cap seals for water bottles, oxo-biodegradable plastic packaging and microbeads in cosmetics, face creams and toothpaste etc,” he said. “The remaining four types of plastic that will be eliminated by 2022 are plastic bags thicker than 36 microns, Styrofoam food containers, single-use plastic drinking cups and plastic straws.”
He said the final aim is to recycle or reuse 100 per cent of plastic waste and containers by 2027.