Marine waste project removes more than 400,000kg of plastic from ocean
The Department of Fisheries’ efforts to eliminate plastic waste in the ocean have yielded impressive results with more than 400,000 kg. of waste removed from Thai waters, which can be recycled into marketable products like clothes.
The “Bring Waste to Shore - Keep the Sea Clean” initiative was launched in 2019 with the participation of local fishing communities, commercial fishing operators and private partners, department director-general Bancha Sukkaew said on Thursday.
Under the campaign, the department’s over 30 PIPO (port-in port-out) control centres nationwide coordinated with fishing boats, urging them to pick up plastic trash from the sea on their way back to shore.
Fishermen are also asked not to dump unused equipment and containers in the ocean after their daily catch and bring the waste to shore instead. If the dumping is unavoidable, they are told to only leave biodegradable waste in the sea.
Bancha said the initiative was implemented in all 23 coastal provinces, with the participation from 4,826 fishing boats. Over the past four years, participants have collected 408,373 kg of plastic waste from Thai waters.
Of this amount, 317,726 kg was waste fishing boats usually dumped in the ocean, while 90,648 kg was waste the fishermen removed from the water on their way back to shore.
The department and private partners then process the waste and send the recyclable materials to a factory in Phetchaburi province. The remains are properly disposed of to minimise the environmental impact, said Bancha.
“The factory turned plastic waste into filaments that can be mixed with other fibres to make shirts that are breathable and comfortable to wear,” he said. “One shirt is made from 8.5 plastic bottles through a process that also has low-carbon emissions thanks to the use of renewable energy.”
Bancha said the initiative is in line with the government’s policy of promoting a BCG (bio, circular, green) economy and also promotes the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility among entrepreneurs in the fishing industry, allowing them to take part in minimising environmental impacts from their operations.
