Pattaya’s beaches rebounded and refreshed themselves during the weeks when they were closed, but now that humans have returned, so has the abuse, with Jomtien Beach quickly littered with trash again.
Shortly after Jomtien reopened, litter could be seen along the shoreline. Local people were not entirely to blame – the tide deposits garbage from as far away as Bangkok on Jomtien Beach on a daily basis – but much of the plastic bottles and bags, paper plates, straws, cigarette butts, shish kebab sticks and more were left behind by beachgoers every day and most especially on weekends and holidays.
I wonder how people can be so thoughtless after having seen that during the shutdown nature rejuvenated the beaches and the sidewalks were kept clean; to immediately make a total mess of them again.
Besides, the sight of dirty beaches will turn off the tourists’ desire to return to them.
Pattaya police and administrators deployed drones and other high-tech equipment to catch people using the beach during the shutdown. Why can’t the same technology be used to catch illegal garbage dumpers?
Pattaya’s only selling point right now is nature. Bars and clubs are closed; water parks and other major attractions remained shuttered. The beaches are the only source of income for the city’s many struggling people.
Everyone needs to keep the city clean, otherwise photos and videos of filthy beaches will soon go viral again.
