BANGKOK, April 25 – Thailand’s Department of Environmental Quality Promotion (DEQP) is campaigning to convince the public to use fewer plastic bags when shopping at convenience stores, targeting all Thais to use at least one less plastic bag every day.
The department has joined with Green World Foundation and CP All Plc., operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores in Thailand.
The project, in its second year, is to reduce the amount of garbage and help fight global warming. It is also to encourage the public to reduce and finally stop using plastic bags.
The pilot scheme starts at 7-Eleven convenient stores. Customers buying no more than two items will be invited to not take a plastic bag, while they will be asked when buying any product to depend less on plastic bags every time they make a purchase.
DEQP chief Jatuporn Buruspat said plastic garbage counts for about 20 per cent of all garbage at 16 million tonnes, according to a one year survey.
The survey showed that eight plastic bags on average were used per person per day, he said. If the population in Thailand is estimated at 67 million, it means that about 500 million plastic bags are used every day.
The environmental quality department will continue to support research on products that will not have negative impacts on the environment. It will also support the recycling process of garbage for sustainable use, which will help Thailand deal with the global warming issue.
