SUPHANBURI – Starting this month, Thai people must now change their behaviour when going shopping as no single-use plastic bags of less than 36 microns will be given to shoppers by the stores. So don’t forget to take your own fabric bags to carry your purchased items.
In Suphanburi, The Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment WarawutSilpa-archa, has presided over a New Year No Plastic Bag campaign ceremony, marking the date after which stores will no longer offer single-use plastic bags to customers. This campaign is aimed at reducing plastic waste, as a single use plastic bag can take 450 years to disintegrate, and affects the environment and animals if not disposed of properly.
Members of the general public have responded positively and are willing to cooperate with the campaign; some have suggested stores introduce special offers and promotions to encourage customers not to use plastic bags.
The government’s current goals are to replace single-use plastic bags with other items made from eco-friendly materials from 2022, and recycle plastic waste 100% by 2027. These measures will help cut back 780,000 tons of plastic waste each year, saving 9.3 billion baht in annual costs for waste management, freeing up landfill space, and reducing by 1.2 million tons the nation’s carbondioxide emissions.
The government has approved the national waste management master plan to move Thailand towards a Zero Waste Society under the 3Rs concept: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
Fabric bags should be re-used by customers on multiple occasions. This instead of taking a single-use plastic bag everytime something is purchased and helping reduce the quantity of hard to degrade waste. Fabric bags can hold more items, and can be adapted into a fashion item according to the users’ style. The use of a single fabric bag for even one day per week can contribute to a reduction of up to 100 million plastic bags each year.
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