Thailand’s countdown to ban on single-use plastic bags

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BANGKOK – The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is encouraging people to cut down on the single use of plastic materials and has disclosed the results of Suan Dusit Poll’s survey on the banning of single-use plastic bags in 2020.

The survey was conducted on over 2,000 respondents nationwide. According to the survey, 90 percent of the respondents agreed with the ban and some of them have already changed their consumer behavior. Most of them were aware of the government’s No Plastic campaign which will start on January 1, 2020, and supported the idea of using reusable bags. They also want the government to enforce a law to control use of plastic materials and approved the idea of having consumers pay for plastic bags.

The government has a road map for managing plastic waste from 2018-2030, aiming to reduce single-use plastics by 2022 by using environmentally friendly materials and the recycling of plastic waste by 2027. This will reduce the amount of plastic to be disposed of by about 780,000 tons per year, reduce the waste management budget by 3.9 billion baht per year and reduce the emission of carbon dioxide by 1.2 million tons.