Cutting plastic waste pollution at sea on agenda at Asean-China meeting in Phuket

By APICHAT HONGSAKUL 
THE NATION

 

File photo

 

THAILAND’S GOAL to gradually eradicate plastic waste at sea by 80 million to 160 million kilograms a year by 2021, is expected to be affirmed by Jatuporn Burutpat, chief of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, at the upcoming Asean and China Sea Waste Reduction Meeting, to be held in Phuket from November 22-23.

 

Jatuporn cited a 2010 study of 192 countries, published in 2015 in a US-based science journal. The study ranked Thailand as the world’s sixth largest contributor of plastic waste enters the world’s seas at 1.03 million tonnes per year. 

 

 

China, topped the list at 8.82 million tonnes of plastic waste yearly, followed by Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria and Bangladesh. Since many Asean nations have a problem with sea waste and had connecting sea-based borders, it was important for the department to help propel forward a regional waste-management plan, said Jatuporn. 

 

The countries need to exchange ideas and their experiences dealing with sea-waste issues, he added, citing Singapore and Malaysia for the quality of their technology and progress in implementing measures that could be shared throughout the bloc.

 

Thailand’s plastic-waste reduction goal is part of the department’s master plan for garbage management (2016-2021). 

The five-parts of the master plan are to study garbage types, amount and origins to build a database; to reduce the impact of sea waste on key ecosystems; to reduce the volume of garbage by applying academic principles and encouraging manufacturers and product distributors to use environmentally friendly materials; to boost public awareness and participation in sea waste reduction, especially in coastal provinces; and to create plastic-free zones to serve as models for use of alternative materials, Jatuporn said. 

 

 

Jatuporn acknowledged headlines about garbage washing ashore in Thailand’s coastal provinces and commentary about the country’s lack of effective sea waste management. About 80 percent of sea waste was actually produced on land, he said, continuing that the upcoming Asian meeting is expected to table possible measures to reduce garbage at its origins, in mid-stream, and in downstream areas. 

 

He also hopes to hear about measures to boost public awareness so people would separate trash at home for proper disposal.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30331888

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-11-18

Just ban anyone from drinking from plastic on the beach and anyone caught throw them in jail or why bother with jail, you could form up firing squads post them on all beaches and shoot them on the spot........problem solved

 

Jatuporn - my hereo saving the world 

Edited November 18, 20178 yr by smedly

Quote

The five-parts of the master plan are [...] Jatuporn said. 

Seems like a solid plan, hope there won't be a part 6 where they all do nothing and point the finger at the other parties for reaching no results...

First have people clean up the beaches, it cost money but can be done, then make people pay for plastic bags, I am sure many would bring their own. Make sure there are more garbage collection points so it does not have to be dumped in the rivers who then go to the ocean.

Talking and implementing such programs is a long over due for Thailand and the world ,

move and move quickly please,

applaud the rhetoric , 

now time to act

A friend got his boat stuck in the great pacific garbage patch. He said it was a nightmare to get out of it.

Educate People (Don't work in Thailand) Fine people /Jail people for trowing Rubbish Anywhere,,,One Major Thing ,Give people rubbish bins and collect rubbish at regular intervals 1or 2 times a week , Promote/build Recycling plants (They don't work in Thailand ) . THIS would be a Great start to stop Disasters. 

Talking won't sort out the problem, it needs a massive culture change. Parents just allow their kids to "chuck" used plastic, cans and bottles -  just as adults do.  

Clean the drains. I was in Bali after the heavy rains, all the beaches were covered in plastic which was washed out via the drains being polluted.

80% of sea waste was manufactured on land. What plastic exactly was manufactured at sea? And what exactly was the 20% made from/by the sea?

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