Local researchers and fishermen along the Tonle Sap and Bassac Rivers have shared their concern over plastic waste in the Kingdom’s rivers. Project manager of Wonders of the Mekong Chea Seila told Khmer Times on Monday, that she had found a dramatic amount of plastic waste this year in her research target fishing area in Prek Tasek commune, Chroy Changva district in Phnom Penh.

 

“My team and I went to that area to study fish migration. Accidentally we observed there was a lot of plastic waste mixed together with the fish in the traps,” she said. Seila observed that, between October and December, each fish-trap contained about half fish and half plastic waste, including plastic bottles, plastic bags and plastic straws.

 

After discovering this, the Wonders of the Mekong team began a small research project at the site on this issue. Local fishermen claimed that sometimes they caught more plastic than fish, she said, and that they had been experiencing this problem for the last five years. As the population increases, the amount of trash also increases, especially plastic waste, she added.

 

read more https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50798606/researchers-and-fishermen-share-concern-over-plastic-waste-in-rivers/

I think everyone should be concerned about the amount of plastics that end up in rivers and oceans... but not just concerned about it, but do something to make that stop and start reversing it - removing it from oceans. Plastics are quite easily and cheaply turned back into carbohydrates that can be turned into new composites or into fuels (OK, that's not the greatest idea although that's exactly what PTT's plant in Rayong is doing - distilling it into fuel), or just crushed and re-melted into building blocks or added to asphalt to increase durability... it can be recycled and reused. Just few bother to do that. But one day we'll have to.

We are already in that time to clean up our plastic mess, however it is all about money. No one will do if there is no profit.

Western countries ship out all their plastic waste to Thailand, China, Vietnam and so on.

You have seen the movies of Chinese crawling in the plastic to separate? I believe they now banned the import of plastic waste.

That's why 8000000 TONS of plastic is dumped into the oceans EVERY year. Happy new year to you.

There are islands as big as Texas floating in the oceans , all plastic. You tell me who is doing this?!

Of course rivers canals and so on are also used as waste disposal. 

Once saw in Indonesia (pics internet), they finally emptied a water way. The water was complete filled with garbage and the color of the water was black. They even still used the water !!

Already micro plastic is found in humans, they will block your veins. Eventually we will go down, so problem is solved then?!

"Accidentally we observed there was a lot of plastic waste mixed together with the fish in the traps,”

 

wow, none of the scientists has ever visited a Thai convenience store so it came as a complete shock/surprise....