Thai Pollution Control Dept: Amount of polystyrene foam as trash on a rise

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Pollution Control Dept: Amount of polystyrene foam as trash on a rise

BANGKOK, 29 October 2014 (NNT) - The amount of polystyrene foam as trash has been rising alarmingly, according to the Department of Pollution Control.

Pollution Control Department Director-General Vichien Juengroongrueng said that, during 2009 and 2013, the amount of polystyrene foam as trash has been rising continuously, from a daily average of 34 million pieces to 61 million pieces.

Mr. Vichien said that polystyrene foam as trash takes more than 100 years to degrade while the disposal of this material causes pollution and demands high budget.

He added that caution is needed in disposing such a material as it can pose negative impact on public health.

The Pollution Control Department Director-General also said the use of polystyrene foam as container for hot food can be hazardous for health as such a chemical reaction can bring out carcinogen and cause many other serious health conditions.


-- NNT 2014-10-29

[jaltsc]

"Mr. Vichien said that polystyrene foam as trash takes more than 100 years to degrade while the disposal of this material causes pollution and demands high budget...The Pollution Control Department Director-General also said the use of polystyrene foam as container for hot food can be hazardous for health as such a chemical reaction can bring out carcinogen and cause many other serious health conditions."

Gee...Allow me to use my unbelievable superior brain power to solve this problem. Make the use of polystyrene foam containers illegal. I bet no one else could have come up with that solution .

Edited October 29, 2014 by jaltsc

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A neighbour collects the polystyrene and breaks it up to mix with those packs of garden soil to lessen it's density. They actually sell polystyrene in the West for this purpose. Here it's bloody everywhere. For free

[Bkungbank]

In here you never known it's safe or not? When buy some noodle soup , hot soup put inside a plastic bag this 80-90 Celsius can cause cancer when consume in the body.

Drinking plastic bottle water left inside the car under hot sun will release toxin into body when consume. Cannot being avoided but precaution prevent.

[Krataiboy]

Use banana leaves instead of polystyrene to serve those takeaways. Plentiful, cheap, non-toxic and biodegradable. Job done.

[Wombat6]

I didn't see any proposals on how to control or get rid of this problem from the Pollution Control dept. ( I didn't know they had one judging from what I see in Thailand)

I have a suggestion...if there is not already a law for littering...get one in place and have the Police/Local authotities enforce the law. Penalties could be a couple of days community Service cleaning the roadsides and water-ways etc

[AleG]

There are biodegradable alternatives to polystyrene, PLA for example, based on corn, tapioca or some other source of starch.
I know there are Thai companies manufacturing food containers using those materials, they are slightly more expensive so a ban on non-biodegradable foams would not be a big burden, and if it is there's always the option of not using that type of packaging.

[wilcopops]

If I remember rightly, polystyrene and many plastics don't actually degrade they break down to ever smaller pieces and then enter the food chain

[wilcopops]

"Mr. Vichien said that polystyrene foam as trash takes more than 100 years to degrade while the disposal of this material causes pollution and demands high budget...The Pollution Control Department Director-General also said the use of polystyrene foam as container for hot food can be hazardous for health as such a chemical reaction can bring out carcinogen and cause many other serious health conditions."

Gee...Allow me to use my unbelievable superior brain power to solve this problem. Make the use of polystyrene foam containers illegal. I bet no one else could have come up with that solution .

without these containers either the whole street food industry would collapse or there would have to be an economically viable alternative.

many countries have or are setting up the infrastructure to cope with and handle these plastics....it's mort easy, but they are an essential part of our life....as is getting rid of them or recycling the stuff in the best possible way.

polystyrene foam has a million and one uses - simply trying to make it illegal would be absurd.....just think how it is used for packaging and shipping, insulation, I'm sure you could think of others too.

Edited October 29, 2014 by wilcopops