Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Thailand is one of Southeast Asia’s most significant countries as well as one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. People in Thailand are used single-use plastics since the nation consumes so much of it. There is a general feel that plastic bags are an important part of everyday life and that food packed in plastic bags is hygienic and unspoiled. This reveals that Thailand has been using single-use plastic for a very long time. Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a 40 percent rise in the use of single-use plastics, exacerbating an already serious environmental problem. Disposable testing equipment, personal protective equipment, and vaccine syringes contribute to this waste. Plastic makes up a major portion of the waste stream and a solution is required for Thailand. Consumption of single-use plastics is increasing, making it difficult to eradicate plastic pollution at its source. The study reveals how hard it is to recycle plastic garbage in Thailand since there are no rules requiring individuals to separate their waste in order to collect plastic trash. The government’s help in the waste plastic import trade exacerbates the already significant amount of waste plastic requiring a more viable solution for the country.

1. Introduction

In order to better provide solutions for the plastic waste problem in Thailand, this paper begins by evaluating the current solutions that are in place by various entities including the private sector and the public sector in relation to care for the environment. Boonpa and Sharp (2017) identified that the measures implemented in Thailand include the use of PSAs to combat the increased need and use of single-use plastics. So far, these measures are ineffective. The report, thus, seeks to answer the following question: What measures and solutions can the Thai government use to reduce the reliance of single-use plastics in Thailand?

1.2 Background

New studies show that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the world’s water than fish (Liang et al., 2021). Plastic waste has been found in the seafood consumed by people and aquatic life too. Plastic pollution is a big problem in Asia because just five countries (Vietnam, China, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines) are responsible for more plastic trash going into the oceans than the rest of the world put together (Sasaki, 2021). As the sixth largest producer of trash that ends up in the ocean (Sharma, Aloysius, & Visvanathan, 2019), the problem of plastic pollution in the water is especially bad in Thailand.

Figure 1: Amount of plastic waste via imports into Thailand 2012-2021

(Adapted from: Sasaki, 2021)

Figure 1 above illustrates the problem of plastic waste in Thailand as related to the imports of the same into the country. Since 2017, when China, the largest importer of plastic trash at the time, introduced rules to restrict the import of 24 different forms of plastic garbage into their nation (Sasaki, 2021), the subject of plastic waste import has been contentious in Thailand. As a result of the restriction on the import of plastic garbage, the deluge of rubbish made of plastic that originated in affluent nations instead flooded into the nations like Thailand. Prior to 2015, the average annual quantity of waste plastic imported in Thailand was about 56,000 tonnes (Sharma, Aloysius, & Visvanathan, 2019). In 2018, Sasaki (2021) record that the quantity of waste plastic imported more than doubled to almost 500,000 tonnes. Solutions are required to address this problem.

1.3 Impact on Thailand and the Rest of the World

Even as zero-waste societies, recycling shops, and environmental initiatives continue to challenge Thailand’s attitude on the consumption of plastic, a growing proportion of COVID-19 connected plastic waste importation appear to undercut the progress that has been made. The impact to Thailand is that it will be very difficult for the nation to achieve a sustainable foundation regarding the implementation and fruition of a circular economy in line with the rest of the world. For other global players, such retrogressive attitudes will push further the deadline for the achievement of sustainable development goals and, especially, the attainment of carbon neutral zones.

References

Boonpa, S., & Sharp, A. (2017). Waste-to-energy policy in Thailand. Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy, 12(5), 434-442.

Liang, Y., Tan, Q., Song, Q., & Li, J. (2021). An analysis of the plastic waste trade and management in Asia. Waste Management, 119, 242-253.

Sasaki, S. (2021). The effects on Thailand of China’s import restrictions on waste: measures and challenges related to the international recycling of waste plastic and e-waste. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 23(1), 77-83.

Sharma, A., Aloysius, V., & Visvanathan, C. (2019). Recovery of plastics from dumpsites and landfills to prevent marine plastic pollution in Thailand. Waste Disposal & Sustainable Energy, 1(4), 237-249.