- Writer: Martina Ferri As we all already know, plastic pollution in the ocean is a threat to humanity and marine life, especially with Thailand being one of the worst marine polluters. According to the Thailand Development Research Institute Thailand is the 10th biggest dumper of plastic waste in the sea. This doesn’t come as a surprise to many of us living here, as we can see plastic being used all around us. Keeping in mind that plastic takes from 20 to 500 years to decompose (Thailand Development Research Institute), does it seem worth it to use so much on a daily basis? Leading Thailand's plastic waste in the sea are bags (13%), straws (10%) and food containers (8%) (Bangkok Post Public Company Limited). Especially now during covid, plastic waste has drastically increased, due to everyone staying at home. There are three main reasons why there is so much plastic waste pollution, and why the issue has been bypassed for so long. First, disparity. As a result of this poorer communities are left behind, without the resources necessary to manage their waste. Second, a lack of waste-management infrastructures such as bins and trucks for waste collection. Lastly, institutional disregard for waste management, leading to a communal by the community, of discarding waste in the ocean (Thailand Development Research Institute). However, there are people in Thailand trying their best to help. Paradorn Chulajata is the managing director of Prepack Thailand Co. He was born and raised in Bangkok and has a growing passion for the ocean. He and his family are all passionate about the ocean and regularly go scuba diving. He is part of the founding team that established the first Public-Private Partnership in plastic and waste management in Thailand on June 5, 2018. They have since expanded, and now have partnerships with 42 organizations. The organization consists of improving infrastructure, law & regulation, promotion & education, innovation, and database creation. With the organization following the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) he stated “Most of the technical innovations, so far, have been in finding the products and markets for the plastic wastes. This includes using plastic waste for road and wood-plastic composite and upcycling for textiles. In my opinion, technical innovation is essential. However, the process of getting the private sector, government, and NGOs to understand and work together to solve the problem is also interesting and necessary.” (“Meet Our Innovator Protecting Our Oceans in Thailand: Paradorn Chulajata”). A more contemporary example of this is the recycling of fishnets to create Covid protection gear. A new community-based project is paying small-scale fishermen 10 baht (32 cents) per kilogram of discarded nets, or about every one or two, to recycle them into items from push sticks to face shields and disinfectant bottles. Throughout the pandemic, Qualy has shredded 700 kg of nets to make face shields, and alcohol spray bottles as well as push sticks for elevator buttons and ATM machines to avoid contact (Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Juarawee Kittisilpa). This shows how just taking small steps to reduce plastic use, or recycle, can not only lead to helping the environment but was a help to a small community during the tough times of covid. Sources:
Thailand Development Research Institute. “Disparity Worsens Ocean Pollution.” Thailand Business News, 8 July 2021, www.thailand-business-news.com/environment/84499-disparity-worsens-ocean-pollution.html. Bangkok Post Public Company Limited. “Bangkok Post.” Https://Www.bangkokpost.com, 2019, www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/1704904/drowning-in-a-sea-of-plastic. “Meet Our Innovator Protecting Our Oceans in Thailand: Paradorn Chulajata.” World Bank, www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/06/05/meet-our-innovator-protecting-our-oceans-in-thailand-paradorn-chulajata. Patpicha Tanakasempipat, and Juarawee Kittisilpa. “Thailand Is Recycling Its Ocean Plastic to Fight COVID-19.” World Economic Forum, 7 July 2020, www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/thailand-coronavirus-covid19-recyling-innovation-supplies-ocean/.
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AuthorThe OMG Newsletter is run by the members of the service group. Topics are taken from the whole world by our researchers and formed into concise articles of our own. We invite experts to bring facts into our educational newsletter, and special contributions of students to showcase their ocean themed comic strip, so that it can be enjoyed by various age groups. Archives
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