On 1 January 2020, Thailand officially banned single-use plastic bags in all its major stores in a bid to phase them out across the country entirely by 2021.
Since its official banning last year, Thai residents have come up with creative ways to carry their groceries. Luggage, wheelbarrows, laundry hampers and buckets are some of the things people are packing their items in.
Major grocery stores are no longer allowed to offer plastic bags to customers and by 2021 single-use plastic bags will be banned entirely. In 2019 an orphaned baby dugong, that captivated hearts across the world, died from ingesting plastic. According to Reuters, a similar incident happened with a deer, sparking public awareness around the plight of the plastic crisis.
Greenpeace stated that each year over 300 endangered marine animals in Thailand die from consuming plastic and from being caught in fishing gear.
In a statement, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-Archa said: ‘Thailand was ranked sixth among the world’s top countries that dumps waste into the sea. During the past five months, we were down to 10th … thanks to the cooperation of the Thai people.’
According to Reuters, the country has also reduced the use of plastic bags by 2 billion (5,765 tonnes) over 2019, in the first phase of campaigns to encourage consumers to refuse single-use plastic bags.
Image: Twitter
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