Some big retailers will stop giving out plastic bags on January 1

The Thaiger reminds readers that many major Thai retailers will stop providing plastic bags from January 1 in a campaign to reduce the whopping 13.5 billion plastic bags used in Thailand annually. At least the ban will make a dent in the plastic problem as the government progressively rolls out other bans and programs throughout next year.

Seventy-five members of the Thai Retailers Association, including giants like Central Department Store, Makro and Tesco Lotus, aim to cut single-use plastic bag consumption by 30%.

According to the Department of Pollution Control, 40% or 18 billion plastic bags come from fresh markets annually, while 30%, or 13.5 billion bags, come from local grocery stores.

In Bangkok alone, each person uses an average of eight plastic bags per day, creating around 80 million pieces of plastic waste daily, according to the department. These bags are part of the nearly 2 million tonnes of plastic waste produced each year by Thai consumers.

The Thai government has also said it will ban three types of plastic, namely microbeads, cap seals and oxo-degradable plastics, by the end of the year.

Hoping to drive the country closer to a plastic waste free society, the Thai Retailers Association is introducing its “Every Day Say No to Plastic Bags” campaign, under which all of its members will stop providing such bags through their 24,500 distribution channels.

Officials believe the move will greatly reduce the amount of plastic used in the kingdom, which is rated as one of the worst sources of plastic that ends up in the world’s oceans.

The full list of retailers who will no longer provide plastic bags is below:

1. CP All Plc, 2. Central Department Store Ltd, 3. The Mall Group Ltd, 4. Foodland Supermarket Ltd, 5. Siam Makro Plc, 6. Tesco Lotus Ltd, 7. CRC Thai Watsadu Ltd,8. CRC Sport Ltd 9. Central Food Retail Ltd, 10. Central Marketing Group Ltd, 11. B2S Ltd, 12. Powerbuy Ltd, 13. Robinson Plc,14. Big C Supercenter Plc, 15. Rangsit Plaza Ltd, 16. Bangchak Retail Ltd, 17. Chaisaeng Superstore, 18. Chaisaeng Department Store, 19. K&K Superstore Southern Plc, 20. Jamfah Savemart Ltd, 21. Chumphon Ocean Group Ltd, 22. CJ Express Group Ltd, 23. CPF Trading Ltd, 24. COL Plc, 25. Central Watson Ltd, 26. Central Family Mart Ltd, 27. TMK Kanjanaburi Trading Ltd, 28. Thanapiriya Plc, 29. Boots Retail (Thailand) Ltd, 30. PTT Retail Management Ltd, 31. Mother Marketing Ltd, 32. Wannakij Charoen (2000) Ltd, 33. Watcharawan (2008) Ltd, 34. Saha Lawson Ltd, 35. 108 SHOP, 36. Office Mate Plc, 37. Akeworanant Ltd, 38. FN Factory Outlet Plc, 39. Isetan (Thailand) Ltd, 40. Aeon (Thailand) Ltd, 41. Index Living Mall Plc, 42. Home Products Center Plc, 43. Villa Market JP Ltd, 44. Property Perfect Plc, 45. Imperial Plaza Ltd, 46. Imperial Department Store Ltd, 47. Siam Speciality Ltd, 48. Siam Takashimaya Ltd, 49. Taweekit Supercenter Ltd, 50. Klang Plaza Jomsurang Ltd, 51. Bangkok-Tokyu Department Store Ltd, 52. Ekapab Super Supply Ltd, 53. Ekapab Inter Electric Ltd, 54. UFM Fuji Super Ltd, 55. Dohome Ltd, 56. Bigsong Superstore Ltd, 57. Saengthai Prae Ltd, 58. Sahathai Department Store Ltd, 59. Sahasaengchai Marketing Ltd, 60. SR Super Mart Ltd, 61. Tang Ngee Soon Superstore, 62. Ekapab Home Mart Ltd, 63. Amporn Department Store, 64. Klanglan Limited Partnership, 65. Tantraphan Supermarket (1994) Ltd, 66. Yok Intertrade (Chiang Mai) Ltd, 67. Krabi Benjamin Limited Partnership, 68. SL Wholesale Ltd, 69. Sentosa Ltd, 70. Super Cheap Trading Ltd, 71. Roi Et Hypermart Ltd, 72. Sin 2000 Chaiyaphum Ltd, 73. Kiatsin Wholesale Ltd, 74. Don Quijote Ltd, 75. Central & Matsumoto Kiyoshi Ltd.

Source: AsiaOne.com | The Nation