Floats farewell: Bangkok’s Loy Krathong cleanup sees 640,000 eco-friendly wonders whisked away

Following the Loy Krathong Festival Bangkok’s waterways were cleared of nearly 640,000 Krathongs, most of which were crafted from natural, biodegradable materials.

In addition, over 3,000 digital Krathongs were seen floating in Klong Ong Ang, yesterday (November 27).

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) employees got to work at 8pm on the festival night and collected and sorted through the traditional floating baskets by 5am the following day. The total count of Krathongs, as reported by BMA spokesperson Ekwaranyu Amrapan, was 639,828 – an increase of 67,226 or 11.74% when compared to the previous year.

Of the total Krathongs collected, 618,951 or 96.7% were made from environmentally friendly materials such as banana tree trunks, banana leaves, cassava, cane bagasse, and bread. This figure is a slight increase from last year’s 95.7%. The remaining 3.26% or 20,877 floating baskets were made from styrofoam, a decrease from last year’s 4.30%.

The district of Klong Sam Wa recorded the highest number of floats, 31,575, and the highest number made of natural materials, 31,560. In contrast, Pomprap Sattruphai had the fewest with just 160, while Bung Kum district had the most foam Krathongs, totalling 1,579.

During the festival, 34 public parks opened their doors to the public, attracting 290,886 people. From these parks, a total of 88,011 Krathongs were collected, with the most popular parks being Benjasiri, Lumpini and Benjakitti parks, reported Bangkok Post.

All collected Krathongs are destined for garbage disposal centres, according to Ekwaranyu.

The BMA also organised a first-of-its-kind event at Klong Ong Ang, where people had the opportunity to float 3,774 digital Krathongs via projection mapping. The festival, celebrated nationwide last night, saw visitors observing these digital floats projected on the surface of Klong Ong Ang in Bangkok.

In related news, Prawit Wongsuwan, leader of the Democrat Party (DP), along with key party executives, participated in an environmentally friendly version of the Thai tradition of Loy Krathong. Using biodegradable Krathongs (floating baskets), they wished for the good health and happiness of all Thai people and for illnesses to be swept away by the river current. Read more about this story HERE.