Thai Environment Day – December 4

December 4 every year is declared Thai Environment Day. This year, according to Thai Residents, leading department stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores will not be giving away any plastic bags on that date (there’s a list of the participating stores below).

“The main goal, since the establishment of December 4 to be the national environmental day is to educate the society on the negative effects of waste that we use everyday towards nature.

“Thailand counts as one of the main trash producers of the world, where Thailand is currently #6 nation of the top 10 trash producers.”

Nikkei Asian reports that over 3% of our trash and rubbish ends up in the oceans, further killing wildlife, and slowly destroying the planet.

“The government researched the amount of plastic bags that Thai’s use everyday in 2017, and the results were shocking.

“One person in Thailand uses approximately 8 plastic bags per day, where about 500 million plastic bags are used only once then thrown into the trash everyday. Each year, 198 billion plastic bags enter the landfills and oceans, adding to the already piles of trash scattered all over the planet.”

Thai Residents opines that the excessive amount of plastic bags used per day makes no reasonable sense, and there is also the ongoing issue of not throwing trash where it is meant to be disposed.

“Trash is often scattered on the streets, where as a result plugs up the water draining system in the city, causing floods even if it has rained for only 10 minutes. But, thanks to the realisation of environmental impact in the last few years, more recycle bins are being placed in malls, condominiums, and on the streets.”

You can read the rest of the Thai Residents’ report HERE.