Over 75% of the accumulated plastic in the ocean is reported to come from mismanaged waste in the nine Asian countries on the list. The only non-Asian country to make it to this top 10 list is Brazil.

Most of the plastic waste comes from litter in parks, beaches, or along the storm drains lining streets. These bits of plastic are then carried into drains, streams, and rivers by wind and rainwater runoff. The rivers then turn into plastic highways, transporting the plastic to the oceans. Lots of ocean plastic also comes from discarded fishing nets.

In 2021, the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) said that Thailand had an average of 1.03 tonnes of mismanaged waste each year and that nearly half of it (0.31%) flows into the sea. Plastics take between 20 and 500 years to decompose.

To combat plastic pollution, Thailand has implemented measures such as a ban on single-use plastic bags in major stores, public awareness campaigns, and promoting the use of reusable bags.

Last week, it was reported that Thailand‘s use of plastic bags plunged by over 148,000 tonnes in about three years. The Pollution Control Department (PCD) launched campaigns in 2018 to cut the use of single-use plastic and plastic shopping bags, in cooperation with the Environmental Quality Promotion Department (EQPD).

(Source: – The Thaiger)