Page 49 - Plastics News November 2019

internAtionAL news

More than 100 plastic-stuffed Government of Thailand backs

letters sent to New Zealand retailers “No Plastic” campaign
Parliament

hailand’s government has given the Green-light
Tto a “No Plastic” campaign which will start on
ore than 100 letters stuffed with single-use plastics Jan 1st of next year. The campaign comes ahead of a
Mhave been sent to Parliament this week. The ban on single-use plastic bags in 2021.Speaking after
plastic2parliament initiative encourages members of the cabinet meeting in Kanchanaburi. Government
the public to send its single-use plastic waste to MPs to spokeswoman Narumon Pinyosinwat told the Bangkok
illustrate the scale of the issue. "Plastics are now in our
Post that cabinet had approved the Ministry of
Natural Resources and Environment’s campaign to
end the handing out of single-use plastic bags and will
ensure collaboration between related agencies. Ms
Narumon said Thailand will ban three types of plastic
— microbeads, cap seals and oxo-degradable plastics
— by the end of this year and four others — lightweight
plastic bags less than 36 microns thick, styrofoam
food containers, plastic cups and plastic straws — by
2022. The cabinet also gave the nod to the ministry’s
campaign to stop giving out single-use plastic bags to
customers in department and convenience stores from
next year under Thailand’s Roadmap on Plastic Waste
Management 2018-30. Moreover, the cabinet instructed
water, our air, our food and we now eat about a credit related agencies, including the Prime Minister’s Office,
cards worth or more every year," said organiser Wade the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment,
Bishop. "The purpose of the initiative is to creatively and the Ministry of Interior, to raise public awareness
emphasise how these non-recyclable products cannot of the campaign. The cabinet also tasked the Ministry
be avoided by consumers." Bishop is asking politicians to of Natural Resources and Environment to work with
focus on regulation for the producers of plastic packaging.
43 private companies on plastic ban guidelines.
The letters sent with the plastic asks MPs for bans on
avoidable plastics, and for all political parties to have a
plastic-waste reduction policy. "People are tired of plastic
pollution being framed as a consumer issue, or one that
is simply a matter of better collection and recycling," he
said. People interested in the initiative can send their
plastic waste to politicians via the Parliamentary Freepost
address, says Bishop. He says this week alone more than
130 plastic stuffed letters were mailed to NZ First MP
Jenny Marcroft.Marcroft says she has received a number
of letters, but nowhere near the number quoted by Bishop.
New Zealand is ranked the third-most-wasteful country in
the OECD. New Zealanders produce five times the global Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut
daily average of waste per person – and they are getting Silpa-archa urged all agencies to join the campaign
more wasteful, producing 35% more than a decade ago. and use paper or cloth bags before Thailand imposes
These statistics are likely to get worse following China’s its ban on single-use plastic bags in 2021. Thai people
2018 ban on imports of certain recyclable products. China generate as much as 1.14 kilograms of garbage per
was the world’s top importer of recyclable plastics, but head per day, contributing to the 27.04 million tons of
implemented the ban because it could no longer safely waste per year, according to Thailand’s Department of
manage its domestic and imported waste. Environmental Quality Promotion.

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51 November 2019 Plastics News