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Statistics show that in April this year, the amount of plastic waste in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, increased 62% year on year, with an average of 3432 tons of plastic waste per day. About 80% of the waste is taken out plastic bags, lunch boxes, plastic bottles and plastic cups.

Thailand is one of the largest plastic bag consumers in the world. According to the statistics of Thailand's Ministry of natural resources and environment, in the past 10 years, Thailand has consumed an average of 45 billion plastic bags per year. Thailand produces 2 million tons of plastic waste every year, only 500000 tons can be recycled.

In November last year, the Thai government approved the proposal put forward by the Ministry of natural resources and environment: from January 1, 2020, all shopping centers, supermarkets and convenience stores in Thailand will stop providing plastic shopping bags, except for the microwave food that must be heated, wet food (can, slime, etc.), meat and fruit that are still allowed to use plastic bags. The Thai government also said it would solve the problem of plastic waste according to the road map for managing plastic waste 2018-2030 adopted by the Department last year. According to the road map, by the end of 2019, Thailand will ban three kinds of plastic products, including plastic beads; by 2022, it will ban four kinds of disposable plastic products, i.e. light plastic bags with thickness less than 36 microns, styrofoam containers for take out food, plastic cups and plastic straws; by 2027, it will fully use 100% recyclable plastics. Recently, it has become a new fashion for Thai people to use cloth bags, sacks, woven bags, pots and pans instead of plastic bags for shopping.

Plastic waste also threatens the sustainable development of marine ecosystem. In June 2018, a giant whale stranded in southern Thailand died of ineffective rescue. More than 80 plastic bags weighing 8 kg were found in its stomach. More than 300 marine animals in Thailand die every year from eating plastic bags, according to marine biologist Tun tronawatra of the Agricultural University of Thailand. According to a report released by the world economic forum and the Allen MacArthur Foundation, plastic waste is spreading rapidly on land and in the sea due to the lack of timely recycling. By 2050, the total weight of plastic waste in the global ocean will exceed that of all fish.

Thailand's Ministry of natural resources and environment calls for three ways to reduce marine waste, namely, "stop using, use less, and innovate". If you can stop using plastics, stop using them. If you can't stop using plastics, reduce using them. At the same time, strengthen technological innovation and use degradable materials to replace traditional plastics. Many restaurants and cafes have responded by replacing plastic straws with non disposable straws made of plant materials or metal. Many customers also bring their own empty plastic bottles to buy drinks. Ganda, a researcher of Thailand Marine Resources Research Center, told our reporter that the research center and the Ministry of natural resources and environment often carry out various activities to attract social institutions and individuals to participate in the cultivation of seaweed and garbage collection, so as to provide a clean and rich natural environment for marine organisms. According to data released by the economic think tank center of Thailand's Huishang bank in November 2019, Thailand's ranking in the world's major source countries of marine plastic waste dropped from the previous sixth to the tenth.

According to Malaysia's Malay post, ASEAN countries receive more than 25% of the global plastic waste. Southeast Asian countries are stepping up the formulation of the "foreign waste" ban and related emergency policies, refusing to become the "waste dump" of developed countries. In November 2018, Thailand held a meeting to solve the problem of imported waste, and decided that the imported plastic waste products of Thailand in 2019 and 2020 should not exceed 70000 tons and 40000 tons respectively. In 2021, Thailand will no longer import plastic waste products. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries have also constantly strengthened the import restrictions on waste, and a large number of containers containing waste have been "repatriated" back to Canada, the United States, Australia and other developed countries.