Cabinet Agrees Roadmap for Plastic Waste Management

BANGKOK, April 18 (TNA) – The Cabinet agreed a 2018- 2030 roadmap for plastic waste management, aiming to reduce the amount of plastic garbage by 0.78 million tonnes annually. Athisit Chainuwat, assistant government spokesman said Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-ocha ordered the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to campaign for all sectors to participate in plastic waste reduction. The ministry drafted the roadmap to be the policy framework for integrated plastic waste management. The timeline in plastic waste management has been rolled out to deal with the problem of plastic waste. The initial target is to cut plastic use and to convert to environment friendly packaging materials. By this year, three plastic products - plastic cap seals in water bottles, oxo-degradable plastics and plastic microbeads will be banned. Four other types, which will have been phased out by 2022 are Styrofoam food boxes, plastic straws, single-use plastic cups and plastic bags less than 36 microns in thickness. The next step is that 100 per cent of plastic waste will be reusable by 2027. Studies will be conducted to do so and remaining waste will be disposed of properly. PR campaigns will be launched for public participation and the country’s plastic waste database will be made. The ministry expects that all measures will cut plastic waste by 0.78 million tonnes per year and saved the budget of 3.9 billion baht in waste management annually. (TNA)