BANGKOK, 15 February 2018: Thailand will begin to phase out the use of plastic cap seals on water bottles 1 April, TV news channel Thai PBS reported Wednesday.
It’s just one of a variety of measures the government is embarking on to clean up the clutter of plastic waste.
Earlier this month it rolled out a smoking ban on beaches to tackle the problem of cigarette butts being discarded in the sand that ultimately are washed out to sea.
Experts estimate that cigarette butts represent about 35% of the waste found on popular beaches.
According to the Thai PBS report the phase out of plastic cap seals was agreed 13 February when state and private organisations signed a memorandum of understanding to stop using the small plastic seals.
The ceremony was attended by officials from the Pollution Control Department (PCD), the Office of the Consumers Protection Commission, the Thai Beverage Industry Association, the Plastics Institute of Thailand, and five major manufacturers of bottled water.
However, the plastic seal is just a small part of the problem and the government now needs to extend the ban to plastic drink straws, drink sticks, plastic cotton bud stems and other small plastic items in common use that can flow throw water treatment plant filters to the sea.
Campaigners would like to see Thailand ban the plastic bag and bottle in the long-term. The multi-million dollar bottled water industry is a major cause of pollution and slow to adopt a return policy for its products.
