BANGKOK, 18 June 2019 (NNT) – Thailand currently has more than seven million tons of waste that has not been properly disposed of and has become a source of marine waste. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) has therefore organized a project to set up clean-up booms at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River to reduce the amount of waste flowing into the sea. One of the pilot areas is Bang Nam Phueng subdistrict, Samut Prakarn province.
DMCR Deputy Director General Pinsak Surassawadee said today that the project to manage floating garbage with clean-up booms in the Chao Phraya River in Bang Krachao area, Bang Nam Phueng subdistrict, Samut Prakarn province, is aimed at reducing the amount of waste flowing into the sea because this area is experiencing a dense floating garbage problem so the garbage must be trapped at the source.
Initially, the DMCR has set up 10 clean-up booms in 10 pilot areas out of over 700 canals and more than 100 rivers. After this, the efficiency of the pilot clean-up booms will be studied to develop and enhance their efficiency before they will be set up in other areas. Part of the trapped garbage will be separated before disposal by the private sector.
Mr. Samnao Rassamithat, President of Bang Nam Phueng Subdistrict Administrative Organization, Samut Prakan province, said Bang Nam Phueng and Bang Krachao areas are catchment areas for garbage from Bangkok. The amount of garbage has lessened since the clean-up booms were installed by the government and private sectors. Local authorities have campaigned for a reduction in the use of plastic bags and Styrofoam. More clean-up booms will be set up in other estuaries in Bang Krachao and Bang Nam Phueng areas.
Thailand currently has more than seven million tons of waste that has not been properly disposed of and it has become a source of marine waste. Eighty percent of marine waste originates on land then it is carried into rivers and flows to the mouth of the rivers and into the sea. The main cause seems to be tugboats and the waterfront communities.
