Go green this Loy Krathong, urge Thai authorities

The Department of Climate Change and Environment is urging people to limit themselves to just one biodegradable float per family during Loy Krathong this year. This, the department said, will help minimise the burden on rivers and public waterways.

Loy Krathong is celebrated on the full moon night of the 12th lunar month and falls on November 15 this year. Thais launch decorated floats or krathong on waterways to pay their respects to the goddess of water, Phra Mae Khongkha.

The department said that this one-night festival has a huge impact on rivers and canals throughout Thailand. In Bangkok alone, more than 630,000 krathongs were fished out of public waterways in Loy Krathong last year.

Of these, 96.7% were made of biodegradable materials, while 3.26% were made of polystyrene, the department said.

The polystyrene floats are disposed of at landfill sites, while the biodegradable ones are turned into fertiliser at the facility in Bangkok’s Nong Khaem district, the department said.

It should be noted that polystyrene takes approximately 500 years to decompose.

“This year, we can all take part in reducing garbage from krathongs and creating a better environment for future generations,” it said.

To make this year’s Loy Krathong festival eco-friendly, the department is urging people to:

• Use only one krathong per household, instead of one per person to minimise waste
• Keep krathongs small with minimal decorations
• Use 100% biodegradable material to minimise environmental impact
• Avoid harmful materials like polystyrene, steel wire and nails
• Avoid materials that take a long time to decompose, like paper which needs about five months. This also applies to krathong made from bread, which can end up spoiling the water if not eaten by the fish in time
• Only float krathong in designated areas
• Float virtual krathongs instead, but take care not to share personal data on untrustworthy platforms.