Foundation documents impact of plastic waste in Thailand
Thailand is facing the impact of plastic waste on greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity and public health, according to a report by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).
The report indicates that Thailand’s primary plastic production generated up to 27.3 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) annually, which was equal to greenhouse gas emission from 5.9 million cars.
Of Thailand’s total emission of 372 million tCO2e in 2019, the primary plastic manufacturing was ranked third greenhouse gas emission source at 7.3%, following agriculture and industrial sectors of 15.23% and 10.28% respectively.
“Thailand produced 9 million tons of plastics annually, and 36% of them were short-lifespan single-use plastics, which resulted in 2 million tons of plastic waste annually,” the report said, citing data from the Plastics Institute of Thailand.
Though public and private organisations have campaigned for plastic recycling, only 17.6% of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) were recycled in 2018.
The report pointed out that pollution triggered by plastics caused an impact on biodiversity and people’s health, saying that fires from plastic factories or warehouses occurred 24 times between September 2023 and 2024.
“Of them, a fire at a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production plant in Rayong’s Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate on September 22, 2024, caused a large amount of smoke in the air,” the report said.
Environment and Pollution Control Office 13 had found a fairly high level of vinyl chloride in the air, which could put people at risk of cancer, it added.
The report also claimed that the Thai plastic industry has failed to meet the global plastic treaty’s regulation on sustainable production and consumption, as 80% of plastic waste in Thailand’s landfills can be reduced by reforming product distribution and adopting re-use practices.
Moreover, Thailand has failed to suspend consumption of seven types of plastics that do not meet sustainable practices: oxo-degradable plastics, bottle-cap films, microbeads, foam boxes, plastic straws, plastic bags with thickness less than 36 microns, and plastic cups with thickness less than 100 microns.
Microbeads in cosmetics was the only one of seven plastics on which Thailand has issued laws to suspend production, the report said.
