Over 510,000 krathongs collected in Bangkok, 98% made of natural materials
City officials collected a total of 514,590 krathongs from the Chao Phraya River, various canals and ponds throughout the capital after the Loy Krathong festival last night, a reduction of 19.57% from last year.
Spokesman for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Aekvarunyoo Amrapala, said today that officials collected the krathongs from watercourses in 50 districts between 8pm last night and 5am this morning.
98.39% of them were made of natural materials and the remainder were made of Styrofoam. No krathongs made of bread were found.
34 public parks were open for the Loy Krathong festival. 255,532 people visited the parks and 96,508 krathongs were collected, an average of one krathong for every three people, said the spokesman.
The largest number of krathongs were collected in Lat Krabang district (20,806), while only 147 krathongs were collected in Khlong San district.
The city administration introduced virtual Loy Krathong via its website for the first time this year, Aekvarunyoo said that 36,832 people visited the site and 10,885 virtual krathongs were also floated at four designated places.
He added that most revellers and vendors had cooperated with city officials by using krathongs made of natural materials.
The krathongs collected will be separated for disposal, with those made of natural materials, such as banana leaves and trunks, being turned into organic fertiliser, while the Styrofoam versions will be buried in landfills.
Over 510,000 krathongs collected in Bangkok, 98% made of nat
