BANGKOK, 10 June 2017 (NNT) – Thailand plans to eliminate cap seals on all types of beverage bottles in one year to reduce 520 tons of plastic waste yearly, said Pollution Control Department (PCD) Director-General Jatuporn Buruspat.
The agency is cooperating with bottle manufacturers to encourage them to stop placing cap seals on their plastic water bottles with the aim at freeing Thailand of cap seals in a year.
He said the quality of drinking water will not be compromised without the cap seals as the current regulations of the Food and Drugs Administration only require for the caps to be tightly closed. The elimination of cap seals will help the country reduce the amount of plastic waste by 520 tons in a year.
Thailand produces 7,000 million bottles each year, with 2,600 million having plastic caps with a combined length of 260,000 kilometers, or 6.5 times the globe's circumference. Waste of plastic caps causes negative effects to environment as the lightweight plastic pieces are easy to spread all over on land and seas, making it difficult to collect and recycle and causing blockades in pipes and some might be eaten by marine animals.
The PCD chief added the PCD and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration plan to open more dumping sites for toxic waste to all areas in the city, given proper waste management. The dumping sites will be provided at shopping malls, schools and gas stations.
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