Every day when we go to the market, buy noodles from a street vendor, or stop by a coffee shop on the way home, have you ever noticed how many plastic bags, foam boxes, straws, and plastic cups we receive in a single day? These items are used for just a few minutes but take hundreds of years to decompose.

      Data from the Pollution Control Department in 2024 indicates that plastic waste accounts for 11-12% of municipal solid waste in Thailand. Most of it is managed through landfilling, while some is improperly disposed of, leaking into rivers, seas, and our surrounding environment. This not only affects ecosystems but also returns to us in the form of microplastic contamination in our food and drinking water.

Why Do We Still Use Single-Use Plastics?

      Although Thai society today is more aware and conscious of the plastic waste problem, the convenience and low cost of single-use plastics remain key reasons for their deep-rooted presence in our daily lives. A 2024 survey of 1,200 consumers nationwide by the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI) found that the most frequently used single-use plastics are thin plastic bags, foam boxes, thin plastic cups, and plastic straws.

      While many people have started to change their behavior, such as carrying cloth bags, personal cups for drinks, or reusable containers, most vendors still opt for single-use plastic packaging. This is because it saves time in product preparation, allows for convenient pre-packaging, and has lower costs than alternative packaging. Meanwhile, some consumers are so accustomed to using foam boxes, accepting plastic bags, or using plastic straws that it has become a normal behavior that requires little thought.

      The same survey revealed that many respondents face similar obstacles, such as living spaces not conducive to storing and sorting waste, the feeling that washing and sorting waste for recycling is a hassle, concerns that sorted waste might be mixed again, or the burden of taking it to collection points.

      Hope now lies with the 21.6% of respondents who are ready to help solve the country's problems, 16.6% who want to protect the environment, and 14.6% who wish to generate income for the underprivileged. The remaining 47.2% require incentives and support in various forms.

Learning from Trials of Alternative Products

      TEI conducted a trial where fresh market vendors, retail shops, and grocery stores, as well as consumers, used alternative packaging, including products made from paper, bagasse, and biodegradable plastics, to reduce the use of single-use plastics. The results reflected both significant opportunities and challenges:

• A number of consumers preferred biodegradable packaging and felt proud to be part of protecting the environment.

• Some vendors encountered issues, such as insufficient durability for hot or oily food and slightly higher costs than plastic, making some hesitant to change their behavior immediately.

• Many vendors admitted that if they received cost support, such as tax discounts or effective communication with customers, switching to alternative packaging would be feasible.

      This experiment provides crucial data showing that although alternatives are not yet widespread or perfect, if they are further developed, made more accessible, and supported by appropriate cooperation and incentives, they have the potential to become the "main choice" for consumers in the future. This makes phasing out single-use plastics a dream that is not out of reach.

Systematic Thinking, Comprehensive Assessment

      A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) conducted by TEI compared single-use plastic products (thin plastic bags, foam boxes, thin plastic cups, and plastic straws) with alternative products (bags, boxes, and straws made from paper, bagasse boxes, and bioplastics). The study highlighted several key points:

• Raw Material Acquisition: Conventional plastics are derived from crude oil and natural gas as primary raw materials, leading to high fossil fuel consumption and, in many cases, higher greenhouse gas emissions than bio-based or agricultural materials.

• Production: The greenhouse gas emissions of a product depend on the weight of the raw materials, losses during production, and the varying emission coefficients of each material.

• Use: Plastic is strong and waterproof, making it suitable for hot or oily foods, but this advantage also makes it difficult to decompose, creating a long-term plastic waste problem.

• End-of-Life: If properly recycled, plastic can become a new raw material. However, in reality, recycling rates are still low, and most plastic is landfilled, with some leaking into the environment. In contrast, biodegradable materials can help reduce the burden at this stage if managed properly.

      The LCA indicates that alternative products can reduce environmental impact if there is a proper management system, such as collection and decomposition under suitable conditions. However, if managed poorly, their environmental impact may be similar to that of conventional plastics.

      While plastic has advantages in terms of use, it creates a high environmental burden without an effective management system. Alternative materials can genuinely help reduce this impact, but it is necessary to develop infrastructure and change consumer behavior simultaneously for these alternatives to be beneficial and not become a new problem.

Thailand's Choice: What Should Be Done About Single-Use Plastics?

Based on the project's findings, TEI has proposed six alternatives for reducing single-use plastics:

1. Restrict the use of thin plastic bags. Measures to ban them in certain locations, such as hospitals and institutes under the Department of Medical Services, have been successful. This should be expanded to cooperatives, shops in government agencies, educational institutions, airports, department stores, supermarkets, and small shops in a coordinated and phased manner.

2. Restrict the use of thin plastic cups and plastic straws. Enforcement should begin in government offices, educational institutions, airports, department stores, and supermarkets, then expand to convenience stores and small shops with cooperation from business operators and administrators.

3. Phase out the production of foam boxes for food packaging. When in contact with hot food, foam boxes can release styrene, a substance harmful to health. Furthermore, they do not biodegrade and cause severe environmental impacts.

4. Choose reusable products. Select products appropriate for the type of item and clean them before reusing, such as cloth bags, paper bags, baskets, personal water bottles and cups, and lunch boxes.

5. Choose recyclable products. Promote the collection of recyclable plastics to be re-entered into the production process, which requires a proper collection system and clear labeling of plastic types.

6. Choose naturally biodegradable products. This includes products from agricultural materials or bioplastics, which must meet industry standards, display a certified compostable symbol, and have a proper system for collection and disposal to prevent creating more waste.
   
   

      While consumer efforts are important, a national support structure remains at the heart of plastic waste management. Thailand has a Plastic Waste Management Roadmap (2018–2030), which aims to reduce and phase out several target plastics, including thin plastic bags, thin plastic cups, foam boxes, and plastic straws, and sets a goal to recycle 100% of plastic waste by 2027. However, Thailand still lacks a law to control the production and limit the use of single-use plastics.

Abroad, countries like those in the European Union and some in Asia have issued strict regulations, including taxes on plastic bags and mandates for alternative materials, which Thailand can learn from. Pushing for legislation, creating economic incentives, and building trust in the waste management system will help make the reduction and elimination of single-use plastics a reality that is not too difficult to achieve.
 

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Compiled by Sirinthip Boonyoung, Researcher, Thailand Environment Institute.

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Summarized from the project "Study and Analysis of Alternative Products for Single-Use Plastics and Proposal of a Driving Mechanism According to the National Plastic Waste Management Roadmap," funded by the Program Management Unit for Competitiveness (PMUC) and the Science, Research and Innovation Promotion Fund.

Source: TEI