Bangkok, 1 September 2022 - Waste dumping into the oceans, How can we stop? Thailand is amongst the countries with the biggest amount of plastic waste leakage into the oceans worldwide. While most marine litter comes from land, marine activities such as increasing ship traffic also contribute to the increasing amounts of litter in the ocean for example through illegal dumping. In the past two years, the Port Authority of Thailand and the project “Rethinking Plastics – Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter” project, funded by the European Union and the German Government and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Expertise France, took steps forward to implement solutions against illegal ship waste discharge by improving the ship waste management system at Bangkok Port. The pilot activity implementation in Bangkok Port also included Chula Unisearch, Energy Research Institute of Chulalongkorn University, Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) and 1st Biz Solution company limited.

Together, the partners assessed waste management regulations and services in the port and designed and implemented an online Ship Waste Notification and Management System (WNMS). It requires ships to notify the amounts of waste transported by the ship calling the port before arrival, facilitating waste handling and inspection procedures at the port and also improving waste data collection under supervision of the port. On 1st September, the partners publicly presented the new online system and other results during the Closing Ceremony of their joint activities at Sala Thai Ballroom, 5th Floor, Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen's Park and Bangkok Port. The event gathered more than 60 participants from respective sectors, interested in solutions for a better Ship Waste Management. 

Opening the event, ‘Mr. Paolo Zingale from the Delegation of the European Union to Thailand summarized: “It is essential that ships and fishing vessels are able to deliver their waste and cargo residues to port reception facilities instead of dumping them illegally into the sea, where they affect the marine environment. Improved waste management regulations and services in ports, as well as information and training of staff and ships can make a difference to reduce marine litter. In European Union we have introduced several directives with significant effects: the volume of waste delivered to ports increased while its illegal dumping was reduced significantly. I am glad that we worked with an experienced and motivated partner and an important port in Thailand to learn from these experiences and to improve analogue processes and digital tools.”

Within 18 months, the partners developed the WNMS, which was integrated into the existing e-Port platform and is already in use after staff and shipping agents were trained. Via computer, tablet or mobile device ships contact the port before their arrival to communicate which type and how much waste they would like to dispose of and get an online certificate to prove waste disposal. This process saves time and costs for everyone involved.

Moreover, the Ship Waste Management Manual, which describes in detail all aspects of the waste handling and collection system was revised and updated to ensure clear processes and responsibilities. This manual serves as a guide for all vessels and their crew calling at Bangkok Port, ship agents, waste contractors and other service providers, which are all involved in the management of ship waste in Bangkok Port. In addition, the Cost Recovery System (CRS), which ensures that ships pay for waste-related services, was assessed to ensure clear processes.

Mr. Thamsin Sribangpleenoi, Deputy Managing Director, Bangkok Port raised the beneficial aspect of the online system in the welcoming speech: “Adopting the information technology in ship waste notification forms delivery receipts system development facilitates users to receive services quickly and helps collect information of the amount of ship waste each year. It also reduces illegal ship waste dumping into the ocean in ​​the Port Authority of Thailand area.”

Dr. Jakapong Pongthanaisawan, coordinator of the pilot activities from Chulanlongkorn University added: “We had a good cooperation among all the relevant stakeholders in the last months and could provide training and experiences of the pilot project to shipping agencies and other major Thai ports”.

After the closing ceremony, the participants of the event had the opportunity to a site-visit of the vicinity of Bangkok Port to learn more about the Ship Waste Management and Bangkok Port.

A tiffin carrier filled with rice and Thai-style lou mei often shows up in movie scenes when characters reminisce about their peaceful and simple childhoods. In today’s world, simplicity is only valued when it’s synonymous with speed. Food services and delivery are stripped down to provide meals as fast as possible. To find a way to connect the services with environmentally friendly solutions, “Rethinking Plastics” has been providing funding support a project proposal by the Phuket Environmental Foundation. As Phuket’s economy took a hard blow from the covid-19 crisis, food delivery services started to gain popularity. But so did the waste from these services. In response, the foundation launched a pilot activity called “Take PINTO” to reduce plastic waste from packaging with participating restaurants. (“Pinto” is a Thai word for tiffin carrier.)

We followed up on the project participants and the Phuketians’ views on plastic. These are a few points that we have learned:

Uánn-tsân: a symbol of sharing

Tiffin carriers might be commonplace for Thai people elsewhere, but for Phuketians it is a part of the Hokkien immigrant community that had settled in Phuket when it was still a mining district. The tiffin carriers, or uánn-tsân in Hokkien, were used by laborers to carry their lunches and by Buddhists to bring food offerings to temples. Many Thais can easily picture ngo hiang, o-aew, or Hokkien mee in an uánn-tsân.

The former mining town has now blossomed into a tourism hotspot. The local cuisine has evolved thanks to the tourists, outnumbering the locals by 33 times, who have introduced a variation of cuisines to the islanders.

 “Reviving the use of tiffin carriers is not an easy feat. By expanding our project, we’ve heard from restaurants that some foods like pizza and cakes won’t fit or only fit awkwardly in tiffin carriers. There’s also the question of cleanness. Still, customers share our vision and frequent the restaurants to help reduce plastic waste.”

Prof. Amm, or Chantinee Boonchai, the head of Less Plastic in Phuket Project and a lecturer at the Faculty of Technology and Environment, Prince of Songkla University, Phuket Campus, shared her experience from working in this project from the beginning.

“Actually, civil workers in Phuket are already using tiffin carriers to reduce waste. Tiffin carriers are often used to bring lunch that they can eat together, making them a symbol of sharing,” Prof. Amm continued.

The project distributed around 60 tiffin carriers to the pilot restaurants to circulate among regular customers as an alternative to single-use plastic containers. But we also explored that a handful of customers only ordered the minimum amount to get a carrier and never bothered to return it”!

 Tam Sang-Tam Song

You might wonder where to order food in a tiffin carrier. Surely you can bring your own to a participating restaurant or get one from the project to circulate. However, when it comes to delivery services, the approach isn’t well received by the major food delivery platforms due to their established processes.

Enter “Tam Sang-Tam Song”, a food delivery platform that promotes fair business. It was born in Bangkok from the idea of Professor Bo, or Akkanut Wantanasombut, who had observed how bike taxi drivers lost their business when people started working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. He then looked for a way to help them keep their livelihood: by delivering food.

 “We have to accept the fact that it’s never going to be widely successful. We can’t compete with the big guns. Tam Sang-Tam Song is an app developed to make food delivery fair for riders, restaurants, and customers. At the peak of the pandemic, people switched to working from home, and it hurt the bike taxis’ business. So we came up with this project to help them adjust and earn their living fairly with food delivery. That was my initial idea.”

Fairness is the focus of Tam Sang-Tam Song. Apart from being a bike taxi platform, the app offers food delivery service at reasonable prices. There’s no commission fee for restaurants, so they are not forced to reduce portion sizes for delivery customers. However, these are traded for the higher fees on the customers’ end to ensure fairness for every party.

 How is it related to tiffin carriers?

 Professor Bo said that while developing this project, he was shown a study suggesting that some customers don’t mind paying more for packaging or delivery options that are environmentally friendly. This led to a collaboration between Take Pinto and Tam Sang-Tam Song in Phuket.

"I used to work in customer service but lost my job during Covid-19. I was already delivering food while looking for a new job. I used to be a research assistant for a professor, so after learning that I was taking rider gigs, the professor connected me with Professor Bo to work on his small platform called Tam Sang-Tam Song."

View, a Phuketian and the sole female rider of Tam Sang-Tam Song, shared this with a smile from her orange electric motorcycle. Aside from being a rider, she is also the representative in negotiating with new restaurants, promoting the app, and finding customers; a proud team of one.

 Most of the customers who use tiffin carriers are conscious of social issues like employment and environmental issues. As a result, they are willing to pay higher delivery fees than on other platforms in the market that try to compete by cutting down prices, and give up the convenience of plastic utensils.

Economy vs Environment

"We’re still trying our best to educate the people in Phuket about plastic, holding school talks and workshops for hotels looking to adapt for the environment. Still, you can’t deny that right now the main incentive for people to change is their livelihood. If an adjustment helps reduce business cost while being eco-friendly, it tends to be more welcomed." says Professor Viroj Phutong, Chairman of the Phuket Environmental Foundation

Professor Viroj voiced his opinion, which also reflected what we’d heard from business owners earlier : Environment concerns alone are not enough to convince people, especially when the economy is recovering from the covid-19 slump.

"There’re still a couple of carriers free. The rest are already taken by customers. I told them to go ahead and use one at any restaurant and not just mine," said Aunty Daeng, the Phatthalung-born owner of a Southern Thai restaurant, while the savory smells of gaeng leung and gaeng tai pla bombarded the olfaction. 

"I’m still using those five-cent Styrofoam boxes. I want to change but I can’t afford to. If there’s another choice at a good bulk price, I don’t mind taking it."

One next step of the Phuket Environmental Foundation and Tan Sang-Tam Song is to procure environmentally friendly packaging in bigger amounts. 

However, it takes time and economical sustainability to change people’s minds, as well as joint efforts from several sectors apart. Multiple parties need to support each other to make it happen.

We’re closing this article with inspiring words from Professor Am, the overseer of Take PINTO project:

"We need to believe in the power of rejection. If your favorite restaurant offers plastic straws and cups, you’re free to refuse. Then do the same in your next visits until they remember you as a regular customer who rejects plastic utensils. And whether you’re a regular customer or not, rejection will set an example for others and let them know that there are people who want to change."

Learn more about the “Rethinking Plastics” pilot project in Phuket here: Rethinking Plastic - Less Plastics in Phuket (rethinkingplastics.eu)

Text and pictures: Harmish Muszid for “Rethinking Plastics”

Dugongs, or 'Duyung' as they are called by Libong islanders, are animals whose history with the people of Libong goes generations back.

A tale told by folk songs has it that there once was a fisherman who would bring home some seagrass for his heavily pregnant wife every time he went fishing. She was very fond of the taste of the seagrass and became so obsessed that one day she left home to forage for seagrass and never returned. She eventually turned into a mermaid or duyung bound to the sea, so the fisherman followed her into the sea as well.

This romantic story is written on a small sign in a corner of Hat Yao Pier, Trang. It reflects the deep connection between Trang residents and dugongs. Early in an overcast morning, the project team boarded a boat to follow up on another project on plastic waste disposal financed by the “Rethinking Plastics” project and implemented byIUCN and the residents of Libong.

 "Trang is the largest source of seagrass in Thailand. The majority of Trang’s coastal zones are covered by mangrove forests with rich biodiversity. This includes seagrass meadows, which serve as nurseries for many marine species, as well as food sources for dugongs."

 

Kittipan “M” Sabkhoon, the main coordinator of Libong’s community project to tackle marine debris, told us on the boat as we looked at the mangrove forest lining the Andaman Sea. A representative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), he works with the people of Libong Island and neighboring communities to reduce the impacts of marine debris.

 "The communities here were already active on the issues since they cherish nature so much, and already knew about microplastic contamination in food. We are financed by “Rethinking Plastics” to help the communities develop their projects more systematically. My job is to offer knowledge and help them utilize it. The problems with garbage here are caused by the communities, tourism, and marine debris all combined."

 Like other regions in Thailand, waste issues here are brought about by the rapid development that transformed the lifestyles of residents. The impacts of plastic waste on aquatic lives including dugongs are tragic to say the least. 

In 2019, a female dugong calf called "Mariam" was separated from her mother and stranded on Ao Teung Beach, Krabi. Experts brought the malnourished orphan to Libong Island, where she had easy access to food sources like seagrass meadows and could be among conservationists and dugong-loving islanders. Being adorable and human friendly as she was, Mariam quickly won over the public’s hearts. However, soon she got attacked by a local dugong and fell ill. Mariam’s health deteriorated until she eventually died. An autopsy found that she had plastic waste clogging intestines as well as blood infection. The news caused a major wave of awareness of marine plastic pollution in Thailand.

"I was running a soy milk stall with my aunt in Bangkok at the time. When I heard the news that Mariam was dead, it upset me that my hometown had fallen so low. So, I went home to help them (the islanders) clean up garbage."

Said Ki is one of the community leaders of Libong. It is clear that the people on Libong Island are familiar and feel connected with dugongs. After returning from Bangkok to help collect garbage, Ki made a living by collecting marine litter with a boat to sell to the recyclers. Most of the waste that can be sold for a good price is fishing nets strewn in the sea.

"Where there are people, there is garbage. The pier, for example, was cleaner before 7-Eleven arrived. Now more shoppers and tourists mean more garbage, and there’s no end to collecting. I want our sea to stay beautiful like this."

This is another voice that reflected the changes of Libong from Liah, the community leader of Village No. 6 from Hat Yao. Working as traffic manager on the route between Hat Yao Pier and Libong Island, Liah started placing different types of garbage cans at the pier. Every week, she and the ladies from Village No. 6 would sell the garbage to the recycler and keep some for handicraft in the community crafting project that brings extra income for the village.

Libong is a small island of 35 square kilometers with an approximate population of 3,500 people, almost all of which are Muslims. Libong is neither a tourist hotspot nor a recreational retreat, however, its culture is quite interesting. The men fish and tap rubber trees, while some of the women drive sidecar motorcycles for tourists beside managing their houses. Visitors tend to be those interested in learning their way of life or seeing dugongs. There is a marine observation tower at the end of the island, making it a destination where people of all ages can appreciate the biodiversity.

The Libong Archipelago Wildlife Reserve on the east of Libong is an important natural resource of Thailand. Libong’s shallow waters house an abundance of seagrasses. When the tide recedes, large expanses of seagrass meadows can be seen. If the seagrasses die out, not only dugongs will disappear, but sea turtles and many other species of fish in the ecosystem as well. In addition, the seagrass also helps clean polluted water for the people and animals residing around Trang waters.

 If you ask the islanders for the protector of duyung, they will probably tell you to look for a lodging business called Libong Camp and ask for Chatra as she is the person who found Mariam stranded on the beach. She was an advocate for the dugongs and provided for the volunteers and veterinary team that came to work on the island. 

"Libong is famous for ecotourism. People come here to watch dugongs. In the shallows when the tide goes out in the morning, you can see marks left by grazing dugongs. We recognize all dugongs. Mariam was the youngest and the last who arrived here, but she was popular because of her attachment to humans. Humans fed her milk. Mariam was also attached to an orange canoe nicknamed "Mama Orange". Whenever she saw it, she would hurry over as if it was her mom."

Chatra brought us on a sidecar motorcycle into the Libong Archipelago Wildlife Reserve, then led us through the forest on foot. Litter, milk boxes, water bottles, and overfilled garbage cans lined our path. Chatra said that a garbage can placed here always fills up in a flash because tourists assume that someone will just come and empty it. Then we walked down to a serene beach. The water was clear and the sand white as expected from the Andaman Sea. Despite that, it was hard to take the eyes off the stranded litter that was strewn along the coast.

 "We can’t get all the garbage no matter how much we collect, but we keep trying because the sunset here is the most stunning. I want visitors to enjoy it without all the garbage."

 When asked what changes the garbage found in Mariam's intestines had inspired in the islanders, Chatra said:

 "Pieces like ropes, plastic bags, and straws are carried over by the seawater and get stuck in the seagrasses. When they graze, the dugongs have no idea what they’re eating. The communities here have always been proactive about garbage because we cherish our island. After the Mariam incident, we have volunteers from the island and outside to help remove garbage from the seagrass beds. We’ve been losing a lot of seagrasses as well."

Research from Chiang Mai University found that Thailand had 200 surviving dugongs, and most of them are found in Trang. Repopulation of dugongs is not a job for the volunteers, conservationists, or netizens alone, but the key is enforcement of laws against illegal fishing and wastewater discharge into the environment, plastic waste reduction by all parties from manufacturers to consumers, as well as spreading of knowledge on the importance of the ecosystem through schools and mainstream media.

 The communities on Libong Island and the whole Trang are dedicatedly doing their parts to protect the ecosystems of their hometown. However, the responsibility lies on consumers to mind the plastic use as well, because if seagrasses, dugongs, marine lives, and the ecosystem of Trang deteriorate, not only the locals will lose their way of life and income from tourism. If dugongs go extinct, our descendants will only know dugongs as a pregnant woman from the folktale. 

Learn more about the “Rethinking Plastics” activities on Koh Libong here: https://rethinkingplastics.eu/pilot-projects-en/93-a-circular-economy-for-islands

Ready for the journey? Only together can we navigate towards a future free from plastic pollution. On 27 September 2022, Rethinking Plastics warmly invites interested participants to attend the hybrid regional project closing event and join us on a journey along solutions, lessons learnt and results to reduce and prevent marine plastic litter now and in future. 

Expect views and voices, inspiration, ideas and innovative approaches. The project, its pilots and partners will share insights from the joint work along the plastic value chain, across seven countries and two continents in the past 3,5 years.

We are looking forward to exchanging with you about your experiences as well as current trends and concrete next steps towards a circular economy for plastics. 

You are welcome to attend in-person if you are in Bangkok for the full day or can register for online participation in the afternoon. 

Please register to attend here:

• Online attendance: https://bit.ly/RethinkingPlastics_NowAndInFuture_online
• In-person participation: https://bit.ly/RethinkingPlastics_NowAndInFuture_onsite 

The in-person event will be organised between 09:00 and 16:00h Bangkok. The online event will take place from 13.00 to 16.00h (Bangkok, Jakarta, Hanoi), 14.00 to 17.00h (Beijing, Manila), 8.00 to 11.00h (CET). 

Direct Link to online meeting.

We look forward to meeting you again!