Phuket pledges to end use of foam and plastic in 2019

Phuket (Laem Sing Beach pictured above) aims to reduce, and eventually, remove all foam and plastic usage

Hot on the heels of Koh Samet’s plastic clampdown, Phuket will become the next tourist destination in Thailand to tackle plastic pollution with a new initiative to ban the use of plastic and foam.

Phuket’s No Foam No Plastic initiative was announced earlier this month when the island’s key public and private sectors came together to sign a MoU at the Phuket Sustainable Tourism Blueprint 2018.

Phuket (Laem Singh Beach pictured above) aims to reduce, and eventually, remove all foam and plastic usage

Stakeholders of the MoU included Phuket Province and heads of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket Office, Phuket Tourism Council, Thai Hotels Association Southern Chapter, Phuket Industrial Council, Patong Hotels Association, Kata-Karon Hotels Association and the Phuket Chamber of Commerce.

The local administration will promote the No Foam, No Plastic effort among the local community and tourism stakeholders to stop using foam containers for food or other items, effective February 14, 2019.

The next phase of the initiative, starting October 1, 2019, will seek to encourage people to switch entirely to paper or eco-friendly bags and straws.

TAT governor, Yuthasak Supasorn, said in a statement: “This is an important step in the right direction in line with the Thai government’s Thailand 4.0 sustainable tourism development goal. Hopefully, Phuket will be a positive case study that the whole country could follow.”

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