FOR THE EXPAT IN ALL OF US! ISSUE 449 13th October 2017
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smokers face stiff penalties for littering beaches
•The• Marine and Coastal Resources Department plans to ban smoking on twenty beaches around the thailand
country next month, including those in Hua Hin and Khao Takiab, after research revealed the extent of the problem of discarded cigarette butts. An examination of just nine square metres of Patong Beach on Phuket by the department’s Phuket Marine Biological Centre found an average 0.76 butts per square metre, which translated into 101,058 butts along the 2.5km beach. Department director-general Jatuporn Buruspat also said it was estimated that more than 100 million cigarette butts were left on the roads in the major cities of Thailand each day. This greatly added to the problem of unnecessary flooding caused by rubbish clogging the drains. He said Phuket, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chon Buri and Songkhla provinces had agreed to jointly invoke Section 17 of the 2015 law on marine and beach resources management as a trial measure. All other beaches were expected to be included into this ban in the future, he said. “Smokers will be required to drop their cigarette butts in provided containers before they enter these beaches” Mr Jatuporn said. Those found flouting the ban could face a maximum penalty of a year in prison and/or a fine of 100,000 baht. The department are also considering measures to curb a related problem - cigarette butts being dropped into the sea from the boats, and AWOL believes this should be extended to include all littering by boats; however, as always, enforcing any measures is the key to making them effective, as well as a change in attitude from those who have been guilty of the practice. We would suggest a properly funded national campaign to educate everybody, similar to what has been carried out in many western nations, regarding the need to dispose of all rubbish responsibly, as well as ensuring facilities, such as regularly emptied bins, are actually easily accessible.