No more plastic seals on water from April 1st
Thailand will begin to stop using plastic cap seals in water bottles beginning April 1 in its effort to decrease plastic waste and save marine lives.
The movement to phase out the use of plastic cap seals was agreed on Tuesday (Feb 13) when state and private organisations signed a memorandum of understanding to stop using the small plastic seals.
They were the Pollution Control Department (PCD), the Office of the Consumers Protection Commission, the Thai Beverage Industry Association, the Plastics Institute of Thailand, and five major manufacturers of bottled water.
Under the agreement, they set target to reduce 2,600 million seals a year and put an end to plastic seals within end of next year.
Mr Wijarn Simachaya, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said the policy to phase out plastic cap seals is under the government’s five-year waste management master plan 2016-2021 after plastic cap seal was found to be a cause of death of marine lives.
To save the lives of marine animals, it was therefore the best alternative to end its use, he said.
Meanwhile an executive of the Thai Beverage Industry Association said manufacturers of bottled water would launch a campaign to educate the people the reason to stop using plastic cap seals so that it would not affect their sales.
He said bottled water is the product that the Ministry of Public Health has set quality standard for manufactueres to produce and cleanliness of the water must be ensured.
With such requirement of the ministry, plastic cap seal is therefore unnecessary, he said.
Under the agreement signed, they will begin phasing out plastic cap seals on April 1 and they expected to reduce more than 50% of plastic cap seal waste.
Source: PBS
