Waste management urged in tourist sites

BANGKOK, Sept 27 (TNA) – The Department of Health urged tourists to separate trash and reduce garbage on the World Tourism Day today as Thailand recorded increased waste at tourist sites. The department’s Deputy director-general Danai Theewanda said that the amount of garbage has increased rapidly in line with the rising number of tourists, accommodations and facilities. According to statistics of the Department of Tourism, in 2016, there was nearly 170,000 tonnes of garbage per year in Pattaya and Koh Laan and more than 8,300 tonnes of garbage, produced on Phi Phi Island in the southern province of Krabi annually. He noted that according to The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, almost 600 tonnes of garbage was recorded in the Khao Yai national park and over 1,000 tonnes on Doi Inthanon in Chiang Mai each year. The large amount of garbage was thrown away by tourists into the sea and the forest, which has an impact on ecology and food chain, he said while asking tourists to sort garbage and use degradable containers and not to leave trash in natural parks. (TNA)