Vast sea trash in Thai South to be cleared

BANGKOK, February 9 (TNA) - The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry is assisting local administrative organizations in Chumphon Province in the Thai South to get rid of garbage patches afloat offshore. Chatuporn Burutpat, Director–General of the ministry's Department of Pollution Control, told journalists on Thursday that concerned agencies have worked together to clear the sea wastes off the Chuamphon coast, as instructed by Natural Resources and Environment Minister General Dapong Ratanasuwan. Besides, the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISDA) has already created a model to locate the 10-kilometer-long garbage patches, drifting about 70-80 kilometres from the coast. Chatuporn noted it has not yet known the exact amount of the sea trash, but it is believed the garbage came from a recent massive flooding in the Thai South. "The next step is to use buoys to contain the floating garbage in a limited area before it will be collected and placed on large boats.The garbage will then be sent to a dump site in Langsuan District to be destroyed", the senior official explained. (TNA)