BANGKOK, Dec 19 (TNA) – Thailand’s media conglomerate
MCOT Public Company Limited and seven other television station operators join a
campaign to reduce single-use plastic by banning the images of single-use
plastic on TV programmes.
The Department of Environmental Quality Promotion (DEQP) and
the TV broadcasters on Wednesday signed an agreement aimed at raising awareness
among the public about the threat of single-use plastic to the environment.
Executives from MCOT, NBT, Thai PBS, Workpoint TV, ONE31,
GMM25, Channel 8, and Channel 7 signed the agreement in the hope for raising
awareness among their viewers.
Banning the images of the products on TV programmes would
discourage the availability of single-use plastic bags, said Minister of
Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-archa.
The censoring was the latest effort to cutback plastic use
in Thailand as major shops and stores planned to discontinue giving out plastic
bags from January 1, he said.
The discontinuation of plastic bags is expected to help cut
down plastic bag usage by 30 percent, or about 12 billion bags a year and
reduce 2.7 million tons of plastic waste a year.
In 2022, a ban on Styrofoam food packages plus other
single-use plastic items, will also come in effect. (TNA)
