The Thai Cabinet has approved a roadmap to make disposable plastics illegal. The ban will take effect on 1 January 2021.
Over the recent weeks, dozens of shopping malls and retail chains, including 7-Eleven, Central, HomePro, and Big C have joined an agreement to stop using plastic bags commencing January 2020.
In an effort to reduce the use of single-use cups and encourage environmentally friendly consumption, some Thai cafés have introduced a special system of bonuses and incentives. According to Amazon Café, the number of customers who bring their own cups for coffee in exchange for a THB 5 discount soared from around 1.8 million in January to 2.2 million by August this year.
By year end, Thailand will also shut down the production of three types of plastic: microbeads, cap seals, and oxodegradable plastics, whilst by 2022 the Kingdom will be free of other types of disposable plastics.