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Published on February 24, 2008

Koh Tao or Turtle Island off the coast of Chumphon in Southern Thailand looks set to become the country's first plastic-bag-free zone.

Long suffering from the relentless growth of garbage, local residents recently launched a major campaign to get rid of all plastic bags, which they say are unfriendly to the environment.

"If successful, our small island could be a role model for the rest of the country, especially in tackling garbage and environmental problems," said marine scientist Thorn Thamrongnawasaw-asdi.

On this 21-square-kilometre island, local authorities need to manage as much as 6 tonnes of garbage daily. Of this, 9 per cent or around 500 kilograms is the ubiquitous plastic bags, polystyrene-foam containers and other items which are non-recyclable.

"All this waste is piled up beside a hill in the middle of the island. This mountain of garbage is growing every day," said Chamaiporn Saowalak, a leader of the "Save Koh Tao Club".

Worse is the underwater environment, said Jim Donaldson, a New Zealand scuba diver, who runs Big Blue Diving, a divers' training school on the island.

"Some divers have seen sea turtles suffering after unknowingly eating plastic bags. They thought they were jellyfish. It is such a tragedy," he said.

Growth in the population of local residents and tourists is also blamed for a sharp rise in the amount of garbage. On an average day, the island serves more than 6,000 people. Of this, 1,300 are local residents while the rest are tourists and migrant workers. Therefore every person produces about 1kg of garbage per day.

Tourism and diving services are the island's major source of income, with an annual 320,000 divers visiting Koh Tao, often described as the world's second best dive-training location after Australia.

Such a reputation generates at least Bt2 billion per year for the island's economy.

"Besides its underwater beauty, it is convenient to get here, while the price is reasonable for the good facilities. It's also the most beautiful island in the Gulf of Thailand, with the clearest water in this area," Thorn said.

Realising that widespread use of plastic bags was a problem that could ruin their natural treasure and destroy the local economy, residents set up an environmental-protection club to reduce garbage in various ways including collecting garbage along major beaches.

Last week they tried a bolder move, to make Koh Tao plastic-bag free.

All students on the island took part and paraded along the streets calling on their parents and tourists to separate garbage and to stop using plastic bags once and for all. Cotton bags were distributed to replace plastic ones.

"Some may wonder why we target only plastic bags. I think it's symbolic as far as non-recyclable garbage is concerned. Foam containers are another target, since it takes 1,000 years for them to degrade, thus polluting the environment.

"Our plan is to convince people here to separate their daily waste first, then use the organic waste to produce home-made organic detergent. Hazardous waste could be managed separately, but the big problem is non-recyclable waste like plastic bags, which must be burnt or dumped on the island. So the best way is to stop using them," Chamaiporn said.

Of the 6 tonnes of daily waste on Koh Tao, 60 per cent is recyclable waste, 30 per cent organic waste, 1 per cent hazardous waste and 9 per cent plastic bags and other non-recyclable garbage, according to a Mahidol University survey.

"By stopping the use of plastic bags, the amount of garbage that needs to be dumped will be significantly reduced. That will be good for everyone and the ecology," Chamaiporn said.

Meanwhile, Pensree Rakdham, a member of the Save Koh Tao Club, has started to source biodegradable plastic bags as another alternative.

"Yes, they are three times more expensive, but I will try to convince customers to use the replacements," Pensree said.

Donaldson said he had personally reduced the use of plastic bags in his business, which serves about 50 divers each day.

"All our activities will be less dependent on plastic bags," he said.

Environmentalist Ladda Larpnoon said the response from resort operators on the island had been positive, with cotton bags becoming popular.

Thorn said: "The idea is great and quite practical for Koh Tao with its small area. It also promotes an image of green tourism as well as improving the marine ecology."

Despite the positive response from many residents and tour-operators, Chamaiporn admitted that the initiative was challenging, including having to convince all four 7-Eleven convenience stores on the island to stop using plastic bags or turning to degradable ones.

"There is still a long way to go, but we expect to see some progress by the end of this year," she said.

Kamol Sukin

The Nation