Thon said plastic waste is a global issue, as is climate change, and is in fact globally critical, particularly where plastic in the seas is concerned.

If left unattended, it is predicted that plastic waste would increase to over 10 billion tonnes, requiring a load of management.

Thailand, he said, has become the sixth among countries worldwide for dumping plastic into the seas, most of it single-use plastic. And the Mekong River, he added, is ranked among the top 10 rivers polluted by plastic and a major source of plastic waste flooding into the seas, according to Germany’s Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research.

The trend worldwide is to try to reduce plastic from single usage, and Thailand – under the 20-year strategy – will also focus on the three prime actions of reducing, reusing and recycling plastic waste, Thon noted.

However, he also hopes to see the problem being tackled at the source, which is production and consumption.

“We also want to see responsibility being placed on users and producers – it’s the most effective way to deal with the problem,” said Thon, who is a member of the national strategy committee on sustainable growth and environmental sustainability.