“Please do not go to Bang Tao Beach right now. There is too much trash. Please go to Surin Beach instead,” Mr MaAnn told The Phuket News today..
“Tomorrow Cherng Talay OrBorTor officers will join about 30 Russian expats to conduct a mass cleanup along the beach starting at 9am and continuing until midday,” he added.
The slew of trash, including plastic, glass fragments, branches and damaged fishing equipment, lies all along the beach, pushed onto the sand by the current strong southwest monsoon weather.
“Trash always washes up on our shores at this time of year,” Sirinath National Park chief Natthawat Nuisriram told The Phuket News today.
“The trash comes from the ocean, but a lot of it is waste that is thrown into the canals by local residents. The canals flow into the sea, and that trash just ends up on our beaches,” he added.
“I keep asking local officials to help prevent this problem, and I am always asking local communities to help keep trash out of the canals,” Chief Natthawat said.
Officers have already been tasked with clearing up the trash and debris that has washed ashore inside the park area, he added, while praising the efforts of volunteers and local residents who just turn up and help to clear the beach of trash during the southwest monsoon months.
“Thank you to all the people – Thai and foreign – who help by clearing trash from the beaches. The beaches belong to everyone. No single agency can keep the beaches clean alone. It is everyone’s responsibility,” he said.
Chief Natthawat invited any persons wanting to join park officers during the regular cleanups.
“People wanting to join our beach cleanups can just contact our office and tell the officers that they want to help,” he said.
“If need be, people can call me directly on 081-9685725,” Chief Natthawat said.
Meanwhile, scores of officials, airport employees and local residents joined together to clear the Nai Yang Beach of trash debris today.
The cleanup, led by Wattanapong Suksai, Director of the Phuket Provincial office of the Ministry of Natural resources and Environment (MNRE), began at 9am.
Joining the cleanup were MNRE officers along with staff and other employees from Phuket International Airport nearby, led by Kriengkai Chanasuk, head of Phuket airport’s Safety Division.
Additonal reporting by Eakkapop Thongtub