Ms Tammathin spoke out about Phuket’s trash problem in a video shared online earlier this month by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department (PR Phuket).
In the video, Ms Tammathin first speaks in English, then repeats her message in very clear spoken Thai.
“I live in Phuket and I go for walks all the time. One thing that really upsets me very much is the garbage I see everywhere,” Ms Tammathin said in English.
“One of the problems is that there are no garbage cans. So if Phuket could invest in more garbage cans, maybe the people would use them,” she added.
Speaking in Thai, Ms Tammathin was strong in her message, with moments of exasperation with the problem clearly understood in her expression.
“I like very much to take nature walks in the hills of Karon-Kata. It is very beautiful but one thing I do not like very much is the garbage. There are Thais and foreigners alike who just throw it on the ground. They don’t care, even if it is plastic,” she said.
“If I have something to throw away and there are no garbage cans around, I take it back home with me. But some people just don’t care. They throw it away amid nature. It’s such a waste,” she added.
In Thai, Ms Tammathin urged the government to invest in having more garbage cans installed in public areas for people to use.
She also encouraged Thai people to challenge fellow Thais they see throwing trash on the ground, and to ask them whether they loved their country.
Ms Tammathin also noted that the practice of not throwing garbage on the ground was very important for children to witness. “They learn from what they see others doing,” she said.