Two tons of marine trash collected on Patong Beach in two hours

The stunning volume of trash was cleared the sand in a mass beach by by more than 100 municipal officials and staffers yesterday morning (Sept 23), Thinnakorn Khuntaseema, Head of the Sanitation Division of the Public Health and Environment Department at Patong Municipality, told The Phuket News today.

“In just two hours yesterday morning, we collected more than 2,000kg while more trash was still being washed onto the beach,” he said.

“The trash just kept washing ashore, and officers had to keep on collecting it,” he added.

The mass cleanup focused only on the area of the beach south of the Police Box at the end of Bangla Rd, Mr Thinnakorn explained.

“Most of the garbage was glass bottles and plastic bags,” he said.

“There was not a lot of marine trash along other parts of the beach,” he added.

Mr Thinnakorn explained that a lot of waste from the sea had been washing ashore, a fact not unsual during the southwest monsoon from May through October each year.

“So we have officers out cleaning the beach every day, but yesterday there was a lot more than usual,” he said.

Some of the trash on the sand was people dumping rubbish along the beach front, he added.

“Please people don’t leave bottles and trash lying around after having a party on the beach. It is not good for the beach. We have garbage bins beside the beach,” Mr Thinnakorn said.