Fifteen supermarket chains have agreed on ‘no plastic bag’ shopping days on the 15th of each month, to reduce usage of plastic bags and the pollution they cause. Pavinee Punnakanta, Director-General of Department of Environmental Quality Promotion, said shoppers at the 15 chains participating in the promotion must provide their own bags on those days. Goods purchased from those stores would not be placed in handout plastic shopping bags or foam packaging at cashier checkout.
The department believed that the project would help reduce the amount of garbage and pollution and lead the way to future sustainable waste management. The 15 chains are B2S, CP All which operates 7-Eleven convenience stores, Big C Superstore, The Malls Group, Foodland, Siam Makro, Robinson, Robinson, Central, Central Food Retail, Central Marketing Group, Rangsit Plaza, CRC Thai Watsadu, CRC Sports, Power Buy and Ekachai Distribution System Co, which operates Tesco Lotus discount stores. The introduction of plastic bag-free days is the result of an agreement signed on Environment Day, June 15th 2015.
