Curbing marine debris in Asia

Doing his part: A man recycling plastic bottles at Xa Cau village in Vietnam. — Reuters

BANGKOK: Thai zero-waste advocate Thanaboon Somboon never leaves his home without what he calls a full “weaponry” of reusable shopping bags, coffee tumblers and stainless steel straws for his daily battle against single-use plastic.

“I saw news of trash overflowing the world ... sea animals dying from eating plastic ... I felt I must do something,” said the 48-year-old entrepreneur, who leads an online community of over 20,000 people seeking to practise a waste-free lifestyle.But individual efforts alone can’t fully stop the eight million tonnes of plastic that make their way to the ocean each year, and with four of the five worst ocean polluters in South-East Asia, the region’s governments must take action, he said.