Thailand’s chronic air pollution continues to worsen and is destroying people’s health. Mitigating the negative impacts of this problem requires collaboration across boundaries.
With delays to the long-awaited Clean Air Bill, businesses including small-and-medium enterprises are taking whatever steps they can to help improve the quality of the air we breathe.
Situated in Chiang Mai’s San Kamphaeng District, which is among the world’s worst cities for air pollution, Simply Decor Co., Ltd, a green enterprise whose mission is to produce eco-friendly products and give back to the community, has encouraged corn farmers in the province to stop burning their agricultural residue by purchasing the corn waste from them.
The company turns it into an innovative bio-based material that is then used for pulp and paper production.
“We hope that what we are doing can help people living in Chiang Mai breathe fresher air and create a sustainable future for the earth and the next generation,” the company’s CEO Thanakorn Supasa told Thai PBS World.
The Clean Air Bill, a proposed Thai law to introduce comprehensive air quality controls, including addressing pollution sources, is expected to come into effect in late 2025.
The bill first saw the light of day back in 2020 when civil society organizations drafted a first version and submitted it to parliament. The move pressured the Cabinet and other political parties to submit their own drafts.
There are seven drafts of the bill, one from the Cabinet, five from political parties and one from civil society, all of which emphasize the right to clean air as a human right and environmental issue.
The seven drafts of the Clean Air Bill were approved by the Srettha Cabinet in November 2023.
Hazy northern skies
Chiang Mai has long struggled with poor air quality, primarily due to forest fires and crop burning. The burning season occurs every year from February to April, with March the worst month when the city is blanketed with a thick smog.
During this time, residents begin to experience effects of the hazardous air including eye irritation, nasal discomfort and itchy skin.
Sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
“The city’s smog season appears to last longer every year, which affects our health and our quality of life. We need to continue wearing masks to help protect us against air pollution even though the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided,” said Thanakorn, a Chiang Mai native.
According to news reports, on March 29, 2025, the city was ranked the most polluted city in the world with the air quality index in the city reaching 188, which is considered extremely ‘unhealthy’, as of 11:43am, based on air-quality monitoring website IQAir.
A comparative analysis of data from 2010-2021, meanwhile, indicates that people living in northern Thailand, particularly in Chiang Mai and Lampang, have the highest death rates from lung cancer. The hazardous levels of air pollution in the region are cited as one of the main causes of the deadly disease.
Turning waste into a business opportunity
Thanakorn noted that the company was founded in 2002 by his father to create handmade mulberry paper sheets for other companies.
In 2020, the company began to diversify into paper sheets made of the corn waste it would buy from small farmers who burn their fields after harvesting crops.
The company turns these locally-sourced bio-materials into products like paper plates, gift boxes and paper bags, all biodegradable and friendly to the environment. The products are mainly exported to European countries.
“Burning stubble is a quick and easy way to prepare land for farming. That’s why it has been practiced for so long,” he said.
The move has enabled the company to not only help cut the rate of crop burning, but also keep abreast of environmental sustainability trends.
“People are becoming more conscious of how their choices impact the planet. Many of them prioritize environmental issues and sustainability in their purchasing decisions. In particular, Gen Z consumers seem to care more about sustainability. They prefer to buy sustainable brands,” he said.
From corn waste to sustainable materials
Thanakorn said his company has worked with a community enterprise in Chiang Mai’s Ban Ton Pao Village, where the company’s facility is located, in convincing farmers to stop burning their agricultural waste. They educate them about the health-related impacts of burning residue and buy the waste from them.
“Corn stalks, husks and cobs are ubiquitous in the province. They often end up as waste after the kennels are stripped to use as animal feed. We offer to buy them from farmers at a high rate to convince them to sell,” he said adding that most fields are located on steep, rocky mountain slopes meaning that collecting the waste for sale wouldn’t be worth money and time.
He urged the state agencies across all levels to work together to tackle the problems of agricultural residue and burning. He floated an idea that the government should buy the waste from farmers to process and make it into useable products for sale.
Collaboration and taking action are important in solving the problems of air pollution and the environment, he noted.
Thanakorn said the company has been supported by the National Innovation Agency in using a technological innovation in the production process to improve the quality of products and also make them friendly to the environment and sustainable.
This technological innovation helps cut the company’s energy usage and emissions of harmful gases released into the atmosphere while reducing its environmental footprint, he added.
Pulp and paper products are completely biodegradable and environmentally friendly as they are made from naturally renewable resources including corn waste, making them truly sustainable, he noted.
“We are very proud of being part of helping improve the air quality in the region and saving the planet,” he said.
Nakornping Energy Research and Development Institute of Chiang Mai University estimates that more than 300,000 ton of corn husks are wasted each year. They can be processed into animal feed and biomaterials.
From trash to treasure
In addition to the corn husk paper initiative, Chiang Mai’s San Kamphaeng District Office together with Thailand’s leading agro-industrial and food conglomerate recently rolled out a ‘free eggs for leaves’ program to help cut leaf burning.
Running from February 7 to May 15, 2025, the district’s residents were encouraged to collect dry leaves in exchange for fresh chicken eggs, 1 kg of leaves for 1 egg.
“Personally, I think it’s a great idea. It directly benefits farmers who took part in the program,” Thanakorn said.
He urged the government to modify the program to enable participants to make the most of it.
He suggested creating a token exchange that would allow them to swap leaves for other essential items like fertilizers, agricultural tools, blankets and clothes.
Thanakorn also urged the public and private sectors to come up with innovative ideas and take urgent action to address the pressing challenges around air pollution and the environment.
“I watched a sci-fi movie on Netflix about our future world. Tomorrow’s people raised a question as to why people in today’s world are wasting resources. We’re not saving them for future generations. So, it’s time to save the earth, protect the environment and leave a thriving world to the generations to come,” he said.
