Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is appealing to members of the public to stop using “krathong” (basket) made of bread to float on ponds and other water courses during the annual “Loy Krathong” festival on November 15th, claiming that the bread rots, pollutes the water and may threaten aquatic life.
The Environment Department of the BMA said that, although bread from krathong can be eaten by fish, if there are too many of them the fish cannot eat it all and the remains will sink and cause pollution.
The rotting bread reduces oxygen in the water and this threatens the fish and damages the ecosystem in the ponds.
The department displayed images of a pond in the Peace Park, taken the morning after Loy Krathong last year which, showing it full of krathong, many of which were made of bread.
The department said that almost all of the krathong were collected and removed from the pond, but many others had already sunk, resulting in water pollution and the deaths of many fish.
To rehabilitate the pond, park officials drained it, scooped up the sediment and dried it in the sun. Lime was spread on the sediment and fresh water was used to refill the pond.
The entire restoration process took about four months, after just one night of fun on Loy Krathong, said the department.
The BMA has already banned the use of krathong made of Styrofoam, resulting in many krathong makers using bread or other plant based materials, such as banana trunks.
