Bamboo cups, plates and trays, offered on a trial basis to visitors to Sri Nan national park in Thailand’s northern province of Nan as an alternative to plastics, have sold well and officials are considering increasing production.
The Sri Nan national park chief Mr. Bandit Chimchart said that the eco-friendly food containers are made from bamboo and Tongtoeng leaves by communities around the park, with cooperation from Dr. Khemrat Thaloengsri of Chulalongkorn University and his team, under the sponsorship of the Office of the Committee for the Promotion of Science, Research and Innovations.
Dr. Khemrat, however, said that the production of each container costs an average of two baht, which is still regarded as expensive, adding that more research is needed to cut costs so the products can be marketed on a larger scale.
Since the New Year, all national parks across the country have banned the use of single-use plastic bags, plastic and Styrofoam food containers and tourists have been urged to bring their own food containers or use degradable ones.
Each park visitor will be given a ‘Green Heart Passport’ so they can collect stamps up to the level that entitles them to free entrance to any national park.
