Thailand began the year with a ban on single-use plastic bags at major stores, continuing a campaign launched by the government and retailers towards a complete ban in 2021 to reduce waste and debris in the sea.
![Thailand kicks off 2020 with plastic bag ban](https://media.zenfs.com/en-US/reuters.com/9a7f2e4f31e9de99ab6bfcda0a70d8e4)
"Thailand was ranked sixth among the world's top countries that dumps waste into the sea," Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-Archa told reporters on Wednesday after handing out reusable bags to the public.
The ministry says the country reduced the use of plastic bags by 2 billion, or about 5,765 tonnes last year, in the first phase of campaign to encourage consumers’ voluntarily refusal of plastic bags from stores.