Thailand’s Khao Yai National Park mails tourists’ rubbish back to them
- Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa posts Facebook photo of empty bottles and snack bags packaged in box with note to offenders
- He also warns that littering can be punished by up to five years in prison or a US$16,000 fine
Litterbugs who visit national parks in Thailand may soon start getting an unwelcome present in the post when they return home: a package of their own rubbish.
After numerous visitors had left behind vast amounts of rubbish last weekend in the Khao Yai National Park near Bangkok, Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa had the rubbish promptly packed and sent back to the polluters by mail.
“We collected your garbage in a cardboard box and sent it to your home. This should be a lesson to you, to never again throw away waste anywhere,” it read on the enclosed note.
The campers had previously registered with the park administration, which therefore knew exactly how to track them down after finding refuse near their tents.
Besides the box with their own rubbish, they will now also be registered with the local police for violating the National Park Law, according to news site The Thaiger.
“It can be dangerous for animals like deer if they eat the rubbish, trying to digest plastic waste that people leave behind,” Narin Pinsakul, chief of the park, said.
“Your trash, we will send to your home,” Varawut posted on his Facebook page with an image of empty bottles and snack bags packaged in a box ready to be posted.
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Varawut warned in the Facebook post that littering can be punished by up to five years in prison or an up to 500,000-baht fine (US$16,000) under a law against harming natural environments. Varawut said officials would strictly carry out the law.
Especially popular with hikers, the Khao Yai National Park was opened in 1962 and is the oldest national park in Thailand.
With its waterfalls and impressive plant and animal life, the park stretches across more than 2,000 square kilometres and is considered one of the most beautiful in the Southeast Asian country.
