WHILE Koh Samui island had a picture-perfect morning with absolutely no rain and the sun shining gently amid some wispy bands of cloud drifting by, the stark reality of global pollution was visible on Bang Rak beach where piles of garbage had washed up, the Thai-language Matichon daily reported today (Dec. 28).
During this beautiful morning, even as some of the fishing and speed boats that had moored to take shelter as tropical storm Tembin raged earlier this week set out to sea to catch fish and service tourists, cleaners were busy collecting massive amount of trash from Bang Rak beach in Bophut subdistrict.
The ugly garbage was a mix of plastic bags and bottles, glass, wood and shrubs.
Beach cleaners from a hotel next to this beach said when the winds and waves were fierce earlier this week, huge amounts of trash washed up.
They had to collect the trash from the strip of beach in front of the hotel every day, and the amount they collected was enough to fill a one-ton 10-wheel truck.
Natural garbage like seaweed decomposes, but things like plastic have to be collected and separated, if not then the island’s tourism business would be ruined, they added.
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Top: Piles of garbage on Koh Samui’s Bang Rak beach. Photo: Matichon