The daily consumption of single-use plastic bags (SuPB) in Thailand is 500 million bags/day. Landfill is the disposal site for solid waste and many SuPB litter the land and enter tributaries of main rivers in Thailand, discharging plastic waste into oceans.

Khon Kaen is one of the biggest provinces in Northeast Thailand. It is home to one of the oldest and biggest universities in Thailand – Khon Kaen University (KKU). Northeastern Thailand is also among the poorest in Thailand and many still depend on agriculture as the source of livelihood.

Khon Kaen is also facing increasing problems with solid waste management (SWM) with the increase in urbanization and commercial activities. Almost all of Khon Kaen’s solid waste ends up at its landfill which is fast approaching its capacity. Plastic waste, especially single-use plastic, also increases with the increase in solid waste, further straining the landfill and the SWM system and infrastructure. Among the major contributors to the plastic waste problem is the food services, especially street food services.

The Mekong Institute (MI) in partnership with the Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS) based in Brussels are implementing a project that seeks to identify suitable single-use plastic reduction solutions for street food vending complexes (SFVC) in Khon Kaen.

The one-and-a-half-year project will engage local stakeholders through bilateral meetings and community outreach programs, supported by communication and advocacy materials. The SuPB reduction solutions will serve as input to the policies and guidelines that will be developed and implemented by local authorities through public awareness and information package/hub, volunteer capacity building and empowerment, vendor information package, and training.