On Environment Day, 5 June, Tesco Lotus and Central Group, two of the largest retail chains in Thailand, announced new measures to strengthen their commitment to reducing plastic use in their operations.
The corporate affairs director of Tesco Lotus announced that the company would eliminate all “expanded polyethylene” packaging across all 2,000 of its outlets by the end of July 2019, switching to recyclable materials instead. Tesco Lotus will also maintain its policy of banning plastic bags on the fourth day of every month in a bid to encourage customers to bring fabric bags or their own plastic bags to reuse. In addition, the chain is scheduled to open its sixth plastic-bags-free outlet on Koh Chang by the end of 2019.
Meanwhile, Central Retail announced its goal to become Thailand’s first plastic-bags-free retailer by the end of 2019. Beginning on World Environment Day, all of the chain’s outlets except its food markets stopped automatically placing purchases in plastic bags. Customers now have to specifically request a plastic bag or bring their own.
(Sources: Thai Visa News; The Nation)
