Toxic junk kills marine life

Bangkok – A green turtle was choked to death by toxic waste in Thailand’s east coast, one week after a pilot whale died after swallowing plastic bags in the south of the country, officials said yesterday.

The 7kg turtle was sent to Thailand’s Eastern Marine and Coastal Resource Research and Development Centre on June 4 for medical care after washing up on the eastern province of Chantaburi, said Supawat Karnadireklarp, the centre’s director. It died two days later. An autopsy revealed a large chunk of rubber bands, remnants of plastic bags and fishing nets in its stomach, Supawat said.

“Plastic bags look like either seaweed or jellyfish to turtles. They can’t tell the difference,” he added.

Last month, a small male pilot whale was discovered in a canal near the Thai-Malaysian border in the southern Thai province of Songkhla.

After a five-day rescue operation, the whale vomited out five plastic bags and later died.

An autopsy found about 80 plastic bags weighing 8kg in the whale’s stomach.

The recent deaths of marine life from toxic waste highlight Thailand’s dangerous plastic habit and the lack of proper waste management, ecologists say.

Last year, the southeast Asian country generated up to 27.4 million tons of household garbage, with less than one-third being recycled or reused, according to government agencies. – DPA