A study of Key Success Factors and Barriers to Reduce Single-Use Plastic in Thailand

Abstract

The single-use plastics are in the spotlight as a culprit for environment and waste management system in worldwide. A several campaigns and voluntary strategies have been in Thailand under Thailand’s Roadmap on Plastic Waste Management 2018-2030 in order to reduce the number of single-use plastic consumption and waste. This study aims to explore key success factors and barriers in single-use plastic reduction in Thailand through qualitative method. The 25 selected stakeholders are interviewed including government agencies and consumers who are in different background and expertise in order to gather data. The results showed that the interviewed stakeholders point out various factors based on their views. The most predominant key success factors are (1) awareness and values and (2) collaboration. Further suggested measures are (3) financial incentive, (4) consumer behavior, (5) innovation and technology of virgin plastics and alternatives, (6) legislation and (7) single-use plastic price. Based on these results, the study provides four recommended actions for relevant stakeholders in upstream, midstream and downstream to be able to tackle single-use plastic in Thailand effectively.