Virtual floats reduce waste at Thai festival

LUSCIOUS greens, egg-yolk yellows and delicate oranges flickered across waterways in the Thai capital Bangkok, as virtual projections of the Loy Krathong festival’s traditional offerings reduced waste at the popular event.

The annual festival, celebrated on Monday (Nov 27), saw millions ask forgiveness from the river goddess Khongkha by releasing colourful floats into waters across Thailand under a full moon.

In recent years, environmentalists have expressed concern as Bangkok’s already-clogged waterways are increasingly choked by the plastic and foliage “krathongs”, as the offerings are known.

To combat this, an initiative by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) took a fresh approach to the centuries-old tradition.

Rather than floating the elaborately constructed offerings – which include leaves, flowers, plastic, candles, incense sticks and sometimes coins – people were asked to create digital krathongs.

After colouring in drawings of krathongs on paper, or on their phones, attendees’ sketches were scanned. Then, they were projected onto the city’s Ong Ang Canal.

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“The tradition still remains,” said attendee Chainarong Tumapha, 27. “But we must integrate the festival to be up-to-date, in order to create less impact and less pollution on nature,” he told AFP.

After colouring in her krathong, Phattarika Kiltontiwanich agreed that change was needed. “I’m quite concerned since the environmental issues have grown much bigger,” the 23-year-old said.

The BMA said about 3,700 images were projected across the nighttime waters. “We can see that it’s getting a lot of attention, especially among young people,” Bangkok official Pornphrom Vikitsreth told AFP.

But the numbers were dwarfed by Bangkokians choosing to release the more traditional floats, with officials saying that more than 600,000 were removed from the city’s waters.

The BMA said polystyrene usage was down 3 per cent from last year, with the vast majority of offerings made from natural materials.

As people cast off their floats, tugs and small vessels bobbed in the Chao Phraya River, with workers scooping krathongs from the choppy waters. The collected material will be sorted, with biodegradable elements turned into compost, and plastic sent to landfill.

Near the Icon Siam luxury mall, where krathongs were guided into the Chao Phraya by golden-painted slides, revellers enjoyed a more traditional celebration.

“If we don’t continue (Loy Krathong), our children and grandchildren will not see this,” said 57-year-old Tanaporn Karueksom.

Tourism-reliant Thailand is lining up hundreds of cultural and sporting events, Bloomberg reported last week. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin the week before announced the Winter Festival celebrations, which include Loy Krathong, the Bangkok Marathon and the New Year.

The event is designed to showcase the South-east Asian nation’s unique culture and attract tourists during the high season between November and January.

While Thailand has rolled back most pandemic-era curbs on visitors, average spending per traveller has lagged pre-Covid levels and missed official estimates. 

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has set a goal to raise foreign tourism revenue back to pre-Covid levels, targeting at least two trillion baht (S$76.5 billion) in 2024. AFP, BLOOMBERG