Thailand Is One Of The Top Five Plastic Polluters In The World

PATTAYA, THAILAND - JULY 30: Plastic garbage is piled up at a landfill on the island of Koh Larn on July 30, 2017 in Pattaya,Thailand. Koh Larn which lies just off the coast of Pattaya attracts thousands of tourists a day which stresses the island's infrastructure, along with its waste-management system. A University study is currently underway that looks at the relationship between the number of tourists and the impact on the environment in order to determine the ideal number of daily visitors. Most plastic items, like packaging, tend to be used for very short periods before being discarded. According to a recent published study, Thailand along with China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam are on the list of the world's top-five plastic polluters. Cleaning up plastic pollution in Thailand is a challenge due to cultural, infrastructure and environmental obstacles. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)