Litterbugs who drop their rubbish in national parks in Thailand may be in for surprise the next time they check their mail - litter they left may have been returned to them. Thailand's Environment Minister has decided to take stand on increasing amount of sweet wrappers, plastic bottles and paper that is strewn across national parks. He has asked park wardens to collect litter and mail it to offending litterbug. It comes with letter that says: "We collected your garbage in cardboard box and sent it to your home. This should be lesson to you, to never again throw away waste anywhere." Additional penalties could come in form of five years imprisonment or hefty $16,000 fine.
severe penalties have been initiated because of litter becoming eyesore in many of Thailand's beauty spots. Park wardens say it is relatively easy to track down and identify offenders, as all visitors to parks are required to register their address when they enter park. Anyone who leaves refuse near their assigned camping spot will be reunited with their waste. Narin Pinsakul, chief of Khao Yai National Park near Bangkok, explained why parks were introducing their return-to-litterbug policy. He said: "It can be dangerous for animals like deer if they eat rubbish and try to digest plastic waste that people leave behind." The Environment Minister said people should only leave footprints behind.
