Thailand’s festival honoring rivers also pollutes them

By TASSANEE VEJPONGSA
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Thais flocked to rivers and lakes to release small floats adorned with flowers and candles in an annual festival honoring the goddess of water, with thousands of the tiny boats ending up clogging and polluting the country’s waterways. Within hours of the Loy Krathong festival on Friday evening, workers began trawling the rivers to fish out the offerings. A Thai marine biologist says getting people to stop using harmful materials such as plastic foam for their floats remains the priority because they cause the most damage to the water and aquatic life. He says the number of endangered sea creatures found dead ashore doubled from 2017 to 2020. Some conservationists advocate a more radical solution, such as a virtual festival, especially during the pandemic.