Mr. Pornphrom Vikitsreth, Advisor to the Governor of Bangkok and the first Chief Sustainability Officer of the BMA revealed that the pond within Peace Park, Ratchathewi District, was affected by the Loi Krathong Bread Festival, causing the water in the pond to become polluted and many aquatic animals to die. From the survey data, it was found that people floated krathongs on Loy Krathong Day on 27 Nov. ’23, a total of 6,800 pieces. Most of them are krathongs made from bread, about 4,000 or 58.8%. The bread basket will decompose and sink to the bottom of the pond, dissolving with the water. This makes the officials unable to collect all the Krathongs affects the water quality and causes the death of aquatic animals. To date, the Environment Agency has completed the rehabilitation of the pond in a total of three and a half months. Throughout the restoration period, staff removed wastewater and vacuumed out the sludge in the pond. After that, they removed germs caused by decomposition in the soil at the bottom of the pond from organic residues and dried the soil to disinfect. Next, the pH is adjusted with lime before adding new water, which takes time for each step. 

Therefore, Loy Krathong in 2024 requires a serious review of measures to reduce waste from Loy Krathong, including setting clear guidelines for Loy Krathong in places with closed ponds or limited space, including in rivers and canals. We will campaign for Loi Krathong online or choose to use natural materials that are appropriate for the area because bread flour krathongs contain microorganisms but the process of decomposition requires oxygen. Therefore, the oxygen in the water will decrease. Even though it is fish food, if the fish does not eat it all and does not receive enough oxygen, it will cause the fish to die as well.