PUBLISHED : 29 Nov 2023 at 04:00
Almost 640,000 krathongs, most of which were made from natural materials, were collected from Bangkok’s waterways after Monday’s Loy Krathong festival.
More than 3,000 digital krathong were also virtually floated in Klong Ong Ang for the first time.
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) staff began collecting krathongs, or floats used in the festivities, at 8pm on Monday and finished sorting them at about 5am yesterday.
Staff members amassed 639,828 krathong, up by 67,226, or 11.74%, compared with last year, Ekwaranyu Amrapan said yesterday.
He said 618,951 of the collected krathongs, or 96.7%, were made from environmentally friendly, biodegradable materials such as banana tree trunks, banana leaves, cassava, cane bagasse and bread. This was more than last year’s 95.7%.
This year, 20,877 krathongs were made from Styrofoam, or 3.26%, a decrease from last year’s 4.30%.
Klong Sam Wa district had the most floats with 31,575, and the highest amount of krathong made from natural materials at 31,560, while Pomprap Sattruphai had the fewest with 160.
Bung Kum district had the most foam krathongs at 1,579.
Thirty-four public parks opened for the public to float their krathongs, attracting 290,886 people. A total of 88,011 krathongs were collected from public parks. Three of the most popular ones were Benjasiri, Lumpini and Benjakitti parks.
The collected krathongs will be sent to waste disposal centres, Mr Ekwaranyu said.
The floating of digital krathongs via projection mapping was organised by the BMA for the first time at Klong Ong Ang. A total of 3,774 digital krathong were floated virtually in the canal.