Khao Yai National Park Officials Mail Rubbish Back To Tourists Who Litter

Don’t litter in Thailand’s national parks

If you’re one of those people who can’t dispose of your trash in a bin properly, you might be in for a big surprise like these tourists who visited Khao Yai National Park.

On Tuesday, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa suggested that Khao Yai National Park officials started to deliver all the trash that was left behind back to their “rightful owners.”

Image credit: Khaosod

Items that have been sent back included snack wraps, soda bottles, plastic bags, and items as harmful as an empty gas can used for outdoor stoves.

It appears that the park’s officials had a lot of humour as they also put a note in a parcel that read, “We kindly return your forgotten belongings,” signing off as “Khao Yai National Park” at the end, as seen in a photo shared by Khaosod.

Most of the litterbugs were campers who came to the park’s campsite for a peaceful retreat in nature and rented out the tents to stay overnight.

From my experience, renting any facility from the national parks requires registering with an ID card, which explained why the officials had the campers’ address in the first place.

Harsh punishment

Picture of trash left scattered by tourists at Khao Yai National Park in 2018
Image credit: สีสันโคราช

After receiving a load of garbage, the litterbugs might have to keep their eyes peeled for police summon letters, because park officials reportedly filed a complaint with the police regarding the tourists.

Allegedly, the tourists violated the 2019 National Park Act by littering which could damage the park’s ecology. For doing so, wrongdoers can be jailed for up to 5 years and/or fined up to ฿500,000.

Think about this next time you mindlessly throw away your rubbish, not just in national parks, but in any public place.