Lilly, 15, forces Thai government to ban plastic in many places

A young girl has become an environmental icon in Asia. In a country that ranks high in the world for plastic waste dumped into the sea.

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Lilly the Thai Greta

His battle began when he was eight years old, and now that he is fifteen, Lilly-Satidtanasan She can be satisfied with the results achieved. Even though the game is still very much to play for. Thanks to her, and to the popular movement that has grown around her, the Thai government has begun to act seriously, taking severe measures against the plastic bagsBags banned from supermarket chains, plastic items (including cups, plates, and cutlery) and Styrofoam banned from public parks. And first and foremost, no more purchasing waste from around the world, which has polluted the Asian country for decades.  

ALSO READ: Hongyi: China's Greta fighting for the climate. Seventeen years old and full of courage.

LILLY THE ASIAN GRETA

The smiling face of Lilly, nickname of little Ralyn Satidtanasarn, is the new symbol of the green generation with a strong and proactive ecological sensitivity. Like her (almost) peers, from Greta Thunberg to Ou Hongyi, she has decided to use her time to shine a spotlight on the planet's disease, sick with waste, dirt, and plastic. Even at the cost of missing a few days of school, Every Friday Lilly spends hours collecting bags, cans and rubbish of all kinds, navigating the canals and passages of Bangkok's network, aboard a canoe.

Her story begins when she was just 8 years old: during a vacation in southern Thailand with her parents, she was disgusted by the amount of garbage on the sand and in the water. That shock ignited in her a burning desire to do something for the planet, and so, as soon as she grew up a little, she even managed to involve a dozen boys and girls in her project to clean up the country, collecting bags and bags of garbage.

Like Greta Thunberg, Lilly was able to start bringing people together around the problem of waste and plastic bags, which is particularly felt in Thailand: According to statistics, every citizen throws away eight plastic bags a day.An impressive amount, considering that the Asian country has a population of nearly 70 million.

TO KNOW MORE: Greta, the new symbol of a world that wants to change. Her story as a child prodigy, when she began fighting and where she's come from. Despite the criticism (photo)

FIGHT AGAINST PLASTIC BANGKOK

Indeed, one of the main obstacles in Lilly's fight is inappropriate individual behavior, which must be combated with adequate awareness-raising efforts regarding the use of disposable products and proper waste disposal. Lilly starts in schools, talking to her peers, raising awareness among the new generations. With no small number of problems, in a country where the petrochemical sector employs thousands of people and represents 5% of total GDP. 

The battle of Lilly has a particular value, as Thailand is a plastic-dependent countryBefore this widespread campaign and government intervention, Thailand ranked sixth in the world for plastic waste dumped into the sea. And an industrial chain has sprung up around the country's plastic waste, bringing pollution everywhere, enriching only a few powerful local groups who made their fortunes importing waste from around the world. Now it's finally banned.

LILLY AND THE ECONOMY OF FRANCESCO

Drawing on his experience in a land so difficult for environmental issues, Lilly It was intercepted by the group of economists who started the projectEconomy of Francesco,which the Pope holds dear. And she has joined the team of about twenty young people who support the project through their direct experiences, despite the fact that Thailand is a country with a vast Buddhist majority.

(Featured image from Ndtv.com // Photo credits Ndtv.com)

STORIES OF ACTIVISM:

 

 

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