To align with the Draft Sustainable Packaging Management Act B.E. …, which aims to promote sustainable packaging management in accordance with waste management hierarchy and lifecycle management of packaging, the Marine Litter Prevention through Reduction, Sustainable Design and Recycling of Plastic Packaging (MA-RE-DESIGN) project, implemented by GIZ, in collaboration with the Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University, organised a focus group discussion on 16 September 2025 at Surakiart Sathirathai Meeting Room, Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University. The meeting aimed to deliberate legal recommendations to promote sustainable packaging design within a circular economy framework. The outcome of the discussions will contribute to the development of comprehensive legal recommendations, which will subsequently be submitted to the Pollution Control Department.

These legal recommendations have been prepared by the consultant team through a comparative legal study and analysis of international laws, combined with consideration of Thailand’s context and international trade obligations. The proposed recommendations aim to establish supportive legal measures for sustainable packaging design, including:

1. Creating standards for packaging design
2. Opening the market for certification and verification service providers in packaging design
3. Requiring contributions to the Environmental Fund from businesses involved with single-use plastic packaging
4. Enacting laws to support recycling and waste management

Nine experts from the Pollution Control Department (PCD) and the Thailand Institute of Packaging and Recycling Management for Sustainable Environment (TIPMSE), under the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), actively participated in the discussions. The participants collectively agreed that these legal recommendations could be adapted to suit Thailand’s circumstances, thereby paving the way towards a sustainable future in which packaging is environmentally friendly.