Bangkok Wakes to Less Loy Krathong Mess Than Usual

City workers clean krathongs from ponds and khlongs Tuesday morning in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — When workers went out early Tuesday morning for the messy business of cleaning up Loy Krathong, they were pleased to find most of Bangkok’s krathongs had gone organic.

Subdued celebrations one month after the death of King Bhumibol contributed to fewer krathongs, or floating baskets, than usual being deposited in the capital’s waterways, Bangkok Gov. Aswin Kwanmuang said Tuesday. Of those fished out of the water by cleaning crews, Aswin said fewer than one in 10 were not biodegradable.

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City workers had cleared a total of 661,935 krathongs from the Bangkok’s waterways and parks by 4am.

Of those, 93.7 percent were made from organic and biodegradable materials. They only found about 44,000 of the foam krathongs which were once the norm, about one-quarter the amount recovered last year.

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The krathongs will be sent to three disposal centers in Prawet, Sai Mai, and Nong Khaem districts. Bread krathongs will be recycled to make fish food, biodegradable krathongs will be processed into fertilizer or buried and foam floaters will be sent for recycling.