Currently approximately 9 million tons of plastic enter the world's oceans annually. This is a major transboundary problem on a global scale that threatens marine wildlife, coastal ecologies, human health and livelihoods. Our concern in this paper is with the environmental governance of marine plastic pollution that emanates from Thailand, the sixth biggest contributor globally. By zooming in on land‐based polluters in Thailand, we highlight both the systemic nature of the marine plastic problem and the relative impunity with which drivers of transboundary environmental harm function at all levels of governance. Drawing from 19 interviews conducted with actors from the public, private and non‐profit sectors, we examine three stages of the problem: production, consumption and waste management. We found that three major barriers prevent Thailand's government, private sector and citizens from engaging in the sort collective action needed to reduce marine plastic pollution. They are: (i) insufficient incentives to enact political change; (ii) scalar disconnects in waste management; and (iii) inadequate public and private sector ownership over plastic waste reduction. As the state alone cannot change corporate and consumer behaviour, we argue that multi‐stakeholder efforts across organisational scales of governance and administrative boundaries are needed to address the barriers.

中文翻译：

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泰国海洋塑料污染危机的地缘政治经济

目前，每年约有900万吨塑料进入世界海洋。这是一个全球性的重大跨界问题，威胁着海洋野生动植物，沿海生态，人类健康和生计。我们在本文中关注的是来自全球第六大贡献国泰国的海洋塑料污染的环境治理。通过放大泰国的陆地污染源，我们既强调了海洋可塑性问题的系统性，也强调了跨界环境损害驱动因素在各级治理中发挥的相对有罪不罚的作用。从与公共，私营和非营利部门的演员进行的19次访谈中，我们考察了问题的三个阶段：生产，消费和废物管理。我们发现，三个主要障碍阻止了泰国政府，私人部门和公民参与减少海洋塑料污染所需的集体行动。它们是：（i）缺乏进行政治变革的动力；（ii）废物管理中的标量断开；（iii）公共和私营部门在减少塑料废物方面的所有权不足。由于仅靠国家本身无法改变公司和消费者的行为，因此我们认为需要跨组织规模的治理和行政边界的多方利益相关者共同努力来解决这些障碍。（iii）公共和私营部门在减少塑料废物方面的所有权不足。由于仅靠国家本身无法改变公司和消费者的行为，因此我们认为需要跨组织规模的治理和行政边界的多方利益相关者共同努力来解决这些障碍。（iii）公共和私营部门在减少塑料废物方面的所有权不足。由于仅靠国家本身无法改变公司和消费者的行为，因此我们认为需要跨组织规模的治理和行政边界的多方利益相关者共同努力来解决这些障碍。