City cleaners have collected 841,327 krathong baskets which were set afloat on Bangkok's waterways and ponds during the festival on Thursday night. It was found that only 5.3% of them were made from styrofoam.
Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang said the collection of krathong from the Chao Phraya River, local canals, and 30 public parks which had stayed open for the Loy Krathong festival finished about 5am yesterday.
The total number of krathong was up 3.62% compared to last year, when a total of 811,945 baskets were collected.
He said 796,444, or 94.7%, of krathong, were made from natural and biodegradable materials. The other 44,883, or 5.3%, were styrofoam-based.
The percentage of natural and biodegradable krathong used was up from 93.6% last year and the proportion of styrofoam krathongs down from 6.4%.
The governor said the largest number of krathong, 33,257, of which 32,934 were made of natural materials, were collected in Lat Krabang district and the fewest, 230, in Pomprap Sattruphai district.
He said Lat Burana had the highest number of styrofoam krathong, numbering 750 in total.
Mr Aswin said he would continue City Hall's campaign against the use of styrofoam krathong.
