Thailand to declare war on plastic bags - by charging for them

[bluesofa]

4 hours ago, markaoffy said:

I’m always taking items out of plastic bags at checkouts ! Why the hell the staff aren’t trained to ask customers if they want a bag ? But Silly question in LOS

I have asked 7 Eleven this before.

On their website they talk about their initiative to have staff ask if customers want a bag for a single item purchase. It has never happened to me. When I emailed 7 Eleven - twice - asking about this, they have never responded.

[biplanebluey]

OK I dont mind paying say 2 bt for every bag as long as they give me 2 bt for every bag when I take them to the re-cycler.After all,I have just bought that bag so it is now "mine"to do with what I like,but if I take it to the re-cycler,I am selling it now,not giving it away !!!!!!!

[newatthis]

1 hour ago, Airbagwill said:

yet again Thailand is trying to walk before they can run.

 

They seem to love offering little snippets of western culture as the "silver bullet" cure for whatever ills they have identified.

Rather than research the problem and offer a practical solution, some nabob emerges with an idea he/she concocted a few minutes before and then attempts to implement it.

 

they've being doing it with crime, road safety, the environment and now plastic bags!

 

the reality is that Thailand is not a fully developed country (it should be!) and suffers from the concomitant ills of such countries. One of the problems is that plastic bags are an integral part of survival for the poorest people int he country - it contains food , drink water etc in a  way that would otherwise either cost more or be impractical. every street vendor relies on little plastic bags for their business.

As with most of the posters on this thread who see plastic bags only as an aid to supermarket shopping, Middle class shoppers may be able to fork out for them as a luxury but for the bootless and unhorsed they are a daily necessity....Those with little or no money NEED plastic bags to survive nowadays.

 

Rather than copy the WEST, thailand should be looking at the root causes and the real problems caused by plastic bags.

 

The main problem is that the country simply hasn't got a decent waste disposal system and plastic bags that become part of the waste are not properly contained and so take to the wind and spread everywhere.

Rather than yet again penalise the poor, it would be a good idea for the authorities to think seriously about how waste - both industrial and domestic, is handled and do something that would actually make a difference.

 

 

 

 

 

You are correct about the poorer people and their use of plastic bags, however that is no excuse for them throwing their empty drink and food plastic bags out of the back of the songthaew etc. Even a decent waste disposal system can't correct this problem. Maybe, biodegradable plastic bags are the way to go. If they are more expensive, so be it. Some people never learn, except through the pocket.

[djayz]

1 hour ago, Skeptic7 said:

While agreed this is a good idea, highly doubtful the price per bag will be B10-15. More likely B2-3 per, with high end of B5 each.

I hear what you're saying, but a 2-3 Baht per bag "fine" wouldn't deter too many people from using them and make the whole exercise futile. 

[colinneil]

1 hour ago, whaleboneman said:

well why didn't you just tell her 1 bag???

 I did, did she listen? no way.

[impulse]

14 minutes ago, newatthis said:

You are correct about the poorer people and their use of plastic bags, however that is no excuse for them throwing their empty drink and food plastic bags out of the back of the songthaew etc. Even a decent waste disposal system can't correct this problem.

 

From a pragmatic point of view, it would certainly be more humane to enforce the anti-littering laws if there was a reasonable alternative to tossing the trash off the back of a songthaew. 

 

I'm not defending the practice, but I can understand the reluctance to fine people for littering when there aren't reasonable alternatives.  Kind of like I'm not a fan of drivers pulling over to take a leak on the side of a freeway, but I began to understand why they do it when I tried to find a rest room myself.  (I still don't pee on the side of the road myself, but I have empathy for the guys who spend their days plying the roads.)

 

Edited December 17, 2017 by impulse

[Media1]

Funny stuff these people are dumping rubbish roadside with full support of some city halls. There is no recycling bins or established tip sites.

This is another Thai scam to get money. Bla bla it just keeps spinning. Must be part of 20 year reforms lol.

Thais are the problem and there is no education of importance on the environment 

By some subs. Oh while where on the topic in Pattaya the resort of the world. How about the police do there jobs and remove the smoke chimneys off the road. Illegal vehicles killing the environment. No one cares if there poor. Bad luck take the tuk tuk.

[patric23]

To blame the people is easy... plastic bags shouldn't be in circulation at all. This approach would make much more common sense. So people pay but you keep making plastic bags... sure there are many alternatives so that the people don't need to worry about this, and the company who implements degradable packaging should get tax benefits for implementing those changes. And those who don't should be fined if they don't change to other alternatives, not the people. There are enough alternatives to prevent further pollution, it doesn't start with the people, the fish always smells from the head on... and money (greed) has more power than common sense...  I disagree with " Representatives from the plastics industry said it was not their fault per se but the fault of the people and where they throw them after use."

[Media1]

4 minutes ago, djayz said:

I hear what you're saying, but a 2-3 Baht per bag "fine" wouldn't deter too many people from using them and make the whole exercise futile. 

It's a rort like everything else to do with the current establishment.

[Gillyflower]

11 hours ago, markaoffy said:

I’m always taking items out of plastic bags at checkouts ! Why the hell the staff aren’t trained to ask customers if they want a bag ? But Silly question in LOS


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

I shop from time to time at 2 different 7/11s and a Tops small shop on Thae Pae Road and they ask me every time if I want a bag.  I haven't got over the shock of it yet.  In my small town  no bags are given in any food shops (butcher etc) or supermarkets.  There is a very large street market on Saturdays and many of the stands  don't use bags.  A law was brought in.  I stock them all up here in CM and take them home with me.

[ujayujay]

Not provide Plasticbags at all is the only Way. Makro do this sience Years.

[RichardinHuaHin]

Ummm i'll take paper please. 

[orchidfan]

5 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

It is about bloody time that this idea gets discussed and (hopefully!) implemented in Thailand; the sheer number of plastic bags in this country is both shocking and disgusting.

 

I am a figure of awe when I go to my local market, buy my stuff, then whip a used plastic bag out of my pocket for my purchase.

 

"GASP!" "Look at that!" "Wah!" "I didn't know you could do that!" "Double Wah!"

 

Make it five baht a bag, and watch the use of plastic bags plummet. Please.

 

In Hong Kong it's been 50c (about 2 baht per bag)for years. Most people now use  their own environment friendly shopping bags. The local Honkies recoil in horror at paying 50c

[Xiao]

I wish they had forced it 10 years ago. Plastic bags everywhere. They just throw it all around. They even ask for extra plastic bags. Crazy!!!

[Krataiboy]

Let's get a couple of facts straight. First, these plastic bags are not free. Their cost is clawed back through the pricing of goods sold to us by shops, big stores and supermarkets.

 

Anybody who has ever run a business will know this - even if, it seems, the average politician and journalist obviously does not.

 

Second, it wasn't shoppers who created the pollution problem, but major retailers who started giving away free plastic bags as a perk to gain a competitive edge. Predictably, their rivals followed suit - and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Since they, not us, conspired to make the trusty, old-fashioned shopping bags and baskets redundant, it seems only fair these highly-profitable businesses should make a sizeable contribution towards the cost of stemming the plastics sunami.

 

Should the plan to charge for plastic bags go ahead, a pollution tax (along the lines of the carbon tax) should be imposed on the extra profits generated. The saving made by not having to provide any more "free" bags will, one assumes, automatically be reflected by lower shelf prices (Who laughed?).

 

The reassuring truth is that none of us needs to use plastic bags - let alone, in effect, pay for them twice over! There are perfectly good alternatives available. In my own case, a couple of trusty rucksacks left over from my hiking days have served me splendidly, though they do tend to attract some comment.

 

Who cares? Get back to the future and help save the planet.

Edited December 17, 2017 by Krataiboy

[Weeboon Happiness Team]

Whoever feels concerned by plastic waste in Thailand can directly get involved in this awesome project :

 

http://www.benzander.com/deathbyplastic

[ianwheldale]

Plastic bag use reduced by 85% when they did this in UK. I ask them at local Rimping and Tesco to use less bags but often get 4 when 2 will do.

[natway09]

As the manufacturers say it is not the bag, it is how it is used & disposed of.

The klongs are full of them, just discarded by folks who do not understand & do not care

Somewhat akin to  the responsibility of driving a car here, just no thought for anyone but themselves

[Just Weird]

So Thailand is not about "to declare war on plastic bags by charging for them", at all.  This is just a report about an environmental group that thinks that is what should be happening.

[digger70]

First Cigarette Butts Now Plastic Bags,,,,, Why not Fix the Real Problem,,,, The real problem is the People Including the government ..start with supplying rubbish bins ,then collect them at regular intervals maybe twice a week.than Fine /jail the ones who just drop rubbish everywhere ,that would be 95% of Thai people.

[Daveyh]

Great news & long overdue. The plastic bags that are discarded on the roads of Thailand is criminal & the dumping of rubbish on the side of the road or in dense wooded areas must cease ............ people must be made to realise that this is destroying the planet, the ecosystem & especially the fantastic wild life that is abundant here. Fines should be severe for littering anywhere in Thailand & zero tolerance ......... for repeated offenders community service & jail terms until they get the message. It's got to stop ...... I try to see Thailand as a really beautiful place to live, but along every road/street the garbage disposal areas areas are overflowing & it looks disgraceful as if no one cares. In the cities it's especially bad due to the large communities living in close proximity of each other. Sadly, my thoughts are pretty near the mark ..... who does? The local government offices in every province must start to set an example, remove all these mounds of rubbish from the road sides immediately & monitor all litter in their areas & control it 24/7, but are we flogging a dead horse again????

 

Edited December 17, 2017 by Daveyh

[tryasimight]

1 hour ago, Media1 said:

It's a rort like everything else to do with the current establishment.

The urge toThai bash seemingly overwhelms you. If you took the time to read the OP you would see it has nothing to do with the 'establishment' and I presume you mean the Government.

Edited December 17, 2017 by tryasimight

[tryasimight]

1 hour ago, RichardinHuaHin said:

Ummm i'll take paper please. 

And then the tree huggers will go mental.

[lincolnshire poacher]

6 hours ago, wayned said:

They should be like Macro and not provide any bags at all.  If you want a bag you have to either bring one or buy one.  Macro sells them at the checkout stand but they are still plastic.  They should sell reusable cloth bags rather than plastic and charge more for them.  Of course the plastic bags or biodegradable reclaimed waxed paper will still be needed for meat, fish and other perishables.  I have three of them and keep them in the backseat of the truck.  The "kids" in 7-11 are amazed when I show up with my own bag and refuse their bags of plastic within more plastic!

7/11 are one of the worst offenders

[phuketjock]

3 hours ago, quandow said:

This is state law in California, and once you get accustomed to it, it's easy to comply. Now, they use only paper bags (plastic is outlawed), and if you need some paper bags it's a trivial cost, and you can also choose to bring your own bags at no cost to your pocketbook NOR the environment. And, as a scuba diver, I can't tell you HOW many times I saw plastic bags in the Thai waters. These kill turtles who think they are jellyfish, eat them, then plug up their intestines to death.

The difference in cost, and to the environment, of paper versus plastic bags is enormous, look it up

you will be surprised.

[Happyman58]

6 hours ago, colinneil said:

Long overdue, plastic bag use is getting seriously out of hand.

Last week i was in Global house buying blue pipe fittings.

I had 4 different types (only 16 pieces) everyone could fit in my hand, girl put them in 4 different bags, then put the 4 bags in another bag, bloody crazy. 1 bag was enough.

nice to see u back Col Its been boring here since u  have not been around What about educating Thais to put rubbish in bins instead of just throwing it on the ground? You think that is pushing it a bit? Maybe to much for Thais to understand?

[lincolnshire poacher]

3 minutes ago, tryasimight said:

And then the tree huggers will go mental.

The paper could be made from wood of the useless rubber trees, that ought to be acceptable to tree huggers. I've never seen anyone hugging a rubber tree.

[phuketjock]

2 hours ago, ebean001 said:

Charging more may help but not by too much. The answer is

Biodegradable Paper Bags

 

They need to replace plastic altogether. do you really think the drink guy will charge you for the little plastic bag that holds your drink cup? No...he will eat the cost or charge you 5 b more.

Biodegradable Paper Bags are available. Countries need to use them to lower the coat.

I do not know anymore on this subject but I did read it takes 180 days for the bag to degrade.

 

 

http://www.allaboutbags.ca/papervplastic.html

 

This is just one of many websites that dispell your myth.

[phuketjock]

35 minutes ago, natway09 said:

As the manufacturers say it is not the bag, it is how it is used & disposed of.

The klongs are full of them, just discarded by folks who do not understand & do not care

Somewhat akin to  the responsibility of driving a car here, just no thought for anyone but themselves

 

34 minutes ago, digger70 said:

First Cigarette Butts Now Plastic Bags,,,,, Why not Fix the Real Problem,,,, The real problem is the People Including the government ..start with supplying rubbish bins ,then collect them at regular intervals maybe twice a week.than Fine /jail the ones who just drop rubbish everywhere ,that would be 95% of Thai people.

You are both correct this is not a plastic bag problem it is a litter awareness problem.

[tryasimight]

2 hours ago, realenglish1 said:

The most sensible thing  to do is not  charge people for plastic bags ( does not cure the problem) mandate all plastic bag mfg to make bags  from a bio degradable vegetable/plant based product This will cure the problem very very fast

Good idea but it might take longer than you think.

I doubt if a petrochemical based plant/refinery can swing over to what is basically an agricultural product quickly, or if they would even want to.

A whole new facility would need to be funded and built. Suitable feedstock would need to be found or land purchased for the plants to be grown (a lot of them). Then you have the harvesting and transport costs to the processing plant. If the new plant was built in a rural area, then the owner would have to be assured of a guaranteed power and water supply and the availability of suitably skilled workers.

It can all be done - but it's not done overnight.

Of course the bags could always be imported.