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

[phuketjock]

4 minutes ago, tryasimight said:

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.

Some of the more aware supermarkets are already using biodegradable plastic bags.

[ronrat]

I sent a small suitcase over with a mate before I permanently moved here and wrapped everything in resueable cloth bags which I thought would come in handy.  3 months later I arrive and when setting up the new house I asked where about thems they were. Gone to village where hanging up on wall holding bits and pieces of junk that will never be used.

I use the bags from Tesco Lotus  for cleaning up after the dog when I take her for a walk but the  Thais look at me silly .

 

 

[sead]

Problem isnt what they put inside. But the amount and mentality of 1 bag per item. If they want to charge it would be nice if the y would build some factories for recyckling plastics

[impulse]

30 minutes ago, phuketjock said:

Some of the more aware supermarkets are already using biodegradable plastic bags.

 

That's great.  But it's when they catch on and become mainstream that the problems of supply scarcity begin.

 

It's like the guys who ran their cars on used french fry oil.  That works great, too.  Until the demand for cooking oil exceeds the supply of waste oil.  Then they start buying up the supply of new edible oils and drive the price up so the poorest and most vulnerable people can't afford the oil they need to cook with.  We don't even notice that the price of cooking oil has gone way up- it's a minuscule percentage of our discretionary spending.  But it can tip millions of poor people into starvation.    (Same thing happened to corn when ethanol and corn sweeteners became popular). 

 

So the poor become economic migrants.  And that's not working out well for some countries.

 

Switching raw materials isn't as simple as just switching raw materials

Edited December 17, 2017 by impulse

[SunsetT]

7 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.

Wel I hope u refused them!

[SunsetT]

46 minutes ago, phuketjock said:

Some of the more aware supermarkets are already using biodegradable plastic bags.

None that I know of in the UK. I recall Tesco introducing them years ago but they were so weak everyone complained and they were abandoned.

[shackleton]

Keep reading. About people being given plastic bags when not needed 

why don't they just say No?

i personally don't mind the bags as I use for the small house hold rubbish which I then put in a big black plastic bag which is then put in the large plastic bin 

provided by the Condo  Management for each floor emptied twice a day

i take it those consciences  people when buying a iced Latte ect say no to having a plastic cup and provide their own mug cup ect

Salt of the earth 

 

 

 

[elephant45]

Thai's feel like their being disrespected if they dont get everything in a bag...7-11 worst offender.

[johnarth]

7 hours ago, Xonax said:

Let them charge a small amount for plastic bags, but at the same time Thailand need to get a proper recycling system in place.  Garbage Recycling plants is long overdue in Thailand, while they are investing in submarines and high-speed trains.

It is just a myth, that cotton / canvas bags are better for the environment than plastic bags.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/to-tote-or-note-to-tote/498557/

http://www.businessinsider.com/reusable-tote-bags-are-worse-than-plastic-2016-11

the idea with the cotton and canvas bags is to reuse the same ones over and over, and like said before still need plastic for meat, fish etc.

[rwill]

The government said they were getting rid of the plastic security wraps on the bottle tops by the end of the year.  That has not happened yet.

[Kieran00001]

8 hours ago, Xonax said:

Let them charge a small amount for plastic bags, but at the same time Thailand need to get a proper recycling system in place.  Garbage Recycling plants is long overdue in Thailand, while they are investing in submarines and high-speed trains.

It is just a myth, that cotton / canvas bags are better for the environment than plastic bags.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/to-tote-or-note-to-tote/498557/

http://www.businessinsider.com/reusable-tote-bags-are-worse-than-plastic-2016-11

 

Your links do not claim that plastic bags are better for the environment in general, only that their use over tote bags sees less carbon being released, there are other issues, and in a country contributing a significant amount of the worlds sea plastic pollution there is a clear need to reduce plastic waste.

[alex8912]

1 hour ago, sead said:

Problem isnt what they put inside. But the amount and mentality of 1 bag per item. If they want to charge it would be nice if the y would build some factories for recyckling plastics

There are see post #31. 

[wazzupnow]

plastic bags is only a small part of the problem

they should charge 7 eleven (and likewise) extra tax for covering thailand in garbage

i think 1 out of 3 garbage trucks in thailand are carrying 7 eleven waste only

make them pay extra tax

that is where the money is anyway

[473geo]

Ok charge for the supermarket bags to cut usage - I feel this is as far as it may go.

 

It's the small bags that are everywhere, the ones they put ice and a drink in that they keep the bottle for recycling, the ones that you can quickly pop on your wing mirrors on your motorsi, the small bags that allow you to hang up the individual items away from ants and flies. The bags used to separate meat, fish, and veg product.

 

Work it out guys, your home countries are packed with plastic wrapped pre - packed goods is why you can use a cloth bag or similar alternative.

 

Those that 'reuse' bags for their trash, line your bin with paper, it empties ok then wash it, you are no different throwing plastic into the waste process, do not think you are.

 

And yes many homes separate out plastic bottles etc to be collected by the local recycling guys the small plastic bags or non recyclable plastic presentation wrappings are burnt.

 

[janpharma]

If Thailand has to go on war to everything that goes wrong in this country than Thailand is at war with it self...

[Epidemiologist Dave]

Just now, DavetheGreek said:

 

The problem is that 'influential' people own the plastic bag factories.

[xtrnuno41]

8 hours ago, tonray said:

5 baht per bag for Thais, 10 baht for Farang ?

ratio is 1:4

[Kiwiken]

The problem is what to replace the bags with. the alternatives look equally as bad for the enviroment. Paper bags mean deforestation. But further than that is the large amount of shrink wrap used industrially. Plastic is a problem. So are all the synthetics we use.

The problem is can we live in a world without convenience?

[473geo]

Rather interestingly also, my wife has drinking water delivered by the crate, the empties are picked up - charge for a missing bottle in the returns - 10 baht

 

Let us not fall into the trap of thinking because there are millions of small bags floating around Thailand the 'plastics' issue is not addressed in other areas

 

[Jim1000]

In Jomtien we don't mess about with plastic bags , we have our own eco warrior ( ?) who staples  the beautiful beach side  trees with
 100 +plastic A4 size laminate posters  (which nobody reads)    - with the approval of Pattaya City Hall of course !

 

[473geo]

2 minutes ago, Kiwiken said:

The problem is what to replace the bags with. the alternatives look equally as bad for the enviroment. Paper bags mean deforestation. But further than that is the large amount of shrink wrap used industrially. Plastic is a problem. So are all the synthetics we use.

The problem is can we live in a world without convenience?

Yep hot food distributed in awful polystyrene containers and drinks in polystyrene cups, the alternative is not so pleasant. Better to concentrate on disposal education at least until viable alternatives are in place.

 

[Kieran00001]

8 minutes ago, 473geo said:

Ok charge for the supermarket bags to cut usage - I feel this is as far as it may go.

 

It's the small bags that are everywhere, the ones they put ice and a drink in that they keep the bottle for recycling, the ones that you can quickly pop on your wing mirrors on your motorsi, the small bags that allow you to hang up the individual items away from ants and flies. The bags used to separate meat, fish, and veg product.

 

Work it out guys, your home countries are packed with plastic wrapped pre - packed goods is why you can use a cloth bag or similar alternative.

 

Those that 'reuse' bags for their trash, line your bin with paper, it empties ok then wash it, you are no different throwing plastic into the waste process, do not think you are.

 

And yes many homes separate out plastic bottles etc to be collected by the local recycling guys the small plastic bags or non recyclable plastic presentation wrappings are burnt.

 

 

"Those that 'reuse' bags for their trash, line your bin with paper, it empties ok then wash it, you are no different throwing plastic into the waste process, do not think you are."

 

A ridiculous suggestion, of course there is a difference between using something once and twice.

[wvavin]

It is all cheap talk but never seen an action. We shall see if plastic bags are chargeable for roadside stalls foos packets.

[473geo]

1 minute ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

"Those that 'reuse' bags for their trash, line your bin with paper, it empties ok then wash it, you are no different throwing plastic into the waste process, do not think you are."

 

A ridiculous suggestion, of course there is a difference between using something once and twice.

Er......it delays the entrance into the waste process......

[Kieran00001]

6 minutes ago, Kiwiken said:

The problem is what to replace the bags with. the alternatives look equally as bad for the enviroment. Paper bags mean deforestation. But further than that is the large amount of shrink wrap used industrially. Plastic is a problem. So are all the synthetics we use.

The problem is can we live in a world without convenience?

 

Shrink wrap was originally, and can still be, made from plants and 100% biodegradable, there are plant derived and biodegrable alternatives to all the packaging products we are accustomed to, but they are expensive, their uptake will require government incentives to increase the scale to a point where they are an economically viable alternative.

[Kieran00001]

3 minutes ago, 473geo said:

Er......it delays the entrance into the waste process......

 

It replaces one more bit of waste, a true saving.

[xtrnuno41]

People ALLREADY paid for bag, now you have to pay extra. No shop will give for free, its in the price.

Thai dont have garbage cans and use the plastic bags for household garbage.

Thailand doesnt have a real system of garbage handling.

If they have , like on koh Samui, then it is broke and will not fix it. SO what happens? Its thrown in the Gulf, i cant explain otherwise why this year there was a big amount of garbage in the Gulf floating and 100 tons of garbage on Hua Hin beach.

Everywhere in THailand you see they make something, but no maintenance, so when its broke, its broke and no fix.

It breaks down again to dust in long time

But Thailand is not the only one with this problem, Indonesia (Bali) is also covered with garbage. Guess there are way more countries covered with plastic. Guess they also dump it int he ocean, as there are islands of plastic floating as big as the state of Texas.

It is government who lack to do something about it, as it costs. 

If they would make water to drink out of the tap, you can by using RO systems and UV light fed by solar power, save 

billions of plastic bottles used for drinking water.

[mlmcleod]

We need to see if this will be a tax or just another way for the grocer to get more revenue.  I always dispose of my trash in the many plastic bags that I get, so I am ambivalent.  Just about every Thai gets their food in bags from the street vendors so they will object.  Once again, there is a theory that taxing the customer is a great idea!  How about educating the children and parents and providing trash bins that will be emptied.  This is free and should have been done long ago.  Charging a customer a few baht for a bag will not make any difference in the litter on the streets and in the ocean.  While plastic bags are a huge part of the litter problem here, styrofoam cups and boxes are just as bad.  Paper waste is also a problem.

 

The solution is to teach children to have pride in their country and to have a standard of public cleanliness.  That seems to be totally lacking here.  Charging for bags will not solve the problem.

Edited December 17, 2017 by metisdead
Bold font removed.

[473geo]

1 minute ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

It replaces one more bit of waste, a true saving.

No it doesn't because following my suggestion you don't need to buy 'plastic' liners for your bin

As I said, just delays the entry into the waste system, and makes people who are too lazy to operate an alternative feel better.

 

[Kieran00001]

5 minutes ago, 473geo said:

No it doesn't because following my suggestion you don't need to buy 'plastic' liners for your bin

As I said, just delays the entry into the waste system, and makes people who are too lazy to operate an alternative feel better.

 

 

Your assumption that paper must be greener implies some laziness on your part, reused plastic bags are actually more environmentally friendly than paper lining your bin.