Fiscal Policy Office discusses memorandum to reduce plastic bags

[webfact]

Fiscal Policy Office discusses memorandum to reduce plastic bags

 

 

BANGKOK, 8th May 2018 (NNT) - The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) has held a meeting on a memorandum to reduce the use of plastic bags among 30 retail and modern trade stores, while encouraging the public to use cloth bags. 

The memorandum includes definitions of the type and density of the plastic bags that will be discontinued. Exceptions will be made for hot and cold bags, laminated bags, and specialized containers. The agreement also calls for alternative containers, incentives for the manufacturing sector, fees for the use of plastic bags, and the utilization of proceeds. 

The memorandum is expected to be signed on World Environment Day on June 5th this year. A mobilization committee will be set up to raise awareness before it takes effect next year.

 

-- nnt 2018-05-08

[trainman34014]

We take cloth bags to Markets and Supermarkets but the Thai's just don't 'get it'.    It took us two years before the Market traders understood we just wanted them to put the vege's in our bag and not inside their plastic bags first.   Supermarket staff just give us weird looks and still try to give us multiple carrier bags to put inside our cloth bags.   No training, no brains, not one iota of thought about the environment.

 

But hey; Thailand 4, moving into the digital age !   Shame they have barely moved out of the stone age yet....Lol.

[coulson]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

A mobilization committee will be set up to raise awareness before it takes effect next year

They initiated a plastic free day 2 years ago, and Prayut championed that it should be an annual observation.

 

On that note they have come leaps and bounds........on another note still miles behind.

 

Ridding society of single use plastic bags does not need awareness, it just needs imposing. Let everyone suffer for a few days and they will adapt.

[mok199]

in my opinion.this plastic trash problem rests 90 % on the street vendors ,using foam bowls with plastic cups cutlery and bags...bigC and others offer plastic bags but the people re-use these bags for home garbage and  should be offered on a pay per bag system...regulated street vendors is impossible so an end to this problem is impossible ...

[yellowboat]

1 hour ago, coulson said:

Prayut championed that it should be an annual observation.

Annually ?   This man's expectations are inconceivably low.  Many countries charge for bags.  I get 3-4 bags a year.  Bags disgust me. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Trying to deal with the supermarket bags issue -- without also similarly addressing the street vendors food packaging and the similar issue for all the takeout/delivered food services -- is missing the big picture, not surprisingly. Keep in mind, a lot of working class Thais don't cook at home and instead bring most of their meals home.

 

When we order delivered food to home, I usually ask in the order that the restaurant not provide any plastic forks/spoons, etc. But almost invariably, get them anyway. Likewise, the vast majority of the delivered meals come in plastic bags, cartons, boxes that typically get chucked in the trash by their users.

 

Only a relatively few places I've encountered are using the biodegradeable paper-laminated type boxes and containers. Everyone else, it's plastic, plastic, plastic.

 

[bluesofa]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

"A mobilization committee will be set up to raise awareness before it takes effect next year."

At the risk of being called a Thai-basher, I feel the root of the problem is getting people here interested in the environment and the issues with discarded plastic.

Trying to get Thais interested in this is an uphill struggle, as the majority don't want to know about current affairs, let alone what goes on outside of Thailand.

 

This might sound condescending, but if there was a soap opera where the hero was active in the field of environmental protection, then the character could perhaps start to get the message across. Look at the recent (Ayudhya-based?) soap that has ended up with a fair number of people dressing up in traditional costume. If a soap opera did manage to get the public to think about these issues, it would be worthwhile.

Having said all that, I'd guess the chance of something like that happening are pretty slim, unless there was a producer with an interest in environmental issues and reducing plastic use.

 

[grego49]

Most Thais wouldnt know a garbage bin if it jumped up and bit them,most of their rubbish gets thrown in the streets.

[graemeaylward]

There is a simple answer, replace plastic bags with these :-

"To combat the impact of discarded plastic bags on the environment, an Indonesian company called Avani has created a single-use bag you'd swear was plastic—but which is in fact made of Cassava (Yucca), an edible root."





Sent from my Lenovo A3000-H using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[RichardColeman]

But, but, but, then the Thai people would have to buy a cloth bag to go dump their plastic bottles and refuse somewhere

[RichardColeman]

10 hours ago, grego49 said:

Most Thais wouldnt know a garbage bin if it jumped up and bit them,most of their rubbish gets thrown in the streets.

To most Thais out the pick-up window IS the garbage bin !

[zzidenn]

Nobody knows because nobody has told anyone, we western people grow up learning sustainability etc. in school and are constantly surrounded by these ideas and thoughts, western nations have already destroyed most of the original nature decades ago. In Asia the problems are new and nobody cares to educated the young about it. It’s a good step in the right direction and about time! Manufacturers should start offering new options for food packaging that is reasonably priced and doesn’t reduce the street vendors margin. Why would they go sustainable if it means a loss of income that nobody appreciates? 

Also if no public bins are available, how is possible to throw things away properly? 

[bluesofa]

3 hours ago, graemeaylward said:

There is a simple answer, replace plastic bags with these :-
"To combat the impact of discarded plastic bags on the environment, an Indonesian company called Avani has created a single-use bag you'd swear was plastic—but which is in fact made of Cassava (Yucca), an edible root."
Sent from my Lenovo A3000-H using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

That sounds like a good idea. Here's a two-minute video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXklBP53VT4&feature=player_embedded