Bangkokians asked: how are you helping to cut plastic use?

[snoop1130]

Bangkokians asked: how are you helping to cut plastic use?

By Rachanon Charoonsak 
The Nation

 

File photo

 

As the globe prepared to celebrate World Environment Day, The Nation took to the streets to interview Bangkok residents about what they’re doing to help protect their planet.

 

In line with this year’s theme of “Beat Plastic Pollution”, the interviews focused on actions being taken to reduce the use of plastic and polystyrene foam materials.

 

Many people knew that it takes years – actually it takes more than 100 years – for plastic trash to completely disintegrate. 

 

 

Student Arnan Rungcharassaeng, 25, said he realised that avoiding the use of polystyrene foam could help the environment, and said he tried to use recycled material when available. But he admitted to using and throwing away about 12 pieces of plastic and polystyrene foam material per day.

 

Fellow student Napon Jaicharoen, 22, also pointed to avoiding polystyrene foam as the way to go, but admitted he also still used and disposed of 12 plastic bags daily, mostly from his purchases at convenience stores.

 

Another student, Kittiya Katthong, 22, said she is willing to use recycled products when possible. She also uses her own lunchbox and water bottle and hence produced only one such item of trash per day. 

 

 

Office worker Thananrat Wannasilp, 37, said she brought her own bags to grocery stores. Still, she admits to using and throwing away up to seven pieces of plastic and polystyrene material per day. 

 

Officer worker Teerasak Petchyen, 40, who admitted to using and disposing of 10 pieces of plastic and polystyrene foam material per day, said he tried to dine at restaurants instead of getting take-aways.

 

Another Bangkok office worker in her late 30s, who asked not to be named, said the government should require malls and shops to charge Bt1-2 per plastic bag or foam container to put indirect pressure on shoppers.

 

“I generally use plastic bags or foam boxes for convenience like anyone else, but if shops start to charge money, I will bring my own shopping bag to avoid paying such a fee. Although a little inconvenient, it seems to be a good idea, as seen in Malaysia [where every plastic bag use is subject to a Bt2 fee] where my spouse is from,” she said.

 

Meanwhile, several street vendors interviewed by The Nation hadn’t yet made an effort to reduce their plastic or foam use.

 

One vendor who declined to give his name said he was unsure how he could help reduce plastic and foam trash. He said he didn’t even know how many one-use containers he used per day.

 

Another vendor, who also requested anonymity, said that he just sold his product without thinking about plastic and foam trash, although he estimated he gave away 50-100 plastic bags a day.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30346970

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-6-4

[Darcula]

8 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

World Environment Day

 

Under 4 hours to go until this farce is shelved for one more year.

[mok199]

this ship is sinking fast

[Dave67]

The answer to the Headline. Sweet <deleted> All

[Oztruckie]

I reckon my good estimate would come to around 2 thirds of <deleted> all. 

[attrayant]

In related news, Whale dies in Thailand after ingesting more than 80 plastic bags.

 

"THAI officials have reported that a short-finned pilot whale has been killed after swallowing some eight kilograms of plastic bags.  

 

[snip]

 

Found barely alive in a canal near the border with Malaysia, the whale had swallowed more than 80 plastic bags, suffering a convulsion and vomiting five plastic bags. Thailand is one of the world’s largest consumers of plastic bags, which kill hundreds of marine creatures living near the country’s popular beaches each year."

 

I use stainless steel drinking straws at home and always take cloth shopping bags with me to 7-11 and the supermarket.  I think the only plastic I throw away regularly (about two per week) are the big two liter milk jugs.

[Thunder26]

It should start from the shops by not giving plastic bags to customers.

[Bluespunk]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

Many people knew that it takes years – actually it takes more than 100 years – for plastic trash to completely disintegrate

Old style plastic may disintegrate, but it does not bio-degrade. 

[Ceruhe]

How dare you assume Bangkokians, of all people no less, should be doing something to cut plastic? If you could very much please leave the Hi-So God Class alone and leave the rest to us filthy countryside peasants who need to take care of it in the end anyway.

[naboo]

I take a backpack to Big C. It turns out, the girls in the alcohol aisle are there to monitor theft. The radios go wild with "There's a farang looking at the whiskies, the expensive whiskies. I get to the checkout and security are waiting to monitor whether my whisky bottles match what was reportedly taken off the shelf.

 

Apparently, I should leave my bag at customer service to avoid suspicion, but a) women don't, b) then I'd need a plastic bag to get my shopping to my bag at customer service.

 

Big C, you <deleted>. I'm not a thief.

[notasmartassknowitallfarag]

Start charging for plastic bags in shops.  5 baht a go. 

[rhythmworx]

One solution they may not know about is to sell their firearms and knives to make some spare money.

 

Buy the styrofoam/polystyrene and some gasoline and make some nepalm with it to throw at enemies or whom ever they please.

 

The smell of nepalm might also mask the car fumes.

 

Win win all round

[rhythmworx]

4 hours ago, attrayant said:

In related news, Whale dies in Thailand after ingesting more than 80 plastic bags.

 

"THAI officials have reported that a short-finned pilot whale has been killed after swallowing some eight kilograms of plastic bags.  

 

[snip]

 

Found barely alive in a canal near the border with Malaysia, the whale had swallowed more than 80 plastic bags, suffering a convulsion and vomiting five plastic bags. Thailand is one of the world’s largest consumers of plastic bags, which kill hundreds of marine creatures living near the country’s popular beaches each year."

 

I use stainless steel drinking straws at home and always take cloth shopping bags with me to 7-11 and the supermarket.  I think the only plastic I throw away regularly (about two per week) are the big two liter milk jugs.

 

You can recycle HDPE yourself make what ever you want with it.

 

 

[observer90210]

What are they waiting to introduce bio degradable bags or liquid bottles (that already are supplied in many places in the world)  that have practically the same resistance as normal plastic bags ?

 

The CEO's of the giant retailler chains in Thailand should daily look at this picture of a garbage island floating on the ocean.

 

It is a waste of time to try to educate people....better to plainly provide disposable and biodegradable supports.

Edited June 4, 2018 by observer90210

[flyingtlger]

Ban plastic bags and charge for paper bags then people will start to use their own recyclable bags.

[Borzandy]

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

how are you helping to cut plastic use?

Easy I throw them in the neighborhood.

[attrayant]

6 hours ago, rhythmworx said:

You can recycle HDPE yourself make what ever you want with it.

 

I'm aware; I used to do a similar demo for students when I taught science.  But I don't really know what I'd want (or be able to) make from it.  Most plastic items need to be blown into a form or extruded to become useful.  Maybe building insulation?

 

Edited June 5, 2018 by attrayant

[BobbyL]

It is incredible that every single time you go to 7/11 they ALWAYS want to give you a bag and a straw. What a completely stupid policy that would save ten of thousands of plastic bags / day around the country if it was scrapped. 

[attrayant]

8 hours ago, naboo said:

Apparently, I should leave my bag at customer service to avoid suspicion, but a) women don't, b) then I'd need a plastic bag to get my shopping to my bag at customer service.

 

In the US, concealment is as much of a crime as actual shoplifting.

 

"Crucially, this means that in most states, one can break shoplifting laws without attempting to get out of a store with stolen goods. Simply concealing merchandise, inside or outside the store, will often be enough."

 

I learned this the hard way about ten years ago at an Apple store in Virginia.  All the hand baskets were in use and I decided to pull up the bottom of my t-shirt and use it as a sort of hammock to hold a bunch of small accessories I was intending to buy.  I got quite the talking to by the store's rent-a-cop.

[impulse]

8 hours ago, naboo said:

I take a backpack to Big C. It turns out, the girls in the alcohol aisle are there to monitor theft. The radios go wild with "There's a farang looking at the whiskies, the expensive whiskies. I get to the checkout and security are waiting to monitor whether my whisky bottles match what was reportedly taken off the shelf.

 

Apparently, I should leave my bag at customer service to avoid suspicion, but a) women don't, b) then I'd need a plastic bag to get my shopping to my bag at customer service.

 

Big C, you <deleted>. I'm not a thief.

 

You could use the shopping cart to haul them over to customer service and put them in your backpack there.  The same cart you used used to haul your goodies to the checkout line. 

 

You may not be a thief, but I'd be suspicious if that was my job.  I always leave my goodies at customer service when shopping at Big C.  I was barred from entry the first time I tried to carry a bag into the store.   It's their job, so I don't begrudge them doing it.  Sucks, but that's the world we live in.

 

Back on topic, they can reduce plastic bags all they want, and the majority of those garbage patches will still be there until they figure out how to manage waste disposal.  For every gram of plastic bag, there's probably 10 grams of additional packaging in bottles, blister packs, etc.

 

Edited June 5, 2018 by impulse

[seminomadic]

Charging for plastic bags at convenience stores and hypermarkets is good since 7/11 and Tesco are massive corporations & once instituted, all franchises will do it, no exceptions.

 

The REAL problem is PawKah/MaeKah vendors of gap khaow. By the looks of it, there is more plastic being used there than any 7/11. Bag for your Tom Yum. Bag for the bag of your Tom Yum. Bags for all the little $h!t condiments you get with your meal, some of which you don't even use because you didn't refuse them in time and you didn't have the temerity to tell her 'Mai ao an nan na krap' so that she'd take them back out. 

Making this particular problem more pernicious is that they are the LAST group who'll charge for use of plastic since the gap khaow biz is atomized with each vendor being an independent entity, and any one vendor who charges will be undercut by another who increases biz by not charging and is only 30 steps away so why not save some tang... 'I can't see the problem so it doesn't exist.'

[worgeordie]

When I tell cashiers at 7-11 and other supermarkets that I don't need,

a plastic bag for a purchase of a few things,you get the strangest looks,

like this Farang is stupid,just make sure you keep receipt in your hand,as

they might think your shoplifting,and stop you ,when leaving the store

 

regards Worgeordie

[Sydebolle]

I don't frequent street food vendors for hygienic reasons but noticed, that in each and every restaurant they bring any softdrink with a straw in the glass while all other drinks are brought with an empty glass, i.e. no straw.

I stopped using straws maybe 45 years ago ...... maybe it's time to look at tiny details like these tons and tons of unnecessary straws ....... too! 

[madmitch]

In other words, most Bangkokians simply don't give a toss about the continued overuse of plastic.

[hotchilli]

They promised to cut back on plastic bags... only wrapping something 3 times !!!

[mike324]

Start charging and banning plastic bags, its really that simple. The government  just have to take the initiative. We are just beating a dead horse every year on this topic.

[Hockeybik]

If 7-11 merely stopped shoving bags and straws at every single customer consumption would drop dramatically. You buy a pack of gum and they are trying to put it in a bag.

[stanleycoin]

Cut plastic waste or at least use it twice.

This guys got the hang of it.  

 

 

 

[connda]

The plastics Industry floods the planet with consumer plastics for profit and advertises plastics to retail corporation to promote their use. 
Then NGO, non-profits, and governments blame end-consumers and pay for campaigns to inform citizens that they are bad consumers for using the plastics that have been flooding the marketplaces for years.

What the cowards in the governments won't do is demand that the multi-billion dollar plastics and petro-chemical industry stop producing and flooding the planet with their Plastic for Profits.  Cut off the damn supply and consumers will adapt.  We lived just fine without consumer plastics 50 years ago - we used paper or cloth bags - and we'll live just fine without them if they disappear.  We will all adapt to a world without plastic bags, straws, and utensils. 
At a family picnic 55 years ago, our food went into a wicker picnic basket, we brought silverware to eat with, and we drank out of bottles.  What's so difficult about returning to that?  Nothing!
The way to end this is to regulated the industry.  But lawmakers who receive payments from the industry don't have the cajones to kill the Goose laying their Golden Eggs. 

My guess is that the plastics industry pumps money into the very NGO, non-profits, and governments that blame end-users in order to redirect that blame away from the industry. 
There are none so blind as those who will not see.
 

Edited June 5, 2018 by connda

[connda]

32 minutes ago, Hockeybik said:

If 7-11 merely stopped shoving bags and straws at every single customer consumption would drop dramatically. You buy a pack of gum and they are trying to put it in a bag.

Spoken in Thai:  No bag, no straw, no spoon -- That's my mantra at 7/11.