Plastic Here To Stay, Vendors At ‘Model’ Market Say

By Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

 

Piles of Styrofoam trays await durian-hungry customers Tuesday at the Or Tor Kor Market in Bangkok.

 

BANGKOK — Days after an environment minister declared a famous fresh market would reduce plastic and Styrofoam use, vendors said Tuesday it was a pipe dream staged for the cameras.

 

Merchants at the Or Tor Kor Market said on World Environment Day that despite the environment minister announcing last week their market would be a model for reduced plastic and Styrofoam use, switching to use eco-friendly materials was not going to happen.

 

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2018/06/05/plastic-here-to-stay-vendors-at-model-market-say/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2018/06/05/plastic-here-to-stay-vendors-at-model-market-say/

“It’s impossible. There’s no replacement for plastic,” Noi Sriprasert, 27, who sells mhon thong durian on Styrofoam trays wrapped in plastic ...."

 

So prior to the late 1960s early 1970s nobody went shopping?

Quote

Noi said that on Thursday, when Natural Resource and Environment Minister Gen. Surasak Kanjanarat signed a piece of cardboard located a few feet from her shop as a publicity stunt, officials asked her to cover up her Styrofoam trays with a cloth. The durian seller also said that since the cameras left Thursday, she hasn’t received any instructions from market management on changing her practices.

 

The Thainess is strong in this one.

 

Unfortunately, the lady is right.

 

If the government was serious about this issue, they could charge exorbitant taxes on the styrofoam containers, to be used for waste treatment. When the customers start being charged 50 baht per container and 5 baht for plastic bag, most will bring bags and containers from home.

 

I'm not a smoker, but I don't see how it is fair to fine someone for a cigarette butt on the beach but not for a styrofoam container.

Where Duran is concerned I'd be more worried about the contents of the damn trays.

Other than that tax to the hilt. The UK has seen an 85% reduction in the use of plastic bags since they began charging the equivalent of around 2 baht each

saddly the truth...defiant lazy thais win...again

20 minutes ago, mok199 said:

saddly the truth...defiant lazy thais win...again

Lazy, maybe.  Lack of cognition too. Most cannot add up the future benefit by reasoning in brain thought. For example If I told you to dig a hole and fill it up again you wouldn't do it, but not because you are lazy.  You use reasoning to think what's the point.  some can't see the point sometimes so don't bother. general maintenance also is something avoided by people with low cognition. Can cognition be taught.  In early years,  mostly yes. 

24 minutes ago, stud858 said:

Lazy, maybe.  Lack of cognition too. Most cannot add up the future benefit by reasoning in brain thought. For example If I told you to dig a hole and fill it up again you wouldn't do it, but not because you are lazy.  You use reasoning to think what's the point.  some can't see the point sometimes so don't bother. general maintenance also is something avoided by people with low cognition. Can cognition be taught.  In early years,  mostly yes. 

 

By that same token, why would anyone bother disposing of stuff properly if they knew the contractor paid to manage that solid waste was just going to dump it in the river because there is no proper waste disposal infrastructure?

 

And, further up the corruption food chain, why would any legislative bodies earmark tax money for a waste handling infrastructure if they knew the funds were just going to be siphoned off and they'd end up with a multi-billion baht white elephant anyway?

 

Chalk it up to low cognitive abilities if you like.  But I'd chalk it up to a system that's corrupt to the core.

 

They can eliminate a lot of the plastic, but not all of it.  For every gram of plastic bags, there's 10-100 grams of bottles, cans, blister packs, cushioning material and branding garbage.  And kilograms of plastic in cheap "durable" items designed to last a few days/weeks/months then fall apart, to be binned.   The key isn't getting rid of plastics.  (though reducing them is a great idea)  It's learning to handle them. 

 

I'm optimistic about using the difficult to recycle plastics like bags as a partial replacement for asphalt to make roads.  There's a lot of work to be done, but it's looking pretty favorable.

17 hours ago, BigBadGeordie said:

“It’s impossible. There’s no replacement for plastic,” Noi Sriprasert, 27, who sells mhon thong durian on Styrofoam trays wrapped in plastic ...."

 

So prior to the late 1960s early 1970s nobody went shopping?

It's amazing how functional banana leaves are, even today.  They worked 50 years ago; still work today. 

So through lobbying and advertisement, the plastics industry convinces retailers that plastics are indispensable so that “It’s impossible. There’s no replacement for plastic."  Retailers shove their plastic wrapped wares on consumers.  Then environmental groups blame consumers and end-users for the plastic problem.  Government sing and dance on que, then disappear after the news cycle is over. 
Wash, rinse, repeat.....

7 hours ago, arithai12 said:

If the government was serious about this issue, they could charge exorbitant taxes on the styrofoam containers, to be used for waste treatment.

Typical 'attack the end-user' mentality.
If the government was serious about this issue, they would ban consumer plastics - period. 

19 hours ago, webfact said:

Days after an environment minister declared a famous fresh market would reduce plastic and Styrofoam use, vendors said Tuesday it was a pipe dream staged for the cameras.

Another stunt of another Minister of Houdinism went terribly wrong.

Keep training! Maybe one day the "now you see it - now you don't" tricks will work to make the junta disappear. 

22 hours ago, webfact said:

Plastic Here To Stay,

Yes , but we and most marine life probable not

22 hours ago, BigBadGeordie said:

“It’s impossible. There’s no replacement for plastic,” Noi Sriprasert, 27, who sells mhon thong durian on Styrofoam trays wrapped in plastic ...."

 

So prior to the late 1960s early 1970s nobody went shopping?

Before his time so doesn't count. 

9 hours ago, mok199 said:

saddly the truth...defiant lazy thais win...again

yep, nice attitude!

 

Hundreds of "little & big" factors, i.e.like this Thai-environmental-disrespect" adding up to fewer and fewer quality Western tourist, a void which seems to be more  filled with Chinese & Indians, whose countries are in even worse conditions and they happily enjoy their swim in Pattaya bay.....Still so much better than the polluted rivers in China or the Ganges in India. They don't care about pollution, smoking cars & buses, trash on very corner, the smell of sewage. They happily have every little item triple-wrapped at 7/11...................................................................Thailand-Paradise gone.....Wake up!  It would have to start with education at home and we certainly will not see any changes for the better....MS>