20 ministries kick off campaign to reduce use of plastic bags

 

 

Led by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 20 ministries and the private sector today launched a campaign to reduce the use of plastic bags to mark the World Environment Day, which falls on June 5 of every year.

 

Gen Surasak Karnjanarat, the natural resources and environment minister, said the campaign will start with concerted efforts to reduce the use of plastic bags with straps and Styrofoam materials in their offices, starting June 5.

 

The campaign will be carried out under the theme: “Beat Plastic Pollution: If you can’t reuse it, refuse it.”

 

Full Story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/20-ministries-kick-off-campaign-reduce-use-plastic-bags/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2018-6-5

15-20 yrs too late.another load of crap talk.most westerners know about the waste of plastics so we ont need informing about all of the problems.its going to take a lot of educating the Thais about this but that'll never happen.just read thailand is in the top 5 countries around the world for polluting the sea with plastic.maybe one day it'll Be the hub of plastic waste and reach another number 1 spot.as for the slogan if you can't reuse it refuse it.thais never refuse something for free.

Edited June 5, 20188 yr by happy chappie
Spelling

Can't get rid of all plastic bags.

Got to keep a few back plus ty-wraps for the suicides. 

 

 

Am I now to believe that these 20 ministries are no longer allowing staff to bring in coffee cups, straws, plastic boxes and food bags when they arrive in the morning and return after lunch-break? Fantasyland, isn't it? 

4 minutes ago, Lungstib said:

coffee cups, straws, plastic boxes and food bags

I always wonder why plastic tubes are called straws. I do very well remember when straws were made from ... straw.

They aren't listening and all the Bullshit talk will fall on deaf ears.   We take our own cloth bags and the girls at the Supermarkets think they are doing something wrong when we ask them to put our shopping directly into them because they have not been 'told' to do it by their management.  Some of them have even told us they will 'get into trouble' if they don't use plastic bags.   It's taken us ten years, yes 10, to get the Market girls to finally understand we don't want plastic bags and to put our vegetables straight into our bags.  Talk about hard of learning !

next headline''probe into missing funds earmarked for plastics reduction campaing''

41 minutes ago, hkt83100 said:

I always wonder why plastic tubes are called straws. I do very well remember when straws were made from ... straw.

Bloody hell, and I thought I was old!

56 minutes ago, trainman34014 said:

They aren't listening and all the Bullshit talk will fall on deaf ears.   We take our own cloth bags and the girls at the Supermarkets think they are doing something wrong when we ask them to put our shopping directly into them because they have not been 'told' to do it by their management.  Some of them have even told us they will 'get into trouble' if they don't use plastic bags.   It's taken us ten years, yes 10, to get the Market girls to finally understand we don't want plastic bags and to put our vegetables straight into our bags.  Talk about hard of learning !

I'm just going to be Captain Obvious, but what stops you from allowing the girls to pack the groceries in plastic bags, hand them to you, and for you to empty the plastic bags and place the contents in your own bags, then hand the empty plastic back to the girls?  Their management couldn't say a thing about the girl's performance.  And the dog and pony show of you repacking your bags may be enough of a catalyst to get management's attention which in turn may get them to train their staff to allow the use of any bag the customer brings with them.  Sometimes you have to embarrass them.  And I'd rather embarrass management and not the rank and file employee who are just doing as they are told.  Just a thought.

If you can’t reuse it, refuse it.

 

Very catchy in English, but what's the Thai version …….

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

the campaign will start with concerted efforts to reduce the use of plastic bags with straps and Styrofoam materials in their offices, starting June 5

Start as you mean to go on.

 

What a limp attempt.

1 hour ago, Lungstib said:

Am I now to believe that these 20 ministries are no longer allowing staff to bring in coffee cups, straws, plastic boxes and food bags when they arrive in the morning and return after lunch-break? Fantasyland, isn't it? 

Thats what they should do...and then politely explain it's just for one day.....but they couldn't even muster enough wherewithal to inconvenience their staff temporarily just to get a message across.

 

Publicity stunt, lame one too. Hopeless

48 minutes ago, connda said:

I'm just going to be Captain Obvious, but what stops you from allowing the girls to pack the groceries in plastic bags, hand them to you, and for you to empty the plastic bags and place the contents in your own bags, then hand the empty plastic back to the girls?  Their management couldn't say a thing about the girl's performance.  And the dog and pony show of you repacking your bags may be enough of a catalyst to get management's attention which in turn may get them to train their staff to allow the use of any bag the customer brings with them.  Sometimes you have to embarrass them.  And I'd rather embarrass management and not the rank and file employee who are just doing as they are told.  Just a thought.

 

7 Eleven made a big thing on their website about two years ago, saying their staff were being encouraged to ask the customer if they wanted a bag, when making a single item purchase. Sadly, I have never seen it happen in reality,

 

When I go in there for a bottle of milk, I always tell the staff not to put it in a bag.

Once, the girl was about to pull a new bag out of the pack of plastic bags. She carried on pulling after I said I didn't want a bag, then threw it straight in the waste bin.

 

1 hour ago, MikeN said:

If you can’t reuse it, refuse it.

 

Very catchy in English, but what's the Thai version …….

Thai version is....take as many bags as you like because they are free..what you do with them is not our problem.

Edited June 5, 20188 yr by happy chappie
Spelling

"Paper or plastic?", how difficult is it?

Charge 2baht per bag, how difficult is it?

All bags made of biodegradable plastic, how difficult is it?

Water sold in bottles made of re-usable bpa-free plastic with a deposit, how difficult is it?

Teach eco awareness in schools, how difficult is it?

 

Ah I forgot, "Thais are different".

Thai industry declares war on plastic pollution with ‘unprecedented’ public-private effort

By RACHANON CHAROONSAK 
THE NATION

 

Central Group, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and other private and public associate partners displayed a sculpture that was made of plastic bags at Central World.

 

EVERY MINISTRY in Thailand has agreed to curb its use of plastic bags and foam packaging as part of the government’s pledge yesterday on World Environment Day.

 

Falling annually on June 5, the day carried the theme of “Beat Plastic Pollution” this year. 

 

“All government agencies under the 20 ministries will set examples for others to follow. They will reduce their use of plastic bags and foam containers,” Natural Resources and Environment Minister General Surasak Karnjanarat said yesterday. 

 

 

He said ministries would pursue tangible results so as to encourage all other sectors to halt their unnecessary use of plastic.

 

The government had declared waste management a national agenda, Surasak added. 

 

The move follows Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s April 17 order for the ministries of the Interior, and Natural Resources and Environment to campaign for reduced use of plastic. 

 

 

Thailand has generated about two million tonnes of plastic waste per year over the past decade. Of that amount, just half a tonne annually has been reused or recycled.

 

“Most of the plastic waste is discarded bags, which will take about a century to decompose,” Surasak said, adding that both the environment and the economy were being damaged as a result. 

 

 

He also noted that Thailand had been ranked the world’s 6th biggest contributor of plastic pollution to oceans among 192 countries. 

 

Thailand’s 23 coastal provinces generate an estimated 11.47 million tonnes of waste daily.

 

In an effort to tackle the problem for the next five years, the Plastic Industry Club, the Federation of Thai Industries, the Thailand Business Council for Sustainable Development, and the Thailand Environment Institute Foundation yesterday launched the “Public Private Partnership for Sustainable Plastic and Waste Management”.

 

Its objective is to halve the amount of ocean waste Thailand produces by 2027. 

 

Under the project, some 20 organisations from the public, private, and civil sectors are supporting the implementation of sustainable plastic and waste management via the Circular Economy principle, where resources are kept in use for as long as possible. 

 

 

To do this, it will: promote the recycling business, support entrepreneurs to develop innovation and technology for sustainable plastic management using the “3Rs” (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) principle, educate consumers about waste management and disposal, encourage behavioural changes, pilot a clean city model in Bangkok’s Khlong Toei and in Rayong province, and develop a Thailand Plastic Material Flow Database to measure the |project’s success by international standards.

 

Relevant parties signed a memorandum of understanding on the project yesterday. 

 

Supant Mongkolsuthree, Federation of Thai Industries president, said the project was an important step for sustainable plastic and waste management in Thailand, since it was the first time that the |public, private and civil sectors had partnered to declare their commitment with support from 177 companies in the industry sector. 

 

“The goal is to achieve tangible results in plastic waste management along the supply chain,” said Supant.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30347045

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-06-06

Id  suggest the 2o ministries  all start by placing a  bag over their heads and fastening tightly because this will probably do far more good for the country

...bla, bla, bla...and again a lot of money spent for a summit that has no any result, the plastic industry will continue like now...the fight must begin from every one of us! We must stop the industry!

3 minutes ago, peperobi said:

...bla, bla, bla...and again a lot of money spent for a summit that has no any result, the plastic industry will continue like now...the fight must begin from every one of us! We must stop the industry!

I agree with what you've said on both counts.

The government does have the opportunity to do something about it, by legislation. That however, is only if they are interested in doing so and have the will to do it.

Unfortunately most governments operate at a bureaucratic snail's pace.

 

All shops plastig bags mandatory  50bht.

paper bags free or bring ur own bag problem solved but whatever.

Stop the sale of plastic, return to pre plastic packaging, then there will be no plastic to manage.

 

Cut to the chase. Do as Chili jas done and outlaw plastic bags nationwide. Urging and setting example are sound bits to make someone feel like they are act doing something. 

A good start would be adding a surcharge to every plastic bag and bottle, that is refundable from a recycling centre. Even 1 baht would work as even if the purchaser didn't return it, the poor people that collect rubbish would take everything to get the money.

Of course that would require constructing proper recycling facilities to deal with the returns.

The cost of the roll out might have gone a long way to constructing such a facility.

Honestly guys, there's money involved. Do you realize how many plastic producing factories are in Thailand alone, not to mention the rest of the world? You honestly think they are just going to shut them down? How many jobs would be lost, and revenue from the corporate tax?

 

Don't get me wrong, I agree plastic is killing our oceans, but so is oil refining, nuclear power, killing our earth. There are too many livelihoods at stake and too many people getting rich, We are beyond the point of no return.... 

 

 

13 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

They aren't listening and all the Bullshit talk will fall on deaf ears.   We take our own cloth bags and the girls at the Supermarkets think they are doing something wrong when we ask them to put our shopping directly into them because they have not been 'told' to do it by their management.  Some of them have even told us they will 'get into trouble' if they don't use plastic bags.   It's taken us ten years, yes 10, to get the Market girls to finally understand we don't want plastic bags and to put our vegetables straight into our bags.  Talk about hard of learning !

Same with the 7-11 receipts, Ive  just bought a coke I dont want a bloody receipt

The hypocrisy - a military government wanting to control waste.

Shall Thailand begin with its defense budget to create recycling industries instead?

 

1 of my friends gf's family run a plastic recycling place near Nakon Sawan and they are minted 

ban plastic bags - use paper or bag for life - do same as Philippines -  deposit for glass bottles if returned then reduced price - not a lot but a start 

Ah the good days - uncle bens lemonade in glass bottles - 5p back when returned - sweets time 

BTW - Coca Cola tastes much better in glass bottles than plastic 

?

I frequent the Jomtien beach road market. I regularly buy the made to order Pad Thai

from one of the vendors. I always bring my 79 baht Makro purchased Tupperware

like reusable plastic container. The guy just smiles and chuckles. I can only do what

I can do but it saves on the disposable plastic container, the plastic cutlery, and the bag

it gets placed in for takeaway.  

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

A good start would be adding a surcharge to every plastic bag and bottle, that is refundable from a recycling centre. Even 1 baht would work as even if the purchaser didn't return it, the poor people that collect rubbish would take everything to get the money.

Of course that would require constructing proper recycling facilities to deal with the returns.

The cost of the roll out might have gone a long way to constructing such a facility.

I agree and this should be charged at production source/or import so stores do not have to collect

the money. The government can then pay recyclers directly.