Thailand eyes 50 percent cut of plastic garbage in seas in 9 years

 

 

Thailand aims to reduce plastic in the seas by 50 percent in the next nine years and to cut down the use of plastic bags among the Thai people to only two bags per person per day instead of an average of eight plastic bags a day, said Mr Chatuporn Burutpat, director-general of Marine and Coastal Resources Department, on Saturday.

 

Citing the recent death of a pilot whale in the sea of Songkhla after having swallowed eight kilogrammes of plastic bags into its stomach as an inspiration for change about the use of plastic bags, he said the department had mapped out short-term, medium-term and long-term measures to cut back the amount of trash dumped into seas.

 

According to plan, the short-term measure concerns cooperation among Asean member countries to reduce the amount of trash in the seas in the region as agreed at a meeting held in November last year.  Mr Chatuporn said his department would cooperation with civic groups to solve the problem of garbage on beaches.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/thailand-eyes-50-percent-cut-plastic-garbage-seas-9-years/

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2018-06-10

10 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Thailand eyes 50 percent cut of plastic garbage in seas in 9 years

This person eyes having young, beautiful women falling madly in love with him on a daily basis, but that won't happen either...

 

If Thailand wants to make a dent in the amount of plastic bags used by Thai people, it has to charge money for them;1-5 baht each should do the trick.

 

Doing anything less is mere noise and rhetoric.

 

 

Edited June 9, 20188 yr by Samui Bodoh
Lack of coffee

3 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

to cut down the use of plastic bags among the Thai people to only two bags per person per day instead of an average of eight plastic bags a day,

imagine that; if the average person is awake 16 hours per day. that means they use a plastic bag every 2 hours , every day !

This will not happen in 9 years in Thailand.

The business people of Thailand making bags, one use drink containers, foam food packaging etc. will not allow any reduction in the manufacture of these products.

They're members of the Thai elite.....and they could care less about the environment!

Only a government regulation could solve this issue, and that will not happen.....the same goes for the rest of SE Asia!

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Thailand aims to reduce plastic in the seas by 50 percent in the next nine years

I assume Mr Chatuporn actually means that after 9 years only 50% of the amount that now goes in the sea yearly will flow in. There is little possibility plastic will be taken out of the sea and with its long life all that will just stay there. Its going to take 9 years, with plastic flowing in all that time, to reduce the amount to half of what goes in now. And he sees that as a marvelous effort? 

Might as well aim for 200% as that's as unlikely as 50%.

Perhaps if the bags were produced using a natural ingredient, it would help dramatically to effect the pollution.

 

Recently I have posted a link to bag production in Indonesia using cassava. I tried searching youtube adding "Thailand" to my search. Sadly, so far it ironically only produced the result, " How to Tie a Plastic Bag with a Rubberband Like a Thai". Hmmm.

 

This time here's a link to scientists in Uganda using the same idea. Perhaps if the government realised how Uganda appears to be years ahead of Thailand in this research, it might spur them on to doing something. After all no one in government here wants a loss of face, seeing an African country is ahead of them!

This link is from 2016, so it's not even breaking news:

 

 

its more complicated than it looks,

because my impression is that the plastic bag is

the center of thai society and thai cuisine.

food is most commonly bought take away in set meals sold per plastic bag,

doesnt matter if its bought at talat nat or big C or mom&pop shop.

 

they can increase cost, but if it becomes pricey enough,

a lot of people will start cooking in their room without cooking

& washing facilities, and a lot of people selling food will get out of biz

A good idea would be to reduce it to zero and offer a plan to start cleaning the seas, all countries could participate in this initiative.....

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

5 minutes ago, poanoi said:

its more complicated than it looks,

because my impression is that the plastic bag is

the center of thai society and thai cuisine.

food is most commonly bought take away in set meals sold per plastic bag,

doesnt matter if its bought at talat nat or big C or mom&pop shop.

 

they can increase cost, but if it becomes pricey enough,

a lot of people will start cooking in their room without cooking

& washing facilities, and a lot of people selling food will get out of biz

 

I understand what you're saying, but doesn't that assume that the people you are talking about can afford to buy a gas/electric cooking ring, saucepans, etc?

 

They say that 'necessity is the mother of invention', so if it can encourage an entrepreneur to produce an environmentally-friendly alternative, surely that would be better all round?

 

Thailand also has been aiming at democracy for 86 years. And we all know how that went so far. They are just not particularly accomplished at aiming.

 

The only solution to the plastic bag problem is to charge consumers for every plastic bag they use. People here tend to only learn when they're hit where it hurts - in their wallets. The monies collected could go into an environmental rehabilitation fund. One stumbling block in this scheme might be that while shops and vendors charge their customers for each plastic bag they dispense, they pocket the fees themselves instead of paying them into the fund. But that could be remedied by actually charging the fee-per-bag at the source, i.e. the manufacturers. Fees for certain bag types like, for example, garbage bags could be suspended.     

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Thailand eyes 50 percent cut of plastic garbage in seas in 9 years

Wishful thinking.......

2 hours ago, YetAnother said:

imagine that; if the average person is awake 16 hours per day. that means they use a plastic bag every 2 hours , every day !

I just spent 15 minutes sitting outside Klong Toey market and was watching three young guys throwing animal carcasses and innards up into a truck. 

 

Every time someone came with a container they took two plastic bags from a roll and used as gloves. When finished they threw the bags into a container. In the time I was there each guy used six plastic bags, and there must have been a hundred or more plastic bags of waste innards etc.   

 

So, yes I believe that figure.

50% Cut?

55555555!

???

start charging 1 baht for straws and make thais drink straight out of bottles like normal people do. 

Its not the bags that is the problem, its the amount of plastic thats put in the bags. The bag problem is easily solved as done in other countries. Food packaging is the real challenge.

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Thailand eyes 50 percent cut of plastic garbage in seas in 9 years

Thailand aims with its eyes wide shut and head in the sand.

Edited June 10, 20188 yr by klauskunkel

as I walked the beach today after the fireworks last night I cant help buy notice a new enemy ...''foil mats'' sold during the fireworks to sit on the sand...thais don't care, they will never care and they are too <deleted> lazy to comply. period.

While the amount of plastic in the sea is a huge problem, so is the amount of plastic bags littering what should be a beautiful countryside. People here just finish whatever was in the bag, and toss it out of the car window, or the back of a songtieow. They have no pride in their country at all, it is so sad to see.

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Thailand aims to reduce plastic in the seas by 50 percent in the next nine years and to cut down the use of plastic bags among the Thai people to only two bags per person per day instead of an average of eight plastic bags a day, 

Maybe it's just Me, but I have difficulty in believing anyone who can't work out 50% of 8.

Hawaii, USA stopped using Plastic bags 100% over 10 years ago.  If you go shopping you bring a reusable canvas bay to carry home your groceries.  No plastic containers for food.

Hawaii beaches are kept clean by the citizens daily.  Without fanfare and phony photo ops.

 

 

1 hour ago, Misterwhisper said:

Thailand also has been aiming at democracy for 86 years. And we all know how that went so far. They are just not particularly accomplished at aiming.

 

The only solution to the plastic bag problem is to charge consumers for every plastic bag they use. People here tend to only learn when they're hit where it hurts - in their wallets. The monies collected could go into an environmental rehabilitation fund. One stumbling block in this scheme might be that while shops and vendors charge their customers for each plastic bag they dispense, they pocket the fees themselves instead of paying them into the fund. But that could be remedied by actually charging the fee-per-bag at the source, i.e. the manufacturers. Fees for certain bag types like, for example, garbage bags could be suspended.     

If shops and vendors don't pocket the fee's, rest assured that the officials will, remember TIT. 

26 minutes ago, tompelli said:

Maybe it's just Me, but I have difficulty in believing anyone who can't work out 50% of 8.

Just like some find it difficult that anyone can't read a simple introduction to the story. 

If Thailand is going to be dumping 50 % less plastics into the Sea,

you can bet they are going to dump 50% more on the land.

regards worgeordie

A conversion of 50% of the Thai population to Scientology is more likely.

Quote

Thailand aims to reduce plastic in the seas by 50 percent in the next nine years and to cut down the use of plastic bags among the Thai people to only two bags per person per day

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

cut down the use of plastic bags among the Thai people to only two bags per person per day

Still too many.

3 hours ago, Lungstib said:

I assume Mr Chatuporn actually means that after 9 years only 50% of the amount that now goes in the sea yearly will flow in. There is little possibility plastic will be taken out of the sea and with its long life all that will just stay there. Its going to take 9 years, with plastic flowing in all that time, to reduce the amount to half of what goes in now. And he sees that as a marvelous effort? 

Exactly my thought when I read this nonsense.

2 hours ago, bluesofa said:

I understand what you're saying, but doesn't that assume that the people you are talking about can afford to buy a gas/electric cooking ring, saucepans, etc?

 

They say that 'necessity is the mother of invention', so if it can encourage an entrepreneur to produce an environmentally-friendly alternative, surely that would be better all round?

 

There are biodegradable plastics now available

 

http://www.pepctplastics.com/resources/connecticut-plastics-learning-center/biodegradable-plastics/