20 hours ago, theonetrueaussie said:

It is also common knowledge that "Reusable “bags for life” can spread deadly food poisoning bacteria if they are used to carry raw foods such as fish and meat" 

 

Seeing most thai's buy fish and meat at the local market I wonder how many will have to get terribly ill or die before this nonsense to ban plastic bags ends. 

What a ridiculous statement. In a fresh food market the bag the meat or fish is put in becomes the container, not the target which is carrier bags.

Most western countries have already put a plan in place but when Thailand talks about it they get ridiculed.

The UK has already addressed carrier bags, done and dusted, if you want one you pay for it. Fresh food continues to be put in small plastic bags or small polystyrene trays with clingfilm. Drinks, including hot drinks, are dispensed in cardboard containers with a small plastic lid.

The issue currently under scrutiny is food containers and a report out this week indicates that a significant percentage of containers in supermarkets cannot be recycled. Containers that can be recycled are marked as such and being subjected to segregation.

Many on here seem to think it is an all or nothing scenario, far from it, the plastics issue can only be addressed with a constructive plan and any start, constructive or otherwise, is better than no start.

2 hours ago, sandyf said:

What a ridiculous statement. In a fresh food market the bag the meat or fish is put in becomes the container, not the target which is carrier bags.

Most western countries have already put a plan in place but when Thailand talks about it they get ridiculed.

The UK has already addressed carrier bags, done and dusted, if you want one you pay for it. Fresh food continues to be put in small plastic bags or small polystyrene trays with clingfilm. Drinks, including hot drinks, are dispensed in cardboard containers with a small plastic lid.

The issue currently under scrutiny is food containers and a report out this week indicates that a significant percentage of containers in supermarkets cannot be recycled. Containers that can be recycled are marked as such and being subjected to segregation.

Many on here seem to think it is an all or nothing scenario, far from it, the plastics issue can only be addressed with a constructive plan and any start, constructive or otherwise, is better than no start.

Of course. Isn't this where the earlier mentioned common sense kicks in?

15 hours ago, tropo said:

In your opinion it's irresponsible. It's not in mine. I take a more rational approach. My bags are going to landfall as I dispose of them properly. They are not going to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. What harm are they doing?

Yeah, landfill is fine lol 

As long as the problem is out of sight then it's been solved? ?

12 minutes ago, Ks45672 said:

Yeah, landfill is fine lol 

As long as the problem is out of sight then it's been solved? ?

In my area they have covered up the landfill with nets, which will probably disappear long before the "substances" they are covering!

Edited July 20, 20187 yr by sambum

At Rimping today all my shopping (not a lot) was put in one bag where before I would have got 2. Maybe some are starting to take notice at last.

3 hours ago, Ks45672 said:

Yeah, landfill is fine lol 

As long as the problem is out of sight then it's been solved? ?

LOL. How does burying plastic bags deep underground hurt the environment? It's a small problem that is massively overblown.

18 hours ago, sambum said:

"Plastic waste is one of many types of wastes that take too long to decompose. Normally, plastic items can take up to 1000 years to decompose in landfills. But plastic bags we use in our everyday life take 10-1000 years to decompose, while plastic bottles can take 450 years or more"

 

Nuff said?

 

Absolutely not "nuff said". Why not reference the source of your statement:

 

I'll do it for you:

 

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-long-does-it-take-garbage-to-decompose-2878033

 

Saying plastic bags take 10 - 1000 years to decompose is absurd. It's meaningless.

 

And please read the web page you didn't link. There's a lot more and far worse waste to worry about than focusing on plastic bags that take up a lot less space than most of the rest of our garbage that also takes a long time to break down.

 

 

 

 

47 minutes ago, tropo said:

Absolutely not "nuff said". Why not reference the source of your statement:

 

I'll do it for you:

 

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-long-does-it-take-garbage-to-decompose-2878033

 

Saying plastic bags take 10 - 1000 years to decompose is absurd. It's meaningless.

 

And please read the web page you didn't link. There's a lot more and far worse waste to worry about than focusing on plastic bags that take up a lot less space than most of the rest of our garbage that also takes a long time to break down.

 

 

 

 

But what about the damage to sea life and animals?  And the report that miniscule  items of plastic are being ingested by sea life.  We in turn are consuming it. I don't think space is an issue here. Pollution is. 

1 hour ago, Gandtee said:

But what about the damage to sea life and animals?  And the report that miniscule  items of plastic are being ingested by sea life.  We in turn are consuming it. I don't think space is an issue here. Pollution is. 

Yes, loose bags that make their way into the ocean can be a problem. I was specifically asking what problem they pose buried deep underground with all the other garbage that takes decades or centuries to break down.

Was at bigC today with my thai wife. After reading this thread yesterday, I wanted to contribute more than before.
Had one basket, she took a half melon, wrapped in plastic, later i added some mosqito spray and toilet paper. She took out the melon immediately!
Seems that Thai customers and shops are equally conditioned to seperate such items.
At the end, because she is smart, I could convince her and we left with only 1 plastic bag.
Next time we will bring a reusable bag.
But containers for the curry from the market will need more convincing (plus they were bloody expensive at BigC).

Sent from my ASUS_X008D using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Best place to start would be convenience stores. 

Also if you want this to work at fresh food markets you need to provide an affordable alternative. How will you get your fresh wet veggies home ?

certainly not in a paper bag.

2 hours ago, 5633572526 said:

Best place to start would be convenience stores. 

Also if you want this to work at fresh food markets you need to provide an affordable alternative. How will you get your fresh wet veggies home ?

certainly not in a paper bag.

As I've said before, Tiffin cans. Maybe some genius will design one which collapses flat to be carried and washed easily after use. A project for schools to set their pupils perhaps with a view to producing them with the help of an entrepreneur. The time is ripe. 

5 hours ago, Gandtee said:

As I've said before, Tiffin cans. Maybe some genius will design one which collapses flat to be carried and washed easily after use. A project for schools to set their pupils perhaps with a view to producing them with the help of an entrepreneur. The time is ripe. 

Like these on the AliBaba website you mean? 

18 hours ago, tropo said:

Yes, loose bags that make their way into the ocean can be a problem. I was specifically asking what problem they pose buried deep underground with all the other garbage that takes decades or centuries to break down.

I think what the other poster was referring to was that plastic takes a lot longer to degrade than (say) metal, which rusts away, or wood (natural product), paper which, as we know disintegrates and fabrics which eventually rot. These all effectively take up less space as time goes on, unlike plastic.

 

As such, it's not just plastic bags that are the problem but all plastic. I seem to recall that when plastic started to become commonplace, we were told that one of its advantages was that it would last for ever and wouldn't rot away.

 

Sadly, that has become the downside.

Edited July 21, 20187 yr by VBF

1 hour ago, VBF said:

Like these on the AliBaba website you mean? 

Not really, but like the ones I previously posted on this forum. But of course your ones will suffice.The problem is getting people to use them. Old habits die hard.

Well done. 

A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. 

 

Say no to plastic bags. 

It's as simple as that. 

On 7/20/2018 at 8:49 PM, tropo said:

Absolutely not "nuff said". Why not reference the source of your statement:

 

I'll do it for you:

 

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-long-does-it-take-garbage-to-decompose-2878033

 

Saying plastic bags take 10 - 1000 years to decompose is absurd. It's meaningless.

 

And please read the web page you didn't link. There's a lot more and far worse waste to worry about than focusing on plastic bags that take up a lot less space than most of the rest of our garbage that also takes a long time to break down.

 

 

 

 

No need to reference the source of my statement - to most sensible people with a grain of intelligence and a pair of eyes it must now be obvious that plastics (bags, bottles etc) are bad for the environment  (including plastic bags that may take 10 - 1000 years to decompose - depending on what kind of plastic bags they are - duh!) Waste of space - 

Edited July 21, 20187 yr by sambum

11 hours ago, 5633572526 said:

Best place to start would be convenience stores. 

Also if you want this to work at fresh food markets you need to provide an affordable alternative. How will you get your fresh wet veggies home ?

certainly not in a paper bag.

LOL> take the convenience OUT OF convenience stores.

 

IMO that's the worst place to start. At least when people go to a supermarket to shop, they know why they are going and can prepare their own bags if they really must. That won't happen if you go into a convenience store to buy a quick snack. 

Don't worry.  It will be like the next booze restriction and only last two days.  Thais give up plastic bags?   Are you kidding?  Take my word for it.  They will give up plastic bags for takeaway food after they give up corruption.