Solve the plastic bag issue... charge 5 baht for a bag

[ubonr1971]

Im in Europe staying in a city thats anti plastic bags. At the supermarket today they asked me to pay for a bag. 

 

I think its a great idea to introduce in Thailand. Everyone will bring their used plastic bags with them. Its better for the environment 

 

Its annoying when I see the check out chicks in thailand 1/2 fill a plastic bag and start to get another one and then only 1/2 fill that one etc. At 7 eleven they double bag for no reason. Stupid idiots...

 

 

[sirineou]

You can solve a lot of problems that way, especially the having    5 bht  problem.

[CharlieH]

Troll post removed.

[canopy]

Reducing doesn't solve the problem so I would be against such a measure. Better to do what Kenya and other countries have already done: all plastic bags are illegal effective immediately. It's not that hard. Everyone did it up until the plastic era. Makes more sense.

 

[Kwasaki]

10 hours ago, ubonr1971 said:

Solve the plastic bag issue... charge 5 baht for a bag

There'll be someone outside selling em for 2 baht.

[johng]

4 hours ago, canopy said:

all plastic bags are illegal

What do they put their  ice coffee,fizzy drinks and take away curries in ???

[canopy]

Really neat alternative containers made of natural materials of many varieties are available. Problem is the people don't want them. People want the plastic so that's all you are going to see. "Solving" the problem is unwanted by the general population who don't see a problem or care about it in the first place. They are completely content to toss more bags into the waterways and make plastic fires.

 

[shackleton]

If you don't want a plastic bag for your shopping just tell them

I use them for the small rubbish which is then put in a dustbin and removed

the problem is not the 7/11 or Malls its people throwing them in the streets and Klongs need heavier fines if caught disposing illegally   

[natway09]

More importantly is how you get ALL OF US to dispose of them responsibly.

Think about this

[Tweedle dee]

It doesn't end there in bags...we throw away millions upon millions of cotton buds / domed topped plastic drinks containers / food trays / drinking straws etc etc , in my opinion we are a little too late for the damage now apparent world wide ... i dont see a tree huggy solution this century or the next. that is if some nutter refrains from firing nukes.

[Foexie]

5 bht a bag will not help at all.

 

First of all they need to give the customers an option like re-usable bags because how the hell will you carry your groceries home on your motorbike or bus?

 

Secondly 5 bht is to cheap anyway. I see it here in my city. Stores sell re-usable bags for 40bht or so and they sell like candy to .... foreigners who work here.

Every week i see they come to the stores with busses and every week i see those bags from that/those store(s) (and there is just one of them/those in the neighbourhood) been trown out the window used as garbage bag.

 

So if even "expensive" bags not work here to be re-used how will cheap bags work in Thailand?

 

To give you an idea: on world clean-up day this year, in my little country alone, over 32000 volunteers collected more then 13000 garbage bags of 60l in 8h.

 

And last year the bill from collecting road trash here was over 60 million euro.

 

They only thing what will help is what they already do in some African !!!! countries: ban those plastic bags and fine those who sell, give and/or use them.

 

@ Tweedle dee: you are so right but you have to start somewhere. Btw the cotton buds i use already for years are wooden and when i drink from a bottle, can or glass i never use a straw.

 

 

[OJAS]

4 hours ago, shackleton said:

the problem is not the 7/11 or Malls

In my experience, however, there is a problem with the officious miserable jobsworths who bar you from entering Big C or Tesco Lotus stores with empty bags which you had already used once and, shock, horror, were planning to use again!

Edited November 17, 2018 by OJAS

[mogandave]

How about we charge everyone that makes B30,000 a month or more B100 per bag, and everyone that makes less than B30,000 B2 per bag. That seems fair to me.

[mogandave]

Hey, remember we used to use biodegradable paper bags?

Lefty told us we were desecrating the the forest, so we had to uses plastic bags.

Now lefty doesn’t want us using the bags they compelled us to use.

[HHTel]

As long as shops issue them and are accepted by the customer, nothing changes.  YOU CAN REFUSE the bags - I do!  Don't just blame the retailers.

 

However, changes are appearing.  Tesco announced (in my area) that they will not be issuing plastic bags after 4th December.  Others are following.  Makro have never had plastic bags and that hasn't deterred customers.

 

The power to change lies with the customer.

 

[chingmai331]

Customers must pay for plastic bags in China, and Hong Kong.  Now, in HK per plastic shopping bag is 50 cents, so at 4 baht per HK $, that would be 2 baht per bag.

The cost does cut down the use of the give-away bags. Can you imagine how many such bags are used in China everyday...astronomical.  There, it's called 'white litter' and it's all over the countryside.

 

[mogandave]

Customers must pay for plastic bags in China, and Hong Kong.  Now, in HK per plastic shopping bag is 50 cents, so at 4 baht per HK $, that would be 2 baht per bag.
The cost does cut down the use of the give-away bags. Can you imagine how many such bags are used in China everyday...astronomical.  There, it's called 'white litter' and it's all over the countryside.
 

Everyone everywhere has to pay for the bags, they just have to pay extra in some places.

[DJ54]

1 hour ago, HHTel said:

YOU CAN REFUSE the bags - I do!  Don't just blame the retailers.

Most the time I do also..... the shop across laughs because I won’t 

take a bag. I’ve got hands and pockets.

 

Some stores when you buy soda (can or bottle) they want to give you a straw with it... 

 

A lot of cashiers when you say no thanks you can see their pleased

that you’re doing your part

 

 

 

 

 

[Jenny Lincoln]

I don't agree with charging 5b for a plastic bag, because it's unfair to people who go around by walk or public transport (which is something also environmental) and need to protect their items. Thailand is a rainy climate, and plastic bags are WATERPROOF, and in a normal cloth bag, many items that you buy can be damaged on the trip home. Also, cloth bags are difficult to clean, and Thai food is messy! Without a plastic bag (preferably, two layers of bags, a hot PP bag and an outer normal bag, or a bag put inside a lunchbox), it can spill all over your cloth bag, which you may then not have time to wash for several days, or you may be unable to get the stain out of it! On top of this, the plastic bags are EXTREMELY USEFUL. I reuse every single plastic bag I get, and I even buy them in lots from the small stores. I use them for wrapping items like my comb and brush, tea and coffee powder, packed lunch, and other items I often carry in my handbag and umbrella material food bag from Tops. Another issue here...I read about this in a research study...is that the Thai people who work at the customer service counters like to give out something for free, something other, beyond what the customer has bought, as a way to get Buddhist merit, and for social reasons. They get upset when you refuse a bag (you should see the look in their eyes!) So I don't think this plan is going to work here. They charged several cents for a plastic bag in Washington, D.C. in 2010 when I lived there, and it didn't seem to help anything. What I did notice was that plastic bags of all sizes were made of much poorer quality and cheaper plastic, compared to what they had been made of in the year 2000 when I was last in the US, and would often fall apart on the way home from the store, whereas in the old days they had been made of good plastic that could be used a long time. Makro stopped giving out its wonderful, useful bags for free...this was a big problem when I went to Mae Rim in July 2017, and had bought a bunch of items from there, and planned to go home by songtaew and not by car, and no one informed me about the bag issue until they had already rung up all my items. Fortunately, I was able to buy a Makro bag for 11b, and I used it for about two years after that as a laundry bag!  The whole plastic bag thing is just a way for large corporations who cause most of the damage to the world's environment today to transfer their blame for the problem to ordinary people and make the ordinary people do the suffering! And especially in Thailand, where cloth bags simply do not protect items from rain damage, as the rain can start very suddenly, or solve hygiene issues with food, as it's a humid climate with lots of bugs and flies. We do need to distinguish between the types of bags here...the HOT BAGS keep food fresh far longer than a normal lunchbox or tiffin container does, which is why they are used for packaging at Devi Mandir temple (and to keep it still longer, I put the bag inside a lunchbox and wrap another bag on top of that and criss-cross rubber-band it!) Many Thai people don't have a fridge, so that is another issue here. And the BIG SIZE bags are useful to put in your dustbin or for packing and carrying clothes, or for cat litter boxes (my mom and stepfather use ONLY WalMart bags for the cat litter box!) And the BIGGER SIZE THICKER PLASTIC BAGS can sometimes be used for as much as a year later and for all kinds of purposes that cloth or paper bags can't be used for. Anyway, if they do proceed with this ban, I would recommend that everyone buy, not a cloth bag, but a JUTE BAG (many made in Bangladesh, and they are available at Tops and several other stores) and an UMBRELLA material bag, which, unlike ordinary cloth bags, are WATERPROOF. 

[joecoolfrog]

8 hours ago, mogandave said:

Hey, remember we used to use biodegradable paper bags?

Lefty told us we were desecrating the the forest, so we had to uses plastic bags.

Now lefty doesn’t want us using the bags they compelled us to use.

Can you believe the nerve of lefty , wanting to safeguard the planet , shame on him !

[mogandave]

Can you believe the nerve of lefty , wanting to safeguard the planet , shame on him !

I’m happy for lefty needing to save the planet. But lefty doesn’t want to save the planet, lefty wants to compel everyone else to save the planet.

I don’t mind lefty spending his money, I just don’t like him spending mine.

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, mogandave said:

don’t mind lefty spending his money, I just don’t like him spending mine.

Lefty doesn't have any money as he never believed in working for a living.

So he has to spend your money as you always worked for a living.

[Ahab]

A charge of one baht a bag would likely be enough to reduce the issue substantially for most Thai's. A baht saved is a baht earned.

[mogandave]

A charge of one baht a bag would likely be enough to reduce the issue substantially for most Thai's. A baht saved is a baht earned.

Yes, keep in on the backs of the poor.

[elgenon]

Where I live, single use plastic bags are banned. You have to pay for a paper one. To encourage using reusable bags.

[Ahab]

1 minute ago, mogandave said:

 

Yes, keep in on the backs of the poor.

 

Which is where the problem lies. The number of rich or middle class in Thailand is far out numbered by the poor. Also it would not be on the back of anyone that does not wish (or was able) to buy a plastic bag. Actually the well off probably wouldn't mind or even notice a small fee for a bag. I know I wasn't when this type of fee was enacted in the my state in the USA, if I needed a bag I bought a bag.

[1FinickyOne]

I paid 29 baht for a reusable bag, but where I am currently living, garbage disposal is done in plastic bags... solutions? 

 

I would not mind getting plastic out of my life... 

[mogandave]

Which is where the problem lies. The number of rich or middle class in Thailand is far out numbered by the poor. Also it would not be on the back of anyone that does not wish (or was able) to buy a plastic bag. Actually the well off probably wouldn't mind or even notice a small fee for a bag. I know I wasn't when this type of fee was enacted in the my state in the USA, if I needed a bag I bought a bag.

That’s why I think the cost of the bags should be progressive.

You make You pay
Per month Per bag
10k B1
20k B10
30k. B50
40k B100
50-100k B200
100-500k. B500
500k+ B1,000

I think it’s fair

[owl sees all]

47 minutes ago, kenk24 said:

I paid 29 baht for a reusable bag, but where I am currently living, garbage disposal is done in plastic bags... solutions? 

 

I would not mind getting plastic out of my life... 

Am I the only one in Thailand who likes plastic bags? One of the greatest inventions ever, along with the wheel, nail-clippers and condoms.

 

When I'm at the supermarket and they put too much into the bag I have a moan; especially when they mix normal with refrigerated goods. I ask for double bags if the weight is more that 4kg.

 

I transport my pets in plastic bags and I've also grown sugar in them.

 

However, there was a day, a while back, when I had a plan. I put on my fishing jacket to go shopping. Now this jacket has 16 pockets, so it was OK for quite a lot of goodies, but obviously not for big items. Just one trip convinced me to revert back to the old plastic.

 

I am a fan of the insulated bags; the ones that keep the goodies cold (or indeed hot) for absolute ages. From now on I'm gonna use it for my shopping, although putting stuff into it that doesn't require keeping cool might not be a great idea.

 

 

[cat handler]

It annoys me when i just buy a single item like a pack of smokes and they put it in a plastic bag