Thailand gets serious about plastic bags

[webfact]

Thailand gets serious about plastic bags

By The Nation

 

 

Tomorrow (Tuesday, December 4) is Thai Environment Day, and the Natural Resource and Environment Ministry has all shopping malls and shops, including convenience stores, begging you to do without single-use plastic bags, at least for one day.

 

Environment Day has been observed annually since 1991, but there is fresh impetus this year for introducing measures to wean consumers off plastic bags.

 

Stores are being urged to stop bagging purchases in plastic and instead to give away cloth bags or encourage customers to bring cloth bags with them.

 

Hospitals are also being asked to dispense medicine in cloth rather than plastic bags.

 

One survey found that Thais on average produce 1.14 kilograms of trash per day, totalling 74,000 tonnes across the nation.

 

The ministry’s Department of Environmental Quality Promotion will on Tuesday host a commemorative event in Impact Arena Hall 9 with the theme “Doing good deeds with your hearts, minimising threats to the environment”.

 

The aim is to discourage use of plastic and Styrofoam, said department chief Suriyakul Na Ayutya.

 

  People can also donate cloth bags at shopping malls and the department's event on Tuesday, so that the cloth bags can be donate to hospitals nationwide to bag medicine packs for patients.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30359754

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-12-03

[Greyhat]

Just charge 1THB per plastic bag and watch everyone clutching their purchases in their arms or carrying their own bag everywhere.

[zydeco]

 

Stores are being urged to stop bagging purchases in plastic and instead to give away cloth bags or encourage customers to bring cloth bags with them.

And what if I bring plastic bags with me? Are the stores going to refuse to bag my purchases?

[metisdead]

Some troll posts have been removed. 

 

Seems Thailand can't get it right with some posters, they get insulted for not cracking down on plastic bag usage and then when try to crack down on plastic bag usage, they get insulted again.  I suppose if you bring your own plastic bags, they'll use your plastic bags.

[fruitman]

 

Some troll posts have been removed. 

 

Seems Thailand can't get it right with some posters, they get insulted for not cracking down on plastic bag usage and then when try to crack down on plastic bag usage, they get insulted again.  I suppose if you bring your own plastic bags, they'll use your plastic bags.

Yes they do, i have some bags hanging on the shoppingscooter and they all like it when i bring them.

[JAG]

I never really understood why they gave up using paper bags.

[ChipButty]

What about plastic body bags? need a load of them in Thailand

[Lungstib]

So, you can purchase all the goods in plastic pots, bottles, jugs and containers. Food on plastic pressed bases. Noodle and rice pots needing just hot water. Coke, Sprite, Fanta and all the other sweet, fizzy coloured drinks in 2L plastic bottles. Ice cream in heavy duty tubs. Biscuits and cakes in plastic packets, and just about everything double covered in plastic wrapping. But please bring a cloth bag to take it home. Seriously.......

[Lacessit]

There is so much plastic in Thailand I find the OP quite laughable. Rimping in CM has no plastic bags on Wednesday. Woop de doo. It sells small containers of grapes in a plastic bucket, with a plastic fork inside. They sell precooked salmon on a plastic tray, wrapped in plastic, with a plastic sachet of sauce and a completely gratuitous plastic green ornament. Who do they think they are kidding with this BS?

[yellowboat]

I have to DECLINE the offer of a bag loudly, in Thai, several times when at a store.  

 

The image that haunts me is this beautiful woman eating along side a Klong in Bangkok, elegantly discarding a plastic bag into the water.  It was one of the most beautiful yet disgusting things I have ever seen.   

[Brigand]

Malls/7-11 and the like should just put up prices on everything in their stores/supermarkets by 1 or 2  baht and issue bio-degradable plastic bags to people in the same fashion as now. Who would notice or complain if their can of tuna cost 41 or 42 baht instead of 40? I couldn't care less about that if it was to introduce environmentally friendly bags. 

[zzaa09]

How about a voluntary No Shopping and Consumption Day [or two]? 

 

A twisted suggestion to plant a seed of future consideration. 

 

????

[webfact]

No plastic bags for shoppers on Dec 4 as campaign against single-use plastic bags launched

 

 

Marking the Thai Environment Day Dec 4, convenience stores, modern trade stores and shopping malls will refrain from providing single-use plastic bags to shoppers and at the same time will campaign for donation of cloth bags to be distributed to hospitals for containing medicines.

 

The plastic bag-free day is the outcome of a memorandum of understanding signed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and operators of convenience stores, modern trade stores and shopping malls to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags with the Thai Environment Day being designated as the launch date for the campaign.

 

After the plastic bag-free day on December 4, all the stores and malls will work out their own measures to reduce the use of the plastic bags ,such as designating a day or a few days of a week that no plastic bags will be provided to shoppers.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/no-plastic-bags-for-shoppers-on-dec-4-as-campaign-against-single-use-plastic-bags-launched/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2018-12-04

[ryane66]

Every Time l bring my reusable cloth bag to TESCO , the checkout clerk is looking for a tag to scan. They have no clue what they are. ????

 

[webfact]

Plastic bag ban to mark Thai Environment Day on Dec 4

 

BANGKOK, 4 December 2018 (NNT) - Convenience stores, modern trade outlets, and shopping malls across Thailand will jointly refrain from providing single-use plastic bags to consumers to mark the Thai Environment Day Dec 4. 

The plastic bag-free day is the outcome of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and operators of convenience stores, modern trade outlets, and shopping malls. The Thai Environment Day has been designated as the launch date of the campaign to reduce single-use plastic bags. 

After tomorrow, all stores and malls will work out their own measures to reduce the use of the plastic bags, such as increasing number of days of plastic bag ban in each week. 

Earlier, several universities asked convenience stores in their campuses to stop providing single-use plastic bags to shoppers. The universities urged them to bring their own reusable bags to carry goods with incentives provided. Reusable bags are also available to be loaned to the shoppers.

 

-- nnt 2018-12-04

[balo]

I will observe what happens in 7 eleven today , I am sure they will ask for plastic bags and the staff will not stop them.

Losing face and all that . 

 

[a977]

On a recent trip to Kanchanaburi I stopped at a 7/11 for refreshment twice at the checkout I told the girl I didn't want a straw for my milk drink or plastic bag for my sandwich and drink. Obviously the message not getting through from head office regarding the use of plastic bags.

[Chang_paarp]

One day!

 

Total tokenism. An inditement on the thinking of those in a position to change things.

[1337markus]

 

There is so much plastic in Thailand I find the OP quite laughable. Rimping in CM has no plastic bags on Wednesday. Woop de doo. It sells small containers of grapes in a plastic bucket, with a plastic fork inside. They sell precooked salmon on a plastic tray, wrapped in plastic, with a plastic sachet of sauce and a completely gratuitous plastic green ornament. Who do they think they are kidding with this BS?

Believe it or not those orange bags actually breakdown to powder after 6 months, I have some in my storage area with bolts and screws packets in them.

[fruitman]

 

So, you can purchase all the goods in plastic pots, bottles, jugs and containers. Food on plastic pressed bases. Noodle and rice pots needing just hot water. Coke, Sprite, Fanta and all the other sweet, fizzy coloured drinks in 2L plastic bottles. Ice cream in heavy duty tubs. Biscuits and cakes in plastic packets, and just about everything double covered in plastic wrapping. But please bring a cloth bag to take it home. Seriously.......

And when they go buying all that they burn a lot of fuel in their very large air conditioned car...

 

I'm still amazed how many thai go buy breakfast by car to come home with some rice soup.

[catman20]

 

I never really understood why they gave up using paper bags.

cost i would guess.

[Moonlover]

 

I never really understood why they gave up using paper bags.

Because paper bags were considered to be a waste of valuable timber recourses and a threat to the environment!

[wgdanson]

 

cost i would guess.

Does it not take more energy and water to produce paper than plastic? Just asking.

[david_dyer]

So many people with simply no idea!!!!!,

All major shopping centers already do this in australia, and charge 15c if you need a bag.....what's the issue??

[Chassa]

Thailand gets serious about plastic bags

 

When plastic bags disappear from the markets I will believe this statement.

[fullcave]

 

Yes they do, i have some bags hanging on the shoppingscooter and they all like it when i bring them.

Now if they could only learn to not treat their own country like a giant garbage can! Perhaps a don't litter campaign would be useful?

[fruitman]

 

Now if they could only learn to not treat their own country like a giant garbage can! Perhaps a don't litter campaign would be useful?

I see it everyday, Thai throwing big black bin bags out of their car into the swamps at backroads in BKK....but i never see the police doing anything except they were very busy with a bicycle tour last sunday....in BKK.

[Con Queso]

All major shopping centers already do this in australia, and charge 15c if you need a bag.....what's the issue??

Inertia.

[Moonlover]

 

On a recent trip to Kanchanaburi I stopped at a 7/11 for refreshment twice at the checkout I told the girl I didn't want a straw for my milk drink or plastic bag for my sandwich and drink. Obviously the message not getting through from head office regarding the use of plastic bags.

I frequent a Mini Big C and a Tesco Express close to our village. All the staff know me and recognize me as a 'no plastic' customer. They know all about this issue and give me an encouraging 'thumbs up' whenever I visit. But in the end, it's down to the customers. They are the ones who need to be educated and encouraged.

[tifino]

 

Believe it or not those orange bags actually breakdown to powder after 6 months, I have some in my storage area with bolts and screws packets in them.

 

555... don't you mean 'had some in...'? ???? 

 

 

 

 

thinking further... this will be a challenge for them:       hmmm, the cloth bag challenge...