Thailand gets serious about plastic bags

[Bangkok Barry]

If Thailand is getting serious about the problem then why is this only for one day? I guess that, eventually, Thailand might catch up with Europe and plastic bags will not be handed out free EVERY day. URGING people and stores not to use them on one day is pretty much pointless.

[ChangMaiSausage]

 

I think it would be brilliant to go back to using paper bags for our shopping. The old ways are still the best. While Thailand maybe does not have managed forests like, for example, Norway, losing a bit more forest cover to produce more paper bags is a small price to pay for not recycling or reusing our plastic. Better still, because paper bags break easier than plastic ones, we can ask for two bags, one inside the other as that will almost make them as strong as the plastic ones. Yes, I know the slightest drip of condensation from our milk will make them soggy and soft but we can always ask for a third bag as this will only have an impact on our forests that will be missed by David Attenborough and a few "greenies". Having trees is vastly overrated and not being forced to take responsibility for our packaging choices is so au fait. Perhaps we can insist on wooden chopstick only as those plastic ones don't pick up the sushi half as well at Fuji.

We should also go back to wrapping fish in banana leaves as no one minds them being cut down too. Let Thai Union know that chopping down banana leaves for the millions of fish they sell is much more practical than hygienic plastic wrapping. 

The public ought to start forcing manufacturers to be responsible for over-producing plastic, which goes against business sense, but they do it anyway. I now understand they are responsible for throwing those plastic bottles out of their factory gates as they are making more than market forces demand. While we do this, can we blame Toyota for causing so many car accidents at Songkran? Obviously, the manufacturers must be held responsible for the road deaths - who else should we blame if not them?

Your a bundle of laughs

[randy723]

Ask Makro how much they save each year by not giving bags for what you bought and More people shop at Makro than Big C or Lotus 

[Moonlover]

 

Plastic is a major problem and can be solved by paper bags or bring your own cloth bag  ….. but different than Tesco Big C 7/11 and others …. how the street food suppliers gone solve how to pack their food ,as for now they do in those little bags magic way closed as air compressed with  elastic closure …?

Besides years ago I read here , that their is a precede to make plastic  from cassava in Thailand , which is soluble after time....never heard anymore  

Street food vendors have been around for a lot longer than plastic bags! They used to manage back then. I recall in Singapore back in the 60's bringing my take aways home in banana leaves, waxed paper and recycled food cans. Keema curry and chapati. Yummy.

[randy723]

If you want a bag at Makro you pay 11baht for it other wise NO BAG

[Con Queso]

 

 I forethought when they first came out; and got a heap of them when they were first up offered free

 

Shopping bags have never been free; they've been complementary.  There's a big difference.  It sounds to me like you stole a bunch of some store's bag stock.

[wvavin]

This country is getting serious with plastic bags? I try my best to believe.

[theonetrueaussie]

Unless everyone here starts driving cars which let's face it are FAR worse for the environment then plastic bags here there is no point removing plastic bags. Thai's wont bring bags or pay for bags and then will try and hold onto their items while riding home raising the risk of accidents even higher here. But I suppose the higher loss of life wouldn't matter to some here as long as plastic bags are banned at any cost.

While on the topic of plastic, I go through 8 x 600 ml plastic bottles a day sometimes 10 which is far more plastic then the 1 plastic bag i get daily from shopping. Let's face it banning plastic bags is going to do little to nothing to reduce plastic use while being a major inconvenience to most!

[shackleton]

should do the same as the UK 

when I was there last it was bring your own or pay for one I soon learned to take one with me 

[HHTel]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand gets serious about plastic bags

Some stores in BKK have taken the decision not to issue plastic bags for ONE DAY!

 

Getting serious!  Don't make me laugh.

[HHTel]

9 minutes ago, theonetrueaussie said:

While on the topic of plastic, I go through 8 x 600 ml plastic bottles a day sometimes 10 which is far more plastic then the 1 plastic bag i get daily from shopping. Let's face it banning plastic bags is going to do little to nothing to reduce plastic use while being a major inconvenience to most!

I wonder how these countries cope.  They have a ban on plastic, some for years past:

• Kenya
• Mali
• Cameroon
• Tanzania
• Uganda
• Ethiopia
• Malawi
• Morocco
• South Africa
• Rwanda
• Botswana

and that's just Africa!

[SunsetT]

18 hours ago, metisdead said:

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....No problem.....I do this already.

 

One problem though, is that supermarkets, in order to prevent shop lifting, tell u to leave any personal bags at reception when u enter the store. Mind u, I think they know me by now and dont enforce this and allow me to enter with a back pack. Im not so sure if they would allow Thai customers to do this though.

[MaxYakov]

Today was Foodland's first day of no-plastic-bags. What did they substitute for the customers?

 

Boxes!

 

  (of all sizes that were obviously surplus from sales goods)

 

Did they have cloth bags for sale? I didn't see a one either supplied by FoodLand or by even a single customer.

 

A very Lame Environment Day. Tells me that FoodLand and probably every retail store in Thailand is not serious about protecting the environment. I can't help but wonder what the Bay of Bangkok looks like from the sea creatures' perspectives.

 

 

[Derek B]

Correct disposal of the plastic waste is the under lying issue surely.

[elgenon]

16 hours ago, JAG said:

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

Because using paper bags lead to deforestation? And stressed the environment, and loss of trees lead to less carbon capture by trees?

[Eric Loh]

Happy to play my part for the environment. 

[MikeN]

Went into Tesco yesterday and there were NO signs warning about the plastic bag free day.....think there will be some surprised shoppers !

[ZeVonderBearz]

I'm going to pop into 7 /11 today for a pack of chewing gum to see if this is for real

[david555]

4 minutes ago, MikeN said:

Went into Tesco yesterday and there were NO signs warning about the plastic bag free day.....think there will be some surprised shoppers !

Went Tesco south today , they handle brown paper bags with TESCO on it 

[Orton Rd]

Just got back from 7/11 plastic bags for all, asked them about no bag day and they know nothing about it, pathetic.

[Orton Rd]

18 minutes ago, elgenon said:

Because using paper bags lead to deforestation? And stressed the environment, and loss of trees lead to less carbon capture by trees?

Rubbish, paper is made from renewable crops of trees, they are not cutting down rain forests!

[dcnx]

Heading to 7-11 soon, I have no doubt they will give me as many bags, spoons, and straws as I want.

 

[Bantex]

I went to my local shop yesterday and bought a few (4 packs) of cartons of flavoured milk for our kids. I was amazed that staff put my purchases in a plastic bag which was large for my 3 year old son to get into and then proceeded to double bag the first one.

The previous time when I took a cloth shopping bag to the store and gave it to the cashier she looked for a price tag to charge me for my own bag. She then placed my shopping in plastic bags but ignored me when I asked her to use my cloth bag only to put my cloth bag in a separate plastic bag  and hand it back to me.

[laocowboy2]

19 hours ago, Greyhat said:

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

THB5 at least - if not THB10. 

[orchidfan]

19 hours ago, Greyhat said:

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

In Hong Kong it's roughly 2 baht for any plastic bag .....the expats pay the 50cHK. ...the locals bring their own cloth bags!

[elgenon]

11 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

Rubbish, paper is made from renewable crops of trees, they are not cutting down rain forests!

I never said anything about rain forests. All trees capture carbon. At the height of paper bag use they were not made from sustainable forests. Many in the US were made from wood brought in from Canada. Even if they could be now, that doesn't mean there are no environmental costs. e.g. fuel burned for transport, fertilizer. Renewable doesn't mean there are no environmental costs.

[Orton Rd]

8 minutes ago, elgenon said:

I never said anything about rain forests. All trees capture carbon. At the height of paper bag use they were not made from sustainable forests. Many in the US were made from wood brought in from Canada. Even if they could be now, that doesn't mean there are no environmental costs. e.g. fuel burned for transport, fertilizer. Renewable doesn't mean there are no environmental costs.

paper has been made from re planted crops for over 50 years, if not for those crops there would be less carbon capturing forests.

[KhunProletariat]

Still not so serious about plastic bags at the local 7/11 this morning. One for my (small) water and a separate one for my ice cream.

 

Gotta love the Thainess!

[nahkit]

7 hours ago, ryane66 said:

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. ????

 

I bought a reusable cloth bag in Tesco several years ago and they put it in a plastic bag for me.

[orchidfan]

8 minutes ago, nahkit said:

I bought a reusable cloth bag in Tesco several years ago and they put it in a plastic bag for me.

I brought my cloth bag to 7/11 the other day where they packed my things onto it carefully then dropped it in to large plastic bag!

I gave them back the plastic bag much to their amazement!