Bring your own bag shopping, starting today

[luk AJ]

 

The article says Thailand, with a population of 60 million or so, uses about 500 million plastic bags per day... or an average of 8 per day per person.

 

Do you and everyone else really have that much trash to dispose of daily?

 

I agree there is too much non-degradable plastic waste. But going back to paper and glass is not the solution.

In India they use plastic to mix with asphalt with good results. Scientists are working on plastic which can dissolve in sea water.

With the current scientific knowledge there should be a way to solve this problem. I think it is a matter of focus.

Plastic consumption grew together with the oil consumption. As gas and oil are the building blocks for plastic. As oil consumption hopefully will go down the coming decennia, I expect that plastics made of oil and gas will go down as well.

A new era is coming fast where all petroleum related products will be banned including plastics. New materials to replace plastics will be found I am quite confident in the capabilities of future generations.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[NCC1701A]

went to home pro today.

"sorry no have bag. you want bag? One baht."

"what kind of bag is it?"

"plastic"

"how does that help?"

"one baht is a donation."

"oh, I see."

 

same as villa market and gourmet market. i carried my groceries out in a grocery cart.

Edited July 3, 2019 by NCC1701A

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just now, NCC1701A said:

went to home pro today.

"sorry no have bag. you want bag? One baht."

"what kind of bag is it?"

"plastic"

"how does that help?"

"one baht is a donation."

"oh, I see."

 

I believe the article indicated, the 1 baht bag donation monies are supposed to go to one of the Thai anti-pollution groups to support their efforts.

 

[emptypockets]

6 hours ago, ZeVonderBearz said:

What's with these companies just doing one off no bag days? Just ban plastic bags. Simple. If one person complains there's no plastic bags then screw them. They'll be sure to take their own bag shopping with them next time. Just stop trying to score cheap points by pretending to care about the environment and ban the plastic already.

Actually they don't always take the bags with them. I got caught in Oz last week as I didn't know about the new ban on bags. I had to buy some at 15 cents apiece. No big deal. Retailers are now complaining about a drop off in sales due to the no free bag policy. People are going shopping, forgetting the reusable bags, refusing to buy new ones, buying only what they can hand carry and subsequently buying less. Perhaps it is hitting the discretionary spending rather then the essential spending.

Probably a good thing in all respects.

[fosseway]

Bringing your own bag, is very good idea, but what about most of all the plastic prepackaged goods, Styrofoam, plastic bottles etc

[VBF]

4 hours ago, fosseway said:

Bringing your own bag, is very good idea, but what about most of all the plastic prepackaged goods, Styrofoam, plastic bottles etc

I agree. I'm in the UK but it's a worldwide issue - did my weekly shopping today (Sainsburys) and took my own shopping bags.

Came home with no fewer than 7 plastic containers of food. Things like berries, butter, milk etc etc. Not possible to find the items i want in non-plastic containers. Even bunches of bananas are in plastic bags! The loose ones are more expensive per kg, same with other fruit.

 At least my local council provides for recycling.

[observer90210]

Don't hurt your backs you young lads out there !!....get the groceries delivered....no bags no hassles no nothing...

(or else send yer Missus to errand for you!!)

Edited July 3, 2019 by observer90210

[dcnx]

Wow. A whole day.

 

 

[helloagain]

14 hours ago, samtam said:

I take my own reusable cloth bags for my weekly shop at Central Food Hall, and usually all 5 of them are filled. However, occasionally when out and not intending to shop at a grocery store, I remember that I need something I forgot at the weekly shop. I am not in the habit of carrying reusable bags around with me, so I have to resort to whatever (usually plastic) bag the store provides. The Paragon or Emporium grocery store is usually one such candidate, so I'll happily cough up the THB1 for a bag. But why not make paper bags?

Perhaps more expensive. Paper bags are made from trees, trees gives us air we breath.? 

[Kerryd]

Paper bags went out of vogue when certain groups complained that too many trees were being harvested to produce them (even though most were made from recycled paper in the first place). Paper bags were great, but I suspect the real reason that plastic replaced them was price. I'm guessing (totally as I can't be arsed to spend the morning researching this) that plastic bags are far cheaper to produce than paper, and take less space for storage/shipping.

 

The old brown paper bags were pretty tough and often were reused for other things once the groceries were unloaded. Remember when (smaller) brown bags were used for lunch bags (hence the term "brown bagging it" which meant packing your own lunch to school/work). We used to have stacks of old bags in the house when I was a kid. Great for storing things like old sweaters or stacks of paperback novels. As we were in a rural area and used wood for heating/cooking, the bags were also great for tinder to get the fire going.

 

I carry a couple reusable bags with me and more than once I've been at the checkout and realized they were still under the seat of the moto. 2 days ago I was at Tops and the girl started running my stuff through the till and when she ran out of room she mention to me that it was "no plastic bag" day. I had to run out to the scooter and get my reusable.

Eventually I will clue in but there will still be times that you'll end up stuck. 1 baht per bag isn't too bad (I usually end up with 5+ plastic bags every shopping trip, sometimes a couple are double bagged as well). 

As long as the money actually goes where they say it will (doubtful). More likely it will end up in someone's pocket.

8 bags per person per day is probably not too far off the mark when you think about it (and take a moment to think about life here). You go buy breakfast, lunch and supper from the local shops/food vendors and you've probably already hit 7-8 plastic bags already. Stop at 7-11 or a market to buy something and you're likely to have another 2-3 bags. I collect all my plastic bags (in a plastic bag) and give them to the local collector who adds them to her pile of recyclables as it seems most of those bags (the shopping ones at least) are recyclable.

But so many, especially the ones they use to put food in (i.e. from the street vendors and small shops where they ladle the food into a small bag, tie it off and then often end up putting those little bags into a larger one) end up in the garbage (or the sewers where they plug up the pipes and cause the water - and garbage - to flow back onto the streets).
The "no plastic bags" at the larger shopping outlets isn't going to affect that, though it is still a step in the right direction.

[Uptooyoo]

15 hours ago, ZeVonderBearz said:

What's with these companies just doing one off no bag days? Just ban plastic bags. Simple. If one person complains there's no plastic bags then screw them. They'll be sure to take their own bag shopping with them next time. Just stop trying to score cheap points by pretending to care about the environment and ban the plastic already.

Easy problem to solve. Let the forces of economics work. If stores were to charge 3 baht per plastic bag, usage would drop dramatically. Now if only they would apply an excess pollution charge on vehicle emissions, people would tune their vehicles or trade them in. We would all breathe easier.

[MikeN]

15 hours ago, Vacuum said:

And tomorrow, everything back to normal?

July 3 may be the International Bag Free Day, but the 4th day of each month is the Thai no plastic bag day ....well, except for those stores that ignore it, like most 7/11s.

[Beggar]

14 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Never needed a bag at all at Makro. Just roll the cart with the goods to the back of the car and load up.

Great idea! Where can I get the car from? And how do I move everything from the car into my condo then? 

[Garybaldy]

There are also natural alternatives to plastic bags which look and feel the same but are made out of natural stuff like hemp. Of course they are more expensive but what price the world I would gladly pay 1bt per bag and then use them for garbage bags after,  job sorted.

[MasterBaker]

I shop at Tops most of the time. Every portion of the food you buy packed on a plastic tray and wrapped with few layers of the plastic. Every grocery packed in a plastic already. And then when i go through the check out, they tell me there is no plastic and not even a paper bag. This is ridiculous, they create mass of plastic waste and let customers carry it home.

 

Plastic don't harm environment, people who throw it in the ocean and on the streets do!

[Beggar]

6 minutes ago, MikeN said:

July 3 may be the International Bag Free Day, but the 4th day of each month is the Thai no plastic bag day ....well, except for those stores that ignore it, like most 7/11s.

In addition Tops at least here in the Central Mall does not give you plastic bags every Tuesday. I still need plastic bags for my waste. And perhaps better recycling could solve the problem. Also there is the question who throws them into the sea. Garbage removal companies that want to save money? And for me such plastic bag free days might be just the days I avoid for shopping. And honestly - I never ever threw a plastic bag into a river or into the sea. So who does it! 

[NanLaew]

16 hours ago, ZeVonderBearz said:

What's with these companies just doing one off no bag days?

Because that's exactly how the companies in big, civilized, majority-white countries introduced plastic bag reduction to their great unwashed.

[NanLaew]

3 minutes ago, Beggar said:

In addition Tops at least here in the Central Mall does not give you plastic bags every Tuesday. I still need plastic bags for my waste.

And you can't keep a spare bag handy from Monday, hold it over for Tuesday's waste and include it, double-bagged in Wednesday's?

 

I've heard of tight budgets but this sounds quite extreme.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Great idea! Where can I get the car from? And how do I move everything from the car into my condo then? 

Makro sell large “ eco friendly “ bags ( 11 baht at checkout ) that you keep in the back of your car, unload your trolley into them, and take into the house/condo.

The trick is to remember to put the bag back in the car for next time [emoji51]

[30la]

I don't understand where the problem is, I always have two shopping bags with me, they don't bother me at all.
The plastic bag business is absolutely a big business, I suppose as I have already said and written several times that cashiers in department stores are paid by plastic bag factories to give away as much as possible!

[HaoleBoy]

I've been using a reusable bag since April and carry one in my backpack for those "just in case I need something visit".  BUT, I still have a LOT of plastic when I get home.

 

The grocery stores wrap everything in plastic and sometimes double wrap it.  This goes for meat, cheese, take-away food, and fruit.  When will these habits get changed?

[HHTel]

15 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Personally. I don't think that the supermarket bags are the big issue in Thailand. Their bags are quite thin and degrade very quickly. And it's evident that the staff are being now trained to limit the issue of bags and other plastic sundries such as spoons and straws.

 

The big problem areas are the markets and small shops. It's an automatic reflex for the vendor to reach for the plastic bag and an equally automatic reflex for the customer to accept it without question.

 

Millions upon millions of single use bags are used daily in these outlets and there is no control whatsoever other than personal discipline, which in this country is, I'm afraid, sadly lacking.

They certainly do not!  A recent project in the UK found supermarket bags in imported waste as far away as Malaysia.  Even marked biodegradable bags need a particular environment to degrade.  Bury them and they'll still be usable some years later.  Another option is compostable bags but has the same problem as biodegradable - one shouldn't be buried and the other should!! Simply put.

[arithai12]

16 hours ago, luk AJ said:

I don’t get it, which bags you use to dump your garbage? Plastic garbage bags right? I use ALL plastic shopping bags for garbage. If tomorrow supermarkets stop giving plastic shopping bags, I will be forced to buy garbage bags. Where is the win?
On the contrary, why supermarkets don’t use a plastic bags more resembling to garbage bags to ensure double use and make it biodegradable.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

We use enviromentally degradable plastic bags for garbage, they are very cheap (less than 1 baht each), come in a wide choice of formats.

As for shopping, we always carry 2-3 cloth/sturdy plastic bags wherever we go, take very little space, washable and strong, since some years already.

 

The win is that we are polluting less, I reckon we have spared a few thousands standard plastic bags.

 

(by the way, we also carry around our aluminum re-usable straws, difficult to have "mai lod" accepted at first when we sit for a drink but now becoming more widely understood).

[luk AJ]

We use enviromentally degradable plastic bags for garbage, they are very cheap (less than 1 baht each), come in a wide choice of formats.
As for shopping, we always carry 2-3 cloth/sturdy plastic bags wherever we go, take very little space, washable and strong, since some years already.
 
The win is that we are polluting less, I reckon we have spared a few thousands standard plastic bags.
 
(by the way, we also carry around our aluminum re-usable straws, difficult to have "mai lod" accepted at first when we sit for a drink but now becoming more widely understood).

Your approach is very sound and hopefully will encourage others.
One remark about the alu straws, difficult to carry them with you all the time and how you clean them on the inside?


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Moonlover]

18 minutes ago, HHTel said:

6 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Personally. I don't think that the supermarket bags are the big issue in Thailand. Their bags are quite thin and degrade very quickly. And it's evident that the staff are being now trained to limit the issue of bags and other plastic sundries such as spoons and straws.

 

The big problem areas are the markets and small shops. It's an automatic reflex for the vendor to reach for the plastic bag and an equally automatic reflex for the customer to accept it without question.

  

Millions upon millions of single use bags are used daily in these outlets and there is no control whatsoever other than personal discipline, which in this country is, I'm afraid, sadly lacking.

 

19 minutes ago, HHTel said:

They certainly do not!  A recent project in the UK found supermarket bags in imported waste as far away as Malaysia.  Even marked biodegradable bags need a particular environment to degrade.  Bury them and they'll still be usable some years later.  Another option is compostable bags but has the same problem as biodegradable - one shouldn't be buried and the other should!! Simply put.

Yes, you do make a valid point. I'm guessing you've been watching the same BBC programme that I have.

 

However, do note that I was referring specifically to Thailand where the population do a great deal of their shopping in local stores. In rural areas, the folks there have little exposure to the 'plastic issue' and blindly continue accepting and often dumping plastic bags. Many villages don't even have refuse collection and so have little choice but to burn or dump.

 

The BBC programme that I refer to by the way is called 'War on Plastic' and is still available on BBC iPlayer. It's well worth watching.

 

 

[inThailand]

A couple years ago the local express Tesco stopped giving bags. People stopped shopping there and they went back to giving bags.

 

They make sense where most are on motorbikes. And use them to dispose of their household garbage.

 

Companies like the cost savings, the customers could care less about the environment. Plastic bags are here to stay.

 

[wombat]

[shackleton]

when I am shopping at our local Mart  the assistant now asks how many plastic bags I need depending on the weight I now say just the one 

its their non plastic day today so I take my own plastic bags when shopping

its not the Marts Malls ect that are the problem its what people do with them after  throwing in the street klongs ect 

I use mine for the household waste then dispose in the bin provided by the Condo management daily 

[Artisi]

17 hours ago, Curt1591 said:

Change to paper? What about deforestation? 

not if you use dedicated farmed tree's from where most paper comes from today.

[meand]

I think this is a hilarious topic. It just gives these companies subterfuge into letting people think they actually care about the environment. News: companies don't care about the environment. They care about profits, as they should, they are a company and exist to make money. 

 

Ikea are the worst. You could go spend 10,000 dollars at ikea right now and they wont give you a free bag. lol.