Green movement to tackle mountain of plastic waste in Thailand

[rooster59]

Green movement to tackle mountain of plastic waste in Thailand

By Ornvipa Rumroy

The Nation

 

 

Awareness of waste pollution awareness might have been growing since 1950s but so has the amount of waste we produce all over the globe.

 

That pollution is having a dire effect on land, waterways and oceans. In Thailand, each person produces an estimated one kilogram of waste per day. Multiply that by population number and number of days and the figure is phenomenal.

 

In an effort to solve the problem, the government is collaborating with several private companies and individuals to turn Thailand into a “zero-waste society”. As part of that initiative, the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion has launched “Mission Zero Waste”, an educational book containing useful guideline for the young generation on how to reduce, reuse and recycle their waste.

 

Chulalongkorn University has also recognized the problem of waste and launched the “Chula Zero Waste” project to reduce and segregate waste while increasing awareness of effective waste management and encouraging positive practices among students and staff. Retailers finally went plastic bag free on Wednesday when leading shopping malls announced their new policy on non-plastic shopping.

 

The Mall Group has launched “The Mall Group Go Green: Green Everyday” to encourage shoppers to use their own cloth bags and avoid using plastic bags on a daily basis. Those in need of a plastic bag will be asked for a Bt1 donation for each one, with proceeds going to fund environmental conservation work by WWF-Thailand.

 

Tesco Lotus also announced their non-plastic bag campaign. As part of the campaign, it has already banned plastic bags distribution at some Tesco Lotus Express outlets, including three in Koh Chang Island.

 

Central Group’s campaign, dubbed “Central Love the Earth: Say No to Plastic Bags”, was launched on June 5, with a vow to reduce the use of more than 150 million plastic bags this year. The campaign aimed to make Central the first plastic bag-free supermarket chain in Thailand.

 

HomePro introduced its “No Plastic Bags” campaign on July 1 in a follow-up to its successful non-plastic-bag policy on every 4th, 14th, 24th of the month. Those in need of a plastic bag will be charged Bt1. Siam Makro group has been environmentally friendly and had a non-plastic-bag policy for 30 years. Since April, they’ve aimed for further environmentally safe protocols by launching the “Say Hi to Bio, Say No To Form” campaign to encourage smaller retailers to use more biodegradable packaging.

 

Meanwhile SCG and Dow Chemical are collaborating on a recycled plastic road at the the RIL Industrial Estate, which is regarded as a model project for maximizing the useful life of plastics. The project began with plastic waste sorting at SCG and communities in Rayong, in which plastic and thermal bags were shredded and mixed into the asphalt used in paving the road. The test showed that the plastic mixture contributes to better strength and superior erosion resistance of roads. The prototype road creates value for plastics that are not generally reused or recycled appropriately and brings sustainability to communities, society, and business.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/lifestyle/30372393

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand  2019-07-06

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[Aachen]

No plastic bag. And what about the "packed" apples? Apples are already packed by nature.

[bangkokfrog]

"Missions" (producing a book of all things!) and "campaigns" by stores will have little effect in the short to medium term, given that people here have little sense of community. There is a strong sense of family, and most people keep their yards clean... even going to the extent of sweeping the bare soil after their chickens have had a go. However, if there happens to be an empty block of land near by then a lot of local rubbish ends up there. As in other counties, strong laws that ban plastic usage (and are actually enforced!) are the only short term answer.

[DrTuner]

2 hours ago, Aachen said:

No plastic bag. And what about the "packed" apples? Apples are already packed by nature.

I love buying cheese from Makro. They wrap it in plastic, even when it's already been wrapped in plastic before and also has the original wrapping under it. So three layers of crap I have to fight through to bite into my dairy product.

[30la]

It is not enough for sure to instruct students but also adults because they are the ones that have a lot more influence on their children than the teachers!
I have read in the last few days some posts that have really puzzled me, "I no longer do the shopping in that shop because they charge a baht for the plastic bag!" a kindergarten phrase, my wife and I have always had different shopping bags with us for years, and I can assure you that I feel really good!

WE ALL TOGETHER WE CAN DO!

[Nice Boyd]

69, 000,000 people in Thailand and everyone gets at least one bag a day, so 150 million bags reduced a year, Pathetic 

[leeneeds]

Small steps are a start, changing habits of convenance is  a life time commitment,

if we all want to leave the place in a better state we all know this,

so for all the knockers of this starting programme, that I hope  will gradually gain momentum, ask yourself ,  what have you done to help the environment in your life time?, 

can you do more?

There is one such at www.4ocean.com that is trying to remove the plastic from our oceans, any way good luck to us all on cleaning up our mess, my grandson will thank you, as I do now,

                                      

[Fred31]

5 hours ago, Aachen said:

No plastic bag. And what about the "packed" apples? Apples are already packed by nature.

Stop your moaning

[djayz]

17 hours ago, rooster59 said:

waste pollution awareness might have been growing since 1950s

Well it hasn't grown very much since then, has it? 

It seems their ability to comprehend simple concepts is as good as it has ever been

 

 

[Chazar]

19 hours ago, rooster59 said:

“zero-waste society”.

Good  luck with that. I'd  say its  more likely to be a total waste

[Chazar]

11 hours ago, leeneeds said:

what have you done to help the environment in your life time?, 

Had  no  kids.........and  you?

[fishtank]

Quote

Department of Environmental Quality Promotion has launched “Mission Zero Waste”, an educational book containing useful guideline for the young generation on how to reduce, reuse and recycle their waste.

Obviously this book has not made it to our village yet.