Old habits die hard: Stores try to cut down on plastic bags, but shoppers remain stubborn

[canopy]

5 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Don't forget where you are and how it works here. The amount of stores,local markets with everything and street vendors make it almost impossible to use paper bags. 

Don't forget Thailand got along just fine before plastic bags came along. So did every single country in the world. This is the beauty of the whole thing. We know life without plastic bags works--we used to do it before, no one complained, and it would be even better now with improved organic materials and 21st century packaging. Better than plastic. Don't worry though, nobody wants that.

 

[Max69xl]

4 minutes ago, canopy said:

Don't forget Thailand got along just fine before plastic bags came along. So did every single country in the world. This is the beauty of the whole thing. We know life without plastic bags works--we used to do it before, no one complained, and it would be even better now with improved organic materials and 21st century packaging. Better than plastic. Don't worry though, nobody wants that.

 

I've been coming and going since 1989, what kind of bags do think I got in stores then? Don't compare Thailand now and Thailand 30 years ago. The amount of convenient stores then were nill compared to now,same with local markets and street vendors. Please,don't be naive. We aren't in the US where you put the paper bag in the trunk of the car and drive home. The plastic bags are not the problem as I see it. It's plastic spoons in different sizes,forks,knives,lids, containers and straws. You can always re-use the bag and finally use it for garbage,but the stuff I mentioned might end up in a ditch somewhere.

[theonetrueaussie]

1 hour ago, canopy said:

Don't forget Thailand got along just fine before plastic bags came along. So did every single country in the world. This is the beauty of the whole thing. We know life without plastic bags works--we used to do it before, no one complained, and it would be even better now with improved organic materials and 21st century packaging. Better than plastic. Don't worry though, nobody wants that.

 

Don't forget Thailand got along just fine before cars and motorbikes and trucks came along and these are far worse for the environment then plastic bags...TIME TO BAN THEM we know life without cars works  - we used to do it before, no one complained and it would be much much better for the environment ????

[RideJocky]

Don't forget Thailand got along just fine before cars and motorbikes and trucks came along and these are far worse for the environment then plastic bags...TIME TO BAN THEM we know life without cars works  - we used to do it before, no one complained and it would be much much better for the environment [emoji1]

Yeah, I wonder how many of the guys moaning about some poor guy riding four-up on a scooter with a weeks groceries hanging everywhere are posting from an air conditioned home full of manufactured <deleted>.

Fly home or on holiday a few Times a year?

Have food delivered?

Use hot water?

Eat meat?

Use the internet?

Use electric lights?

Running water?







“Them what bite, gonna get bit. Them what don’t bite, gonna damn sure get ate up” JDH ‘77

[sirineou]

9 hours ago, zydeco said:

We made do because shops and small groceries were on every corner. A 10 kilometer trip and back to Tops, Lotus, or Big C changes those circumstances.

All of what you say is true also. But a solution must be found, the situation is IMO unsustainable.

I think until a more convenient solution is developed we need to suffer the inconvenience of carrying reusable shopping bags, it wont kill as but using all that plastic might.  

[Fred white]

4 hours ago, wayned said:

I think that you will find that one of the main reason that they went from paper to plastic is that it takes trees to make paper which is a problem.

 

Trees can be replanted they've been doing that for decades in the US there were huge tree farms around where I lived they also served as wildlife habitat and hunting areas

[canopy]

3 hours ago, theonetrueaussie said:

Don't forget Thailand got along just fine before cars and motorbikes

Dumb analogy because it makes absolutely no sense. Can you please explain to us how switching from one type of bag to another will cause your life will fall apart. Can't wait to hear about it.

 

2 hours ago, RideJocky said:

Yeah, I wonder how many of the guys moaning about some poor guy riding four-up on a scooter with a weeks groceries hanging everywhere

One thing you learn real quickly riding a bicycle in Thailand is never, ever string a plastic bag from the likes of tesco or 7/11 on the handle bars. Within a short amount of time the flimsy plastic shreds open and dumps the contents onto the road. Paper bags do not suffer from this deficiency. Now just imagine if a poor person was given these cheap plastic bags and their groceries went spilling out every week. Just terrible I agree. That's why we need to move to paper. Glad we all agree.

 

Not one other person here may know that the very poorest have already solved the plastic bag problem in their own cultural way. I live amongst the poorest people in Thailand. The hilltribes here weave baskets from bamboo and put them on their backs. Whenever they are out shopping at the weekly markets they just drop things in along the way. It's very handy as it is hands free, allows carrying weight more effortlessly, is reusable and long lasting, and totally natural and biodegradable. They accomplished this feat by never assimilating to plastic like other, richer people like you. I pity them if you ever tell them they got it all wrong and their lives would be so much better if they used plastic bags like you all do.

 

 

Edited September 9, 2019 by canopy

[RideJocky]

One thing you learn real quickly riding a bicycle in Thailand is never, ever string a plastic bag from the likes of tesco or 7/11 on the handle bars. Within a short amount of time the flimsy plastic shreds open and dumps the contents onto the road.
 

If I didn’t know you were lying I would recommend you just double-bag.





“Them what bite, gonna get bit. Them what don’t bite, gonna damn sure get ate up” JDH ‘77

[canopy]

16 minutes ago, RideJocky said:

If I didn’t know you were lying I would recommend you just double-bag.

Double bagging doesn't necessarily help. Don't ask me how I know. I am sure you could verify it is true the cheap bags rip right open if you really wanted. Whatever you think I am lying about you'd be wrong about that. I have nothing to gain by lying and see no point in it. I am just here to exchange factual information, experiences and learn from others.

 

[Moonlover]

On 9/8/2019 at 6:02 AM, bdenner said:

Stores like Makro will not allow you to carry reusable carry bags with you into their stores so one has to go through their bullshlt method of placing items from one trolley into another as they are being checked out then repacking in the boot of the car. These effin wackers are not trying to help the situation

Makro is a 'cash & carry' outlet which is primarily there for the wholesale market and this is the way they function both here and in their outlets worldwide. In fact it's quite unusual to allow retail shoppers in such places at all.

 

If you want a supermarket shopping experience, go shop in one, there are plenty around.

[Lamphen]

I've been bringing my reusable bags to the supermarket since 2004. I believe more people can do this with little or no effort.

[HaleySabai]

The RimPing in CM stopped giving plastic bags and offered cardboard boxes as a subsitute. That was back in April before leaving Thailand. Arrived back a few days ago and they are back to using plastic bags. That was a short lived initiative!....it takes time to engineer social change,but it can be done.Big biz has to be at the for front of these things to turn the tide.

[HaleySabai]

11 hours ago, Max69xl said:

I've been coming and going since 1989, what kind of bags do think I got in stores then? Don't compare Thailand now and Thailand 30 years ago. The amount of convenient stores then were nill compared to now,same with local markets and street vendors. Please,don't be naive. We aren't in the US where you put the paper bag in the trunk of the car and drive home. The plastic bags are not the problem as I see it. It's plastic spoons in different sizes,forks,knives,lids, containers and straws. You can always re-use the bag and finally use it for garbage,but the stuff I mentioned might end up in a ditch somewhere.

There is now a ban in Canada against the use of single serving containers & staws et..making it a challenge for the fast-food sector.

[RideJocky]

Double bagging doesn't necessarily help. Don't ask me how I know. I am sure you could verify it is true the cheap bags rip right open if you really wanted. Whatever you think I am lying about you'd be wrong about that. I have nothing to gain by lying and see no point in it. I am just here to exchange factual information, experiences and learn from others.
 

You’re lying about the bags tearing open, and about paper bags being better.

The point of lying in this instance is (apparently) an effort to convince people they will (generally) be better off with paper bags rather than plastic.

Yes, occasionally a bag tears open, but it’s certainly not all that common.





“Them what bite, gonna get bit. Them what don’t bite, gonna damn sure get ate up” JDH ‘77

[RideJocky]

There is now a ban in Canada against the use of single serving containers & staws et..making it a challenge for the fast-food sector.

They’ll just start selling drinks with multi-use cups and straws, charge a little more and people will continue to throw them away, which will result in even more <deleted> in the land fills.

Why not just outlaw takeout and delivery food?

[nausea]

On 9/8/2019 at 6:05 AM, Samui Bodoh said:

I started to carry my own plastic bags to the market a few years ago

Now that's a good idea. I carry a cloth bag but it's not suitable for wet goods. Silly me, bl#*dy obvious really.

[canopy]

42 minutes ago, RideJocky said:

The point of lying in this instance is (apparently) an effort to convince people they will (generally) be better off with paper bags rather than plastic.

Wrong. I will never convince people they are better off with paper. And however I feel about it or whatever I do about it will have a useless impact on the world. That is a fact so don't make up ridiculous things and say that's how I think. If you want to know how I feel, ask. Better yet save your breath, my opinion doesn't matter. I provide useful facts to a discussion and those should do the talking.

 

48 minutes ago, RideJocky said:

You’re lying about the bags tearing open, and about paper bags being better.

 

I don't blame you for being skeptical because I had to learn the hard way that single and even double plastic bags just rip open every time I have tried. If you don't have a bike, I have two mountain bikes. Come over and we'll bike out to 7/11 and do a plastic bag test hanging from the handle bars. You'll see the truth for yourself.

 

[wayned]

32 minutes ago, nausea said:

Now that's a good idea. I carry a cloth bag but it's not suitable for wet goods. Silly me, bl#*dy obvious really.

I bought four of  thereusable bags with handles, thickplastic like materialm, at Tesco a long time ago before the y even thought abought discontinuing the plastic bags.  They work well.  The problem with paper bags is that anything wet will go right through them.  Until they start wrapping meat and groceries in waxed heavy paper, alla the old days, paper won't work for all groceries.  I like using my own bags as I pack like things in them as I shop and then all of the cold goods end up in the same bag.

[RideJocky]

I don't blame you for being skeptical because I had to learn the hard way that single and even double plastic bags just rip open every time I have tried. If you don't have a bike, I have two mountain bikes. Come over and we'll bike out to 7/11 and do a plastic bag test hanging from the handle bars. You'll see the truth for yourself.
 

I never said you were convincing anyone, something else you just made up. Either everyone has an impact or no one does.

I have a bike, my wife has a bike and my boy has three bikes, but thanks fo the offer.

When the bags tear, it’s typically because they are poorly packed.








“Them what bite, gonna get bit. Them what don’t bite, gonna damn sure get ate up” JDH ‘77

[canopy]

2 minutes ago, RideJocky said:

When the bags tear, it’s typically because they are poorly packed.

I am talking about a plastic bag with just one or two things in it. Example 1: a small 7/11 bag with a couple AA battery packs. Example 2: wine bottle (no sharp edges mind you) double bagged in tesco bags goes rolling down the road in short order. I don't think I have never gotten even 2km without these type of cheap plastic bags tearing open. I'm 0-4 and don't plan on trying it again. They don't work for this. I'd be amazed if others don't have similar experiences.

 

[graemeaylward]

What did the Thais use before plastic bags? When I was a lad, in England, nearly 70 years ago I used to be sent to the grocers with a list and a basket plus a string bag which fitted in my pocket. Now I still carry 2 thin cloth bags which fold up into a 2" X 2" pack which I keep in my leather "man bag". If the checkout person gives me a plastic bag, after showing them I want to use my bags, I simply remain at the checkout and slowly unload the plastic bag contents into my bags, leaving the empty, used bags at the checkout.


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[RideJocky]

What did the Thais use before plastic bags? When I was a lad, in England, nearly 70 years ago I used to be sent to the grocers with a list and a basket plus a string bag which fitted in my pocket. Now I still carry 2 thin cloth bags which fold up into a 2" X 2" pack which I keep in my leather "man bag". If the checkout person gives me a plastic bag, after showing them I want to use my bags, I simply remain at the checkout and slowly unload the plastic bag contents into my bags, leaving the empty, used bags at the checkout.


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

Buy much raw meat?

[wayned]

33 minutes ago, RideJocky said:

 

Buy much raw meat?
 

Where I lived meat was always wrapped in heavy wax coated paper.  Double wrapped for "slimy" things like chicken liver.  Then put in a paper bag!

[RideJocky]

Where I lived meat was always wrapped in heavy wax coated paper.  Double wrapped for "slimy" things like chicken liver.  Then put in a paper bag!

Where I live (Bangkok) they wrap it in heavy waxed (plasticized?) paper and put it in a plastic bag. Progress!

[balo]

9 hours ago, wayned said:

heavy wax coated paper.

Is this environmental friendly ? Sounds like a good idea in 2019, 

[Fred white]

9 hours ago, wayned said:

Where I lived meat was always wrapped in heavy wax coated paper.  Double wrapped for "slimy" things like chicken liver.  Then put in a paper bag!

Chicken liver that's what I call fish bait ????

[clancy]

Many years ago, a good Thai friend said, 'The worst thing to come to Thailand are plastic bags.' As a photographer who has travelled throughout SE Asia since 1973, I agree with him. Sadly, it's hard to change old habits.

Clancy

[HHTel]

35,000 feet down and what do we find?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=81&v=_LTbrkpguys

Edited September 11, 2019 by HHTel
correction

[MaxYakov]

I fear it's too late already for the oceans - nanoplastics will probably be on the menu if you eat seafood.

[bristolgeoff]

many thais keep the bags and i,am sure they  reuse them.go to party in a bar and the left over food generally thai food is hovered up by them,rice etc.i asked once and she said food for the dog and themselves too i imagine.so they do reuse a bag.i also use them for rubbish and how many do u see instead of the black bags elsewhere at the end of a night or a few days.i believe they know plastic is a big problem and something has to be done