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

[Beggar]

16 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

 

2. I bring a bottle of water with me, every time I go to a restaurant. I refill my plastic bottles from the 20 liter bottles at home. It is easy. I never buy bottled water at a restaurant. This saves 300-600 bottles a year. I use a BPA free plastic bottle dozens of times. I never get any flack from the restaurants. Only once did someone say something to me. She said you cannot bring you own water. My response was if you serve the water in a glass bottle, and I do not have to consume a plastic bottle, I am happy to pay for that. It is not about saving 10 or 20 baht. She was lost. I told her to leave and get me my food. She went away. 

 

Did you see her again? 

[ThaiBunny]

7 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

Why not bags made from either hemp or bamboo fibre? Strong, durable, inexpensive and sustainable

Same with fast food containers and utensils, and drinking containers, also 100 % compostable

https://m.phys.org/news/2018-08-reuse-bags.html

[hugh2121]

Simple answer-5 Baht tax on every plastic bag.

[Felt 35]

Is it really the plastic bags which is the problem or could it be humans knowledge and manner regarding disposal of garbage?

My suggestion, make the bags a tad more durable as in most Western countries start to charge 5-6 Baht a bag and people will start to think and reuse some bags. Btw, what about plastic bottles, set up an automat and for each bottle the customer return the customer get 1 baht and a slip so the amount can be deducted from the shopping bill.

[30la]

The consequence is lacking, do we want to eliminate plastic bags? Let's start inside the supermarkets, for vegetables, meat and many other things they use plastic bags, buy biscuits, realize that they are packed twice, one or two in plastic and then a dozen sachets in a big one!

Then it is the government that can convince the big and small stores to eliminate plastic thanks to a decree! (This is a daydream).

[fxe1200]

4 hours ago, canopy said:

Disagree. Plastic bags should be banned period. The government and private sector strategy of using fewer bags, less harmful plastics, or pay for bags is all nonsense because none of these strategies solves the problems. Why don't we cut to the chase here? If people want a bag, sell them a RECYCLED PAPER BAG. Problem solved before the year is out. We need 0 plastic bags out there, not billions. But no one has this vision.

 

 You are right. But why not interdict the production, distribution and import of these bags, as well as styrofoam? Why not go after single use bubble tea containers and such as well?

 

Besides there should be teaching this matter at school, and explain the environmental hazards to the kids?

But in Thailand, where they even don't teach kids to wear a motorcycle helmet when riding, who is going to do something about this? You can start in your own house and ban to bring those items home, impose a 200THB fine in case of a violation, and it includes riding without a helmet.. That is what I do since 10 years. The kids learned fast. They do not like to have any deductions of their pocket money.

[Tops]

We come at Makro 3 to 4 times per week. We always have our 3 bags. One big shopping bag made from canvas and 2 thermo bags. We never have to leave them at the counter. In the Makro store itself we only use the thermo bags for frozen or cooled items to keep them cool during shopping there. The canvas bag is folded and we open it at the cashier. We take all the frozen and cooled items out of the thermo bags and return them after they're scanned. Some times I have an order of 20 kg at the butcher waiting for me. For that we always use our coolbox. We never had to leave a bag or box at the counter when entering Makro. 

[Benmart]

Many ignore littering laws, hazardous waste laws, labor laws,  helmet laws, seatbelt laws and a plethora of other laws. Why? In part because corrupt officials allow it and why obey when the system is broken and there is no consequence.

 

This plastic bag sideshow is bound to be ignored in part, due to generations of ignorance, apathy and a "me first" mentality. Thailand comes in a winner on roadway deaths and gets high marks in complacency and pollution.

[ToddinChonburi]

Having a full cart of groceries at check out then being informed that there is no bags. That is a really bad way to treat your customers. How do I get these groceries home.

[Thaifriends]

What will happen to all the plastic industry?

The solution is to make garbage disposal in 4 categories for recycling:

1. Food waste wrapped in plastic (to be burnt)

2. Paper and plastic (recycle)

3. Bottles (reuse)

4. Wood material (reuse)

 

It is a matter of giving infrastructure to effeciently handle the process from collection to execution and also giving public awarenes to segregate these items.

 

Many times I have seen people just throw food waste also in recycling container but with awareness campaign they will catchup.

[Krataiboy]

It's wishful thinking to imagine the public and retailers will voluntarily stop using plastic bags. Thailand should grasp the nettle and set an example by legally banning stores and supermarkets from dispensing them, whether free or paid-for.

 

People would then have to find other less environmentally unfriendly ways of carrying their stuff - often, let's face it, no farther than a vehicle parked a few yards away. 

 

Before plastic bags came along in the Thirties, we were perfectly happy using reinforced paper, string or canvas carry bags. It wouldn't hurt us to turn the clock back in the interests of preserving the planet and its wildlife.

 

On my major shopping trips, I take a capacious 15 kilo rucksack, a relic of my hiking days. It has built-in shoulder straps and a waistband, is big enough for my needs, and is easily carried on a bicycle or motorbike. 

 

For smaller shops, I use my daughter's smaller school rucksack. She is proud of her "green" dad.

 

 

 

 

[glennb6]

plastic bags double as small trash can liners, 'thai-suitcases' and many secondary uses. So da gooberment wants to get snookered be the environmental wackos eh? Because it sounds good. idiots. and btw, aren't those little thin plastic bags bio-degradable anyway?

[glennb6]

1 minute ago, Krataiboy said:

It's wishful thinking to imagine the public and retailers will voluntarily stop using plastic bags. Thailand should grasp the nettle and set an example by legally banning stores and supermarkets from dispensing ALL plastic bags, whether free or paid-for.

 

People would then have to find other less environmentally unfriendly ways of carrying their stuff - often, let's face it, no farther than a vehicle parked a few yards away. 

 

Before plastic bags came along in the Thirties, we were perfectly happy using paper, string or canvas carry bags. It wouldn't hurt us to turn the clock back in the interests of preserving the planet and its wildlife.

 

On my major shopping trips, I take my old 15 kilo rucksack, a relic of my hiking days. It has built-in shoulder straps and a waistband, is big enough for my needs, and is easily carried on a bicycle or motorbike. 

 

 

 

 

Hey Krataiboy,  save the planet and breath less. The hot air/CO2 from your mouth is contributing to gloBULL warming.  BTW, drive some of the back soi's and take a look at the makeshift garbage dumps along the sides of the roads and stop worrying about a few plastic bags.

[RichardColeman]

Seems to me Thailand has a culture - throughout society - of reporting things that are highly opposite to reality !

[Bangkok Barry]

5 hours ago, bdenner said:

Our local Tesco has tried to introduce large brown paper bags on 3 occasions I know of. Customers seem to be OK with them but the checkout staff get very frustrated trying to unfold and pack them.

 

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 don't give plastic bags - zero, none, ziltch - and make you place things in your own chosen container from the trolley. What's wrong with that? They don't let you use your own bags in the store because they like to go through the pantomime of checking your purchases against your receipt as you exit the store, which miraculously they manage to do in three seconds or less. About as useless as the 'security' staff at the MRT entrances in Bangkok. It's all just for show.

[overherebc]

Just pick a date and publicise it and ban manufacture, import and sale of the bloody things.

[giddyup]

3 minutes ago, glennb6 said:

Hey Krataiboy,  save the planet and breath less. The hot air/CO2 from your mouth is contributing to gloBULL warming.  BTW, drive some of the back soi's and take a look at the makeshift garbage dumps along the sides of the roads and stop worrying about a few plastic bags.

So, we just keep adding to landfill and plastic in the oceans because it's just too hard and there's rubbish everywhere already. That's your solution?

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, Searat7 said:

Also so I think much shopping can be impulsive and not planned so that shoppers might not have their cloth bags with them when they shop.

 

I don't know if they still do, but Russians used to carry a net bag with them that squeezes up into almost nothing for exactly that reason. But I'm going back a long way, to the days when sometimes there were shortages and then a desired item suddenly appeared in the shop and it had to be bought now while it was still available.

[White Christmas13]

2 hours ago, zydeco said:

I was recently caught in Tops on one of their bag free days. This policy is idiocy. Three quarters of the store is packaged in plastic or supplied with plastic bottles. And they want to attack plastic bags, which are reused most often as trash can liners?  Stupid. When I got to the check out line, Tops said no bags and offered me cardboard boxes. Cardboard boxes? How was I supposed to walk around the mall with cardboard boxes doing the rest of my shopping? A couple of plastic bags is easily manageable. But three or four unwieldy cardboard boxes is not, especially when one arm is already full of a large container of repaired shoes. I just left the food items on the Tops checkout counter and walked out. This is nothing but a virtue signalling feel good policy that has zero effect on a clean environment. If they meant it, they would be using glass bottles with return deposits. 

whats so hard about that?

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, Crash999 said:

They break down into natural materials quickly when exposed to the elements.

 

Keep a supermarket bag for a few months and it dissolves into powder. I've tried to use them to store things but they self-destruct, especially in the heat. It isn't the plastic bags that are a problem as much as plastic bottles. But I'm guessing that producing glass bottles as we used to is considered too expensive, even though they can be recycled. Why do we have water in plastic bottles? Before plastic bottles were invented not so long ago, what did people use then?

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, canopy said:

Disagree. Plastic bags should be banned period. The government and private sector strategy of using fewer bags, less harmful plastics, or pay for bags is all nonsense because none of these strategies solves the problems. Why don't we cut to the chase here? If people want a bag, sell them a RECYCLED PAPER BAG. Problem solved before the year is out. We need 0 plastic bags out there, not billions. But no one has this vision.

 

Agreed... Thais will never change until they have to... it's their culture of laziness.

Just ban them and offer an alternative... they will soon get the hang of it!

[essox essox]

4 hours ago, Farma said:

The wife's businesses have both paper and plastic bags. Most customers ride motorbikes and prefer plastic due to possible rain on their ride home.

they could buy a raincoat and cover paper bags that the put in the carrying baskets at front of most motorbikes???!!!

[kevin612]

You have to bring a cup and bag whenever you go out, no more empty hands.

[WeekendRaider]

there won't be much to put into any kind of bag once what XR hopefully.... pray to whatever God you believe in that they are successful.... on October 7 gets underway with it's next big action .  but after that, only the US Army as a global organization will need to follow on XR.  what else would work?  obviously with Russian and Chinese collaboration.  and India.  whatever.

 

Extinction Rebellion.  XR.

but plastic bags!!! 
 

it's never been about plastic bags!  or a Paris Climate agreement... that is not followed thru on by any country at all..... or "ice melting in 2100 something".  it's a restart of human culture and only the US Army would be able to effectively get things done on the emissions side.  there's the aerosol effect of course, and that no matter what we do emissions or radiation management wise, as well as moving around very large groups of people from some areas to other places.... almost 8 billion of us.  even without Mother Nature roaring towards it was gonna be about food anyways.  not plastic bags.  that is so idiotic.  cleaning them up at the beach is even more idiotic.  let the tourists see the beach 'al naturale' with lots and lots of trash.  

decorate everything with plastic bags, if you are green only October 7 and beyond matters now.  of course, there will be a dearth of any "news" at all on the Extinction Rebellion's London action item, the closer we get.  but not once it happens (if it happens).  there are some many 'ifs' now it is hard to keep track of all of them, but plastic bags as an issue is denial.  it's idiotic.  

[essox essox]

10 minutes ago, White Christmas13 said:

whats so hard about that?

years ago when I worked part time in a well known supermarket....at the checkouts ALL us bag packers used cardboard boxes to put goods in.

A very many customers liked this...as all things were packed nicely in the boxes, which they carried or wheeled out of the store and put in their cars.....EASY, but in those days of yesterday there was no consternation regarding PLASTIC unlike today....

[overherebc]

21 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

I don't know if they still do, but Russians used to carry a net bag with them that squeezes up into almost nothing for exactly that reason. But I'm going back a long way, to the days when sometimes there were shortages and then a desired item suddenly appeared in the shop and it had to be bought now while it was still available.

Was known in Russia as a 'sometimes' bag.

[overherebc]

1 minute ago, essox essox said:

years ago when I worked part time in a well known supermarket....at the checkouts ALL us bag packers used cardboard boxes to put goods in.

A very many customers liked this...as all things were packed nicely in the boxes, which they carried or wheeled out of the store and put in their cars.....EASY, but in those days of yesterday there was no consternation regarding PLASTIC unlike today....

Lots of places in Korea still have this system. Long bench with lots of boxes folded flat and rolls of tape/string etc but it's DIY. Trolleys have coin operated locks as well, you return it, stick the chain end in and get your coin back so you can park without having to move carts out of the way.

[Beggar]

3 minutes ago, essox essox said:

years ago when I worked part time in a well known supermarket....at the checkouts ALL us bag packers used cardboard boxes to put goods in.

A very many customers liked this...as all things were packed nicely in the boxes, which they carried or wheeled out of the store and put in their cars.....EASY, but in those days of yesterday there was no consternation regarding PLASTIC unlike today....

Sorry - but many people here don't have cars. But for sure it would be a good idea to drive to the shops with perhaps SUVs so that they don't need to give you plastic bags. 

[trainman34014]

52 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Makro don't give plastic bags - zero, none, ziltch - and make you place things in your own chosen container from the trolley. What's wrong with that? They don't let you use your own bags in the store because they like to go through the pantomime of checking your purchases against your receipt as you exit the store, which miraculously they manage to do in three seconds or less. About as useless as the 'security' staff at the MRT entrances in Bangkok. It's all just for show.

I like Makro above Tesco and Big C for many reasons and i applaud the fact that they stick with their 'no bag' rules.  They got rid of the stupid idea of handing out car parking tickets as well which has speeded up entry and exit but why oh why do they have those dumb 'door checkers' who actually do not check anything other than the latest messages on their phones ?    What a waste of time and money for Makro and also a waste of time for customers just wanting to get on with their day .

[dcnx]

Not one person asked me not to take a bag. I shop at both 7-11 and Lotus, it’s been business as usual.