Plastic bags: No more from the start of 2021

[rwill]

They will have to come up with some solution for food vendors.  Specially wet items like curries and soups.  What did they do before plastic bags?

[dcnx]

4 hours ago, 2long said:

Please no Thai bashing.

This may be a small and late step, but it's a step in the right direction and a good thing.

But you do realize it’s not going to happen, right?

 

Come February 2021, it will be as if no one even tried.

[Cory1848]

32 minutes ago, Bob12345 said:

Agree, i came here hoping it would be sort of a wild west. Open carry of guns, shooting at whoever makes eye-contact, ramming people with your car, torching all you garbage in your front garden, <deleted>ting in shopping malls, steeling whatever you want to have...

 

But now it is becoming a nanny state. With laws, rules, and prison sentences for killing.

 

I will be looking for a new place to live where there is no nanny state! Somewhere in a war zone in Afghanistan or something, where i can be free. Will be looking for visa options for that region soon.

I hear there are large swathes of Syria and Somalia where “government” is at best a theory only, so you might want to check those out, too -- you can totally exercise your freedom, at least until you annoy the warlord who’s your neighbor!

[dcnx]

7 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

The real problem is that Thailand has a major litter problem. What a huge difference would be made if they simply didn't leave garbage all over the place. All of those bags properly disposed of would make a 100% difference in the amount of bags getting to  the ocean. Wouldn't that be an easy place to start. A well thought out anti-littering campaign like the western world had in the 70's.

“This Thailaaan. I love Thailaaan. I love my king. I am Thai peepen.”
 

*throws garbage onto ground and walks away* 

[zydeco]

A bunch of old guys so fat that they can barely squeeze into their air conditioned trucks and cars (because they would have a heart attack if they had to walk more than 50 meters), driving to and from every shop they go to and serving up more pollution and planting a bigger carbon footprint than all the plastic bags they would buy in a decade. But feeling virtuous and all green about banning bags.

[fullcave]

Stop Thai fishermen from throwing all their trash into the sea before heading into port would be a nice place to start! Not to mention oil changes...

[rexall]

2 hours ago, fforest1 said:

So every one will need to carry a bag with them at all times now....Never know when you want to go shopping......

This provide your own bag business never made sense to me. Even in the U.S. years ago where there was a push to voluntarily comply, I never understood how carrying a bag or bags around with me at all times made any sense at all.  I go grocery shopping usually once a week and that generates 5 or 6 or more plastic bags.  How am I supposed to manhandle a half-dozen paper bags out of the store, up the escalator, out into the street?  Am I supposed to bring 6 cloth bags with me (what if I go on a crazy shopping spree,  and it turns out I need 7 bags? Uh, oh!), take them home, launder them (Oooops!  All kinds of nasty detergent  down the drain and into the water table), fold them and put them away for next time?

I appreciate the problem, and I don't disagree with the principle, but the execution lacks common sense and an appreciation for human nature.  If they want to play nanny state, why not compel, coerce, tax or seduce the manufacturers to produce biodegradable, non-hazardous bags, bottles, straws and so on?  If it is universal, the added costs of biodegradables will just get folded into the price of the products and that will be the end of it.

[spidermike007]

I am astonished and pleased to hear this. It is so easy to bring your own bags when shopping. 

 

What is truly amazing about this, is that the ministry of the environment is actually doing something to benefit the nation. Since when have they worked on behalf of the people? 

[luk AJ]

everyone agrees with the concept but it is only workable if a viable alternative is found
 
and plastic bags are only part of the problem

If one-time-use of plastic bags would be banned tomorrow, I would be out of business. Our products are sold to bio-secure companies who would never agree on re-useable packaging.


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Cory1848]

1 hour ago, patsfangr said:

It's a line that's more difficult to draw than most people want to admit, Cory. I'm a "right of center" Republican in the USA. I strongly oppose what I consider to be too much government. But how much is too much? We all agree that laws are required to regulate the operation of motor vehicles, because a total lack of them would be unimaginable carnage. But, while nearly everyone now acknowledges that cigarette smoke does significantly increase the likelihood of cancer; there is a lot of disagreement over how restrictive laws should be on smokers, or, for that matter, on manufacturers of cigarettes. What about marijuana; and stronger drugs? Again, major disagreement over the degree to which those should be regulated. The question of who and what should be regulated, and to what degree, will never be solved to the satisfaction of all people. Most people find satisfaction somewhere between anarchy and absolute fascism. But there's a hell of a lot of space between the two where most of those people will still disagree! 

You’re right, there’s a big gap in opinion, and bureaucracies often tend toward overregulation. However, regulating against pollution seems to be a no-brainer; and heavily taxing cigarettes (and tobacco companies) to help cover the cost of public health -- given that smoking is elective, and smokers on average use more public health than nonsmokers (getting strokes and ending up in nursing homes covered by Medicaid, for instance) -- also makes sense to me, and many others. Basically, I trust a government to impose sensible regulation, because a government is elected and accountable to its citizenry, more than I do an industry to self-regulate, industries primarily serving profits and shareholder value (which are often directly contrary to the public good). (I’m also American BTW, but, unlike you, I just grow more indignantly liberal with each passing year!)

[Burma Bill]

Great idea but let us be realistic here in rural areas away from Bangkok and "Superstores", where small village shops and markets rely on one-off plastic bags for goods, produce and food. Some stalls and retail outlets actually dedicate their business to the sale of plastic bags for these purposes, also foam boxes and plastic spoons! The plastic bag will still be around "out in the sticks" well beyond 2021. Plan a visit and see for yourself.

[Thaifriends]

Will the fruit stall people serve on hand or paper bag?

 

????

[Ridler]

So I went shopping on the 4th of the month, the day when supermarkets do not give out any plastic carrier bags. 

However my single banana was in a plastic bag, the avocado was wrapped in plastic cling film and I noticed most fruit and veg was wrapped in plastic, they will never get rid of it, the locals just don’t understand 

[Burma Bill]

2 minutes ago, Thaifriends said:

Will the fruit stall people serve on hand or paper bag?

 

????

Probably cut up old newspapers, like the UK did many years ago for "fish & chips"!

[Saint Nick]

22 minutes ago, rexall said:

This provide your own bag business never made sense to me. Even in the U.S. years ago where there was a push to voluntarily comply, I never understood how carrying a bag or bags around with me at all times made any sense at all.  I go grocery shopping usually once a week and that generates 5 or 6 or more plastic bags.  How am I supposed to manhandle a half-dozen paper bags out of the store, up the escalator, out into the street?  Am I supposed to bring 6 cloth bags with me (what if I go on a crazy shopping spree,  and it turns out I need 7 bags? Uh, oh!), take them home, launder them (Oooops!  All kinds of nasty detergent  down the drain and into the water table), fold them and put them away for next time?

I appreciate the problem, and I don't disagree with the principle, but the execution lacks common sense and an appreciation for human nature.  If they want to play nanny state, why not compel, coerce, tax or seduce the manufacturers to produce biodegradable, non-hazardous bags, bottles, straws and so on?  If it is universal, the added costs of biodegradables will just get folded into the price of the products and that will be the end of it.

This is so much horse dung, I don't even know where to start!

Maybe here: banning the EXISTING plastic bags, that are given out willy nilly and without even the smallest thought about it, doesn't mean banning plastic bags IN GENERAL!

So...if you are one of those guys, who never carries any bag (small rucksack etc) with him, throughout the day, and you want to spontaneously buy something at a shop, you PAY for a durable plastic bag!

It works like that in Germany since decades and no one ever died of a lack of bags!

 

If you are actually PLANNING on going shopping, it is not too hard, to TAKE 1,2,3 bags from home and if you forget that (or need 1,2 more bags) ....again...you will be able to purchase additional durable plastic bags!

 

It's really not that much of a problem!

No need to carry 6 shopping bags around with you at all times!

 

It really is like talking to little children!

[BimBoon]

Like everything else in this country it will get ignored and they will be sourced from somewhere. Biodegradable plastic has been around for years but is more expensive. 

[tandor]

..excuse my ignorance, but what do 'multi-use' plastic bags look like and how do i know the difference between 'single and multi use'.

[glennb6]

rules, regs, fees, penalties, and more rules.  everyone seems to looking to big nanny state to solve a supposed problem. pretty soon thailand will have all the rules of falangland. mommy will be looking after everyone and you will have lost more freedom.

 

simple - biodegradable plastic bags, and a little bit of education to not litter.

 

stupid solution - leave it to the politicians.

[steve73]

42 minutes ago, rwill said:

They will have to come up with some solution for food vendors.  Specially wet items like curries and soups.  What did they do before plastic bags?

I'm assuming they just mean carrier bags.  But I agree - what did they do before plastic bags...?

 

Banana leaves are not too useful for noodle soup, no matter how ingeniously they fold them....

[30la]

I hope but I don't believe it!
If you surprise me, I hope positively!

[Burma Bill]

2 minutes ago, tandor said:

..excuse my ignorance, but what do 'multi-use' plastic bags look like and how do i know the difference between 'single and multi use'.

In my case, they are all multi-use, as I use my Tesco, Big C and Tops plastic bags as bin liners around my house which the refuse men take away when full!

[DrTuner]

4 hours ago, vinniekintana said:

Nanny state without any of the benefits of nanny states.

The worst of both worlds.

Thais do seem to have a knack for copying all the <deleted> and none of the good stuff. Probably because copying the <deleted> is far easier.

[steve73]

6 minutes ago, tandor said:

..excuse my ignorance, but what do 'multi-use' plastic bags look like and how do i know the difference between 'single and multi use'.

It's easy... Single-use are free.  Multi-use will be 5bt each... but otherwise they are EXACTLY the same.????

[DrTuner]

41 minutes ago, rexall said:

This provide your own bag business never made sense to me. Even in the U.S. years ago where there was a push to voluntarily comply, I never understood how carrying a bag or bags around with me at all times made any sense at all.  I go grocery shopping usually once a week and that generates 5 or 6 or more plastic bags.  How am I supposed to manhandle a half-dozen paper bags out of the store, up the escalator, out into the street?  Am I supposed to bring 6 cloth bags with me (what if I go on a crazy shopping spree,  and it turns out I need 7 bags? Uh, oh!), take them home, launder them (Oooops!  All kinds of nasty detergent  down the drain and into the water table), fold them and put them away for next time?

Ah, I see you missed one invention: bags can hold other bags inside them.

[sawadee1947]

It is definetely the right step,  more even if it would be combined with a deposit system for plastic bottles as we have in EU, e.g. Germany ????

[CygnusX1]

1 hour ago, Fat Prophet said:

load the purchased items from the shopping car into their car/truck

 

1 hour ago, Fat Prophet said:

I carry a large backpack under the seat of my Forza at all times, just in case

Yet another one of many self righteous comments which seem to assume that everyone does their shopping by car. You’re doing hugely more environmental damage by driving your car to the shops than someone walking home with their shopping in plastic bags (which will almost always be reused for another purpose anyway).

[AntipodeanThai]

Great news

[MikeN]

49 minutes ago, rwill said:

They will have to come up with some solution for food vendors.  Specially wet items like curries and soups.  What did they do before plastic bags?

Well I just asked the missus, and when she was a kid everybody took a basket to the market, and food was served in a banana leaf...even soup. That I would have to see to believe though.

Probably getting people to bring their own tiffin carrier would be a better choice now though. Or maybe it's time to bring in the "tiffin wallahs" system  from India, updated with "an app for that".

But I did not see any mention of the styrofoam containers being stopped ? They are almost as bad a problem.

[ian007]

It starts in your head! Get used to not using or accepting a plastic bag. 65 countries have already starting with Bangladesch of all places many years ago. Just carry reusable bags in your car and that's it. Easy as....

[Giving it a Go]

A tiny branch of Tesco's, in a small town near Kohn Kaen were using strong paper bags. Couldn't believe it! It can be done and should be done. 50 baht per plastic bag, if you need one, would focus the mind totally.