We have been through this about 2 years ago. I never get a plastic bag in 7/11 and within a couple of weeks I went from being a weirdo to a hero in my local 7/11. Roll on 2 yrs and I am a weirdo again! Everybody both local and tourist gets their stuff put in a bag. I am the one with yoghurt and and milk stuffed in my pockets!

actually, the tiny bags are not the real problem.

 

Just think of all the containers made of plastic, the millions of styrofoam boxes in which food gets carried away, the coffee shop cold coffee plastic cups which get carried away every day . . . . . . . . then the plastic from children toys broken and discarded into the khlong . . . . the broken flip flops strewn along roadsides .and the Thai mindset of let go of the rubbish wherever they stand or walk. 

 

The problem are all the consumer items made from plastic. 

 

I guess the tiny shopping plastic bags will sum up being "only" 0,0001 percent of the total amount of plastic which is circulating around the place. They are only the tip of the iceberg . . . 

2 minutes ago, crazygreg44 said:

actually, the tiny bags are not the real problem.

 

Just think of all the containers made of plastic, the styrofoam boyes, the coffee shop cold coffee plastic cups which gets carried out every day . . . . . . . . then the plastic from children toys broken and discarded into the khlong . . . . the broken flip flops strewn along roadsides . . 

 

The problem are all the consumer items made from plastic.  I guess a tiny shopping plastic bags sums up to 0,001 percent of the total amount of plastic which is circulating around the place

It is a START ..!

17 hours ago, bluesofa said:

This is the first time I've read clearly about any of the big chains policies.

 

Initially IIRC it said that some major stores were to stop issuing plastic bags next year, but it wasn't clear if it was certain branches of the chains, or all of their branches.

At least we know of 7 Eleven's intention now. Just wait to hear what the other groups will allegedly be doing.

 

Imagine everyone using reusable carrier bags of some sort walking through the stores, what a cover up for shoplifting, especially these 7-11s with only one or two young girls serving.

8 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Imagine everyone using reusable carrier bags of some sort walking through the stores, what a cover up for shoplifting, especially these 7-11s with only one or two young girls serving.

In Europe we don't use them re usable bags before the counter , we use the shoppers or the baskets from the shop for shopping inside store , only after paying we filling them up ,as even the cashier don't fill them , we do ..,on the extended loading platform (not available in Thai Supermarkets , so they should also adapt their infra structure for that change ..!!)

17 hours ago, fforest1 said:

Hey if family mart has bags its goodbye 7-11.....

Yes indeed - I am sure Tesco Lotus and BigC will still continue to provide plastic bags. Here in Isaan, my local Tesco provides a free paper bag on one day per week but it tends to split when filled with heavy items and/or frozen food. Makro has the right idea by providing a trolley which can be wheeled to your vehicle into which you can stack your shopping but I personally find this awkward and time consuming when packing/unpacking. No good for motorcyclists unless they have a sidecar. It will be interesting to see the results of 7-11's pilot project - sales down or sales up ( I bet the former!) and how many products will be left dumped at the check-outs.

And is 7/11 selling any re-useable bags people can carry with them? Not everyone has bags with them when it comes to spur of the moment shopping esp in Thailand. Banning something with out any plan to replace what they have taken away, nice job boys!

11 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Why dont they use paper bags,its very good plastic bags are been phazed

out, the retailers are going to save a lot of money,just more profit.

regards worgeordie

and you can bet that any profits will not be passed on to the customer.

"The branches that will stop giving plastic bags next week will display posters to let customers know that they should bring their own bags when shopping there,”

 

That is really a great idea. For me this will have the same meaning as "Closed". No need to go inside to find out that I have to go to a different store. Often you can't even put your stuff at the counter next to the cashier because it is full of articles they want to promote. How can you pack your stuff there ?! Bye 7-Eleven and hello Family Mart. No poblem. 

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

CP All has donated money that they saved from giving fewer plastic bags at 7-11 since August to hospitals nationwide to buy medical equipments.

Why not donate the money for the 'unpaid' hospital bills instead, to get rid of the enforcement of the mandatory ensurance scam for long-stay expats?

2 hours ago, Guderian said:

Since 7-11 stopped selling AIS top-ups I stopped going there so I couldn't care less what they do.

And remember the first rule of the Thai jungle: where there's a 7/11, there'll be a Family Mart nearby!

(As well as a Lotus Express and Mini-Big C as well these days)

How many Family Marts are there outside a 100K radius of Bangkok and Pattaya? Although I don't know about Chaing Mai.

17 hours ago, fforest1 said:

How many people PLAN ahead of time their 7-11 shopping....

 

I bet virtually every last person reading this does not PLAN all their 7-11 shopping....

 

So we carry bags around we us 24/7 now?

Home Pro near me have had a no plastic bag policy for some time....but their's were large bags,because many items sold are bulky. Try getting a light fitting and a roll of garden hose into a cloth shopping bag!

Only choice is to have your own car or taxi waiting outside.

17 hours ago, fforest1 said:

Hey if family mart has bags its goodbye 7-11.....

Yes, exactly !! time consumers rebelled. If these shops want our business THEY and government have to find a solution. Ummm maybe paper bags? - I don't care what sort of bags, unless it's and 'old bag'. Then I dig my heels in - don't want any old bags :)

38 minutes ago, crazygreg44 said:

actually, the tiny bags are not the real problem.

 

Just think of all the containers made of plastic, the millions of styrofoam boxes in which food gets carried away, the coffee shop cold coffee plastic cups which get carried away every day . . . . . . . . then the plastic from children toys broken and discarded into the khlong . . . . the broken flip flops strewn along roadsides .and the Thai mindset of let go of the rubbish wherever they stand or walk. 

 

The problem are all the consumer items made from plastic. 

 

I guess the tiny shopping plastic bags will sum up being "only" 0,0001 percent of the total amount of plastic which is circulating around the place. They are only the tip of the iceberg . . . 

They should start with good recycling. I see it the same way. The plastic of a bag is next to nothing compared for instance to the plastic of perhaps several water bottles I carry home with it. There is so much plastic and also glass and everything is put with all other garbage into the same garbage bin...

12 hours ago, Monomial said:

 

And for those people who do not have cars? Do you also automatically carry around 3 cloth bags with you whenever you take the skytrain to a business meeting on the off chance you might want to stop at 7-11 on the way home?

 

If you want to force every retailer to use biodegradable plastic bags, I'd probably get behind that. But that would cost retailers money. So of course, they would fight that. Allowing them to offer no bags to customers saves them money. So as long as everyone is forced to do it, then customer convenience can be ignored in the name of bigger profits. Hence, we get this ridiculous no bag policy, rather than a more rational and practical solution to the issue.

 

Well as I am retired, live 350 km from Bangkok and I only go there perhaps once a year so riding the Skytrain doesn't come into it. Neither does the off chance you might want to stop at 7-11 on the way home.

 

What I suggested the BigC (and all the other retailers) is to sell cloth bags to put your shopping in.

 

BTW I DO plan my shopping trips including to 7/11 by writing down what I need on a scrap pad at home and when I need to go shopping I take the pad and the bags with me.

 

It is called forward thinking and forward planning,  which appears to be something you don't seem to understand. Instead of driving 6 km each way to buy just one item, I generally go every 3/4/5 days and visit perhaps 5 shops in one trip.

 

It is quite simple and almost anyone can do it.

Stop giving Plastic Bags, does that mean they will charge for them, still have my ''Bag for Life'' from the UK lol

17 hours ago, Amusements said:

I can't remember the last time I needed a plastic bag from 7/11. I always carry a 15l dry bag when I am on my bike. A few years ago I would usually get a funny look when I turned down a plastic bag, now I always get a smile, so things are definitely changing for the better.

Me too. Only problem I find is that they need to train staff or modify counters to accommodate stacking goods into your cloth bag....which causes delays and frowns from the people waiting behind this old farang

12 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

Why not donate the money for the 'unpaid' hospital bills instead, to get rid of the enforcement of the mandatory ensurance scam for long-stay expats?

Great idea, but Thai money going to support farangs - NO WAY!!

59 minutes ago, MikeN said:

Somebody else who has not read the OP properly....

This is the pilot  project, the other stores will join the nationwide ban next year.

 And for all the people saying they will switch to Familymart, they are part of the Central Group who are also  getting rid of single use plastic bags.

Ah, but Tesco Lotus and BIGC are not!!

1 hour ago, fforest1 said:

Sorry there will be a announcement that the bag ban was all just a big misunderstanding.....lol.. same as with dozens of other bans...

24 hour crackdown. 

17 hours ago, PremiumLane said:

but how will people carry their one pot of yoghurt? Or, god forbid, that mini bottle of milk... 

Put it into the helmit hanging off the handle bars of the motorbike

42 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

Yes indeed - I am sure Tesco Lotus and BigC will still continue to provide plastic bags. Here in Isaan, my local Tesco provides a free paper bag on one day per week but it tends to split when filled with heavy items and/or frozen food. Makro has the right idea by providing a trolley which can be wheeled to your vehicle into which you can stack your shopping but I personally find this awkward and time consuming when packing/unpacking. No good for motorcyclists unless they have a sidecar. It will be interesting to see the results of 7-11's pilot project - sales down or sales up ( I bet the former!) and how many products will be left dumped at the check-outs.

I have a motorbike and it's good for me, large topbox, saddlebags, and plenty of room under the seat.

I am only talking about food here mind you.

16 hours ago, Number 6 said:

Guess I'll be shopping more at Maxxx Walue. Too bad, place in my heart for 7.

 

Really don't care honestly. I need trash bags for home. This is nothingness. Thailand has such huge trash and sanitation issues. Prolly be worse without trash bags.

Agree. After stopping using plastic bags at 7 or Lotus etc, I then had to go out and buy a pack of 30 or 50 plastic bags to throw the trash (especially food scraps )into.

The council rubbish collectors sure aren't going throw wet messy, smelly trash/scraps into their truck. If it's not tied up in a bag they leave it behind.

Local Lotus tried paper bags briefly.......but impossible to carry on the scooter and fell apart on the way or at home. Soon stopped.

17 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

BTW I DO plan my shopping trips including to 7/11 by writing down what I need on a scrap pad at home and when I need to go shopping I take the pad and the bags with me.

 

It is called forward thinking and forward planning,  which appears to be something you don't seem to understand. 

Great. But the strange thing is that all the shops do a lot that you always buy more than you intended. So in the future they will work against their own intention. In the future I will buy only what I can carry with the bags I have with me. Will save me money for sure. 

34 minutes ago, Beggar said:

They should start with good recycling. I see it the same way. The plastic of a bag is next to nothing compared for instance to the plastic of perhaps several water bottles I carry home with it. There is so much plastic and also glass and everything is put with all other garbage into the same garbage bin...

you might have not noticed yet that in the whole of Thailand water bottles get indeed recycled. There are collectors who pick them out of the rubbish at some point of the waste disposal chain. Here in the villages people keep the empty water bottles and sell them to the collectors. Water bottles do not pose any significant threat. All the other types of containers do

3 hours ago, Guderian said:

Since 7-11 stopped selling AIS top-ups I stopped going there so I couldn't care less what they do.

And remember the first rule of the Thai jungle: where there's a 7/11, there'll be a Family Mart nearby!

(As well as a Lotus Express and Mini-Big C as well these days)

Maybe there are in the big cities but not everyone lives in a big city. I don't remember seeing a family mart in KPP city, though there are more than a dozen 7/11 up here. Lotus Express and Mini-Big C are not here either.

 

3 hours ago, rwill said:

they need to stop giving out free straws too....

You can always say no thank you if you don't want them.

2 hours ago, lagavulin1 said:

Beer in bottle = beer in fridge = condensation = WET = BAG.????. 

Get a grip man! 

Easy fix. Put the beers in the cloth bag and when you get home, empty the bag and hang it out to dry.

 

Get a grip man!

32 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

Ah, but Tesco Lotus and BIGC are not!!

But they will go no-plastic-bag also, as tens of other shop brands

 

 

BTW I don't understand why some members make a mess of this end of 1-use-plastic-bags when (for most of us) we have this same rule in our own country and nobody complain... 

5 minutes ago, crazygreg44 said:

you might have not noticed yet that in the whole of Thailand water bottles get indeed recycled. There are collectors who pick them out of the rubbish at some point of the waste disposal chain. Here in the villages people keep the empty water bottles and sell them to the collectors. Water bottles do not pose any significant threat. All the other types of containers do

I know such people too and I always give them my plastic and glass bottles. But how much is really recycled this way? Do you have numbers?

1 hour ago, crazygreg44 said:

after they have been used 20 times these stronger plastic bags will eventually find their way into the roadsides and khlongs, too 

You're missing the point.  Single use plastic bags of less that 50 microns are far less likely to be recycled

Plastic bags more than 50 microns strength can be recycled, while thinner bags pose a threat to environment due to its non-disposability.