Positive response to Thailand’s “Everyday Say No to Plastic Bags” campaign

 

 

The positive public response to end of shopping malls, department and convenience stores distributing single-use plastic bags, as of January 1st, is a huge New Year’s gift to Thailand and the world, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varavuth Silpa-archa said today (Thursday).

 

Accompanied by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Mr. Jatuporn Burutpat, Mr. Varavuth conducted a field trip to meet with people to gauge their response to the campaign, called “Everyday Say No to Plastic Bags”, launched by his ministry in cooperation with the private sector.

 

He told the media that public response to the campaign was quite enthusiastic and the private sector, including 75 companies, have been very cooperative, although it may not be as convenient for their customers.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/positive-response-to-thailands-everyday-say-no-to-plastic-bags-campaign/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2020-01-02

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Fantastic. I hope to see this initiative go from strength to strength.

 

The country is literally awash with plastic. Any widespread campaigns to dent this unnecessary usage gets a thumbs up from me, and am glad more of the locals are thinking that way too

Why not tackle the problem at source, simply stop the manufacture and supply of these bags. As long as shops can buy them they will give them to customers, particularly the mum and pop stores. 

Anti-plastic campaign gets positive response from public

 

 

BANGKOK (NNT) - Starting yesterday (Jan 1), more than 75 shopping malls and convenience stores nationwide stopped handing out single-use plastic bags to customers, following the government’s six-month anti-plastic campaign.

 

The Natural Resources and Environment Minister, Varawut Silpa-archa, and a team of officials visited four major malls in Bangkok, including Tesco Lotus in On Nut, EmQuartier, Central Chidlom and Siam Paragon, to seek public feedback on the "Everyday Say No to Plastic Bags" campaign. More than 90 giant retailers, department stores and supermarkets, earlier reached an agreement with the ministry to stop handing out all types of single-use plastic bags to their customers.

 

Yesterday, many shops received a positive response from customers, as they were already aware of the anti-plastic campaign. Many shops also offered reusable bags to customers who forgot to bring their own bags with them.

 

The Natural Resources and Environment Minister said about 30% of plastic waste previously came from shopping malls and convenience stores, while fresh markets accounted for 40% of plastic usage. The campaign aims to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags by 50% this year.

 

In the long term, Thailand is to stop importing electronic and plastic waste and is to create new values among the population, especially children, about proper waste disposal to reduce the accumulated garbage affecting the country.

 

"In the beginning of 2020, I’ve asked the Permanent Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment to hold talks with the Permanent Secretary of Education to teach environmental education to students from kindergarten because we must cultivate the habit of waste sorting. It can be sorted into organic waste, hazardous waste, recyclable waste and other types of waste. Some people, still lack this knowledge. Therefore, providing this knowledge to the people is important. As for the government, there are waste sorting and disposal plants. They use plastic bags to produce refuse-derived fuel (RDF), while other waste materials are used in landfills or upcycling. We must provide this knowledge to Thai society."

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2020-01-02

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It was excellent response in Pratunam, where 7-Eleven stopped issuing plastic bags. There's now a pickup parked in front of the shop, selling plastic bags! Many different types and designs. Now you no longer need to take that plain looking classic 7-eleven bag. You get to choose how you want your Beluga choking bag to look like. Win-Win!

Edited January 2, 20206 yr by tomazbodner

I wonder if the girl, and the guy in the picture can read and understand English.

Plastic bags this week, is it? 

What a lovely and fashionable gesture.

 

Yet, what about every consumer item that's encased in some plastic or another. 

 

Missing the larger picture.......or any picture, for that matter.

Look at the picture loads and loads of plastic water bottles encased in .......DRUM ROLL........Plastic.....lol

 

But thankfully no plastic bags...lol

12 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

There's now a pickup parked in front of the shop, selling plastic bags!

I did post when they suggested this that clever Thais would just sit outside 7/11 selling plastic bags - this guy must have read my post

Let us see the fruits of this change. Look at the side of roads over the next few months, are they still throwing these bags out as " not their rubbish?"

33 minutes ago, legend49 said:

Let us see the fruits of this change. Look at the side of roads over the next few months, are they still throwing these bags out as " not their rubbish?"

The rubbish will still be there without the plastic bag to contain it, so it's probably a half win situation. 

17 hours ago, anterian said:

Why not tackle the problem at source, simply stop the manufacture and supply of these bags. As long as shops can buy them they will give them to customers, particularly the mum and pop stores. 

You won't ever get rid of them completely. People use them as rubbish bags amongst other things, if they stopped making them altogether these people would have to buy the big black plastic bin bags to put their rubbish in, which are just as bad or arguably worse as they are thicker and tend to only be half full before they get thrown in the bin. 

 

A huge reduction in use in 2020 is better than a 100% overnight ban IMO. Learn to walk before trying to run.

So those of us who dispose of our plastic bags responsibly have to forego the convenience of a Supermarket bag because of the knuckleheads who have no thought for how they dispose of their plastic bags . Oh well, at least the local fish market will be happy to fill my canvas reusable bag with the fish head soup  !  

1 minute ago, Humpy said:

So those of us who dispose of our plastic bags responsibly have to forego the convenience of a Supermarket bag because of the knuckleheads who have no thought for how they dispose of their plastic bags . Oh well, at least the local fish market will be happy to fill my canvas reusable bag with the fish head soup  !  

Please tell me how you "responsibly" dispose of them? 

OK, so now we need an anti billboard campaign, they serve no purpose in society, waste plastic, and alter the landscape for no reasons.

Edited January 3, 20206 yr by SymS
typos

Study that photo.

She's walking past a huge palet of drinking water in throwaway plastic bottles, also wrapped in single use plastic........!!!!!!!

Edited January 3, 20206 yr by Andyfez

I think it’s a positive move. Got to start somewhere.

I bought a roll of plastic bin liners for the waste basket in my kitchen and 2 kg of plastic carriers to take with me when I go shopping. My plastic bag usage won't alter at all, it just means I'll have to pay for them instead of getting them for free. I can understand now why the supermarkets are so keen on this idea.

14 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

There's now a pickup parked in front of the shop, selling plastic bags!

You can't hold back Thai entrepreneurial skills !!

Ever listened to the Bing Crosby song:

 

"Accentuate the positives, Eliminate the negatives."

 

Seems posters here have it the other way around. "Accentuate the negatives!"

 

How sad!

18 hours ago, anterian said:

Why not tackle the problem at source, simply stop the manufacture and supply of these bags. As long as shops can buy them they will give them to customers, particularly the mum and pop stores. 

The only people who can stop them at source are the manufacturers themselves, and they are too tied up with their own profits and the fossil-fuel industry. It is easier to put pressure on people and it also saves the supermarkets money.

 

3 minutes ago, billzant said:

The only people who can stop them at source are the manufacturers themselves, and they are too tied up with their own profits and the fossil-fuel industry. It is easier to put pressure on people and it also saves the supermarkets money.

 

Sorry dude, reflexive soundbite jabbering about fossil fuels and manufacturers ignores the history of the plastic grocery bag itself. It came into being because it was cheaper than paper. Period. The market made them. The plastic dudes just supplied a demand.

 

Now the .gov says no more plastic bags. Even better. Markets dont even have to pay for the plastic bags anymore.

33 minutes ago, Guderian said:

I bought a roll of plastic bin liners for the waste basket in my kitchen and 2 kg of plastic carriers to take with me when I go shopping. My plastic bag usage won't alter at all, it just means I'll have to pay for them instead of getting them for free. I can understand now why the supermarkets are so keen on this idea.

 

that's up to you, you could buy one reusable bag, cotton or plastic versions are widely available

 

as the ban approached i stocked up on particularly good quality free plastic bags from a local independent supermarket, i'll be using using and reusing them one at a time for the foreseeable future.

 

19 hours ago, webfact said:

The positive public response to end of shopping malls, department and convenience stores distributing single-use plastic bags, as of January 1st, is a huge New Year’s gift to Thailand and the world,

Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeee, and who was  responsible for that Non gift?

We shopped in Gourmet Market yesterday and, as usual, we pile our groceries into another trolley and unload in the car.

The cashier with great excitment told my wife that as she'd spent over 300 Baht, 5,000 over in fact, if she went to Customer Services they'd give her a free plastic bag for life type bag.

Customer Services directed her to a desk where she had to send a text message and then enter the code in the reply on a sheet of paper, write he phone number and sign for this bag, probably worth about 5 Baht.

An American guy was refused a bag because his 400 Baht purchase included two bottles of beer.
Whilst I applaud getting rid of these bags and offering multi use ones, why do these shops have to make everything so complicated?
I suppose we were lucky that they didn't need copies of my passport and my wifes ID card.

1 hour ago, Humpy said:

So those of us who dispose of our plastic bags responsibly have to forego the convenience of a Supermarket bag because of the knuckleheads who have no thought for how they dispose of their plastic bags . Oh well, at least the local fish market will be happy to fill my canvas reusable bag with the fish head soup  !  

I think it was Jim Jeffreys who said something to the effect of: society has to move as slow as the slowest individual, in order to move at all!

I do drugs like a champion, but because Wendy here got drugged up and killed her baby...

 

 

So these are no longer portable in plastic bags - environment saved!!

 

^{most Thais do not cook and eat 3 times a day food from a vendor which comes in - plastic bags}

Edited January 3, 20206 yr by littlepe

chill out folks, baby step baby steps. Thais are not that bad, they just need a little push to get stuff done.

I support the move to ban plastic bags at supermarkets and convenience stores. But the plastic bags aren't the big problem. Plastic bags can be burned, so those wouldn't end up in the sea. I think the biggest problem are the pet bottles. They can be burned, too. All plastic can be incinerated and we wouldn't have a plastic problems. So easy, period.