Outdoor burning ban announced as air quality worsens in Thailand

[longball53098]

This topic is a joke right? Stop burning in a country that has a culture of burning for hundreds of years?  It must be a joke as the government could not seriously think it could stop people from burning for a day,  week or  amount of time.

[redwood1]

Bangkok 11th most polluted city in the world today.....

 

https://www.iqair.com/world-air-quality-ranking

Edited January 23, 2021 by redwood1

[Odysseus123]

33 minutes ago, longball53098 said:

This topic is a joke right? Stop burning in a country that has a culture of burning for hundreds of years?  It must be a joke as the government could not seriously think it could stop people from burning for a day,  week or  amount of time.

There has not been burning for hundreds of years.It is a comparatively recent phenomenon-as other posters (complete with sources) have pointed out.

 

[Scott Tracy]

23 hours ago, webfact said:

The Center for Air Pollution Mitigation has asked all provinces to ban outdoor burning from now until 23rd January, while the air quality index in Bangkok has reached the code-red unhealthy level in several areas.

 

A ban has NOT been announced. As can be seen from the quote above, provinces, preseumably, the Governors, have been 'asked' to ban outdoor burning....oh, wait, today is 23rd January, so that's ok then. No change....

[djayz]

10 hours ago, kingdong said:

A lot of waste is bio degradeable.

How long does it take for plastic, styrofoam, etc. to biodegrade? Not in our life time... 

[jackdd]

11 hours ago, djayz said:

Come up to our village in Isan; no rubbish collection service. How are  people going to dispose of their rubbish? 

Every person pays 10-20THB per month to pay for waste collection at the village

That's also easier than burning, but of course less fun

Edited January 23, 2021 by jackdd

[edwinchester]

17 hours ago, DPKANKAN said:

 

Thanks, do you have a link for those figures?

[Odysseus123]

17 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Every person pays 10-20THB per month to pay for waste collection at the village

That's also easier than burning, but of course less fun

There were plenty of blue bins in my village (Isaan) but that did not prevent the insane burning of toxic plastics or in the fields thereabouts-thereby confirming what other posters are saying-they are lazy pyromaniacs.Full stop.

[superal]

20 hours ago, 10baht said:

It is a problem that is for sure, but China's coal plants and Burma's burning are 90% of the problem

What ? even in Bangkok ?

[djayz]

1 hour ago, jackdd said:

Every person pays 10-20THB per month to pay for waste collection at the village

That's also easier than burning, but of course less fun

The is no collection in our village. Not for THB 10 nor for THB 20. 

[superal]

18 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Obviously this burning of crop waste is extremely harmful to the health of those living in polluted areas but it goes much deeper than that.  The fact that the Thai government knows very well that the burning continues despite their 'bans', illustrates their blasé attitude towards the bigger issues of polution and climate change in general.

 

As the problem becomes more serious it will be interesting to see how countries that are doing something about climate change respond to those that aren't. Its difficult to think of anything that can be done other than some form of economic sanctions.  Thailand could find its exports are seriously affected in the not too distant future if it doesn't start acting responsibly.

From what I read it is not only Thailand causing the pollution but neighboring countries as well . Tis about time the Asian Economic Communities addressed this highly dangerous pollution problem .

[jackdd]

35 minutes ago, djayz said:

The is no collection in our village. Not for THB 10 nor for THB 20. 

Yes, I understood this. But this could be changed, and you could do the first step towards it.

[djayz]

7 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Yes, I understood this. But this could be changed, and you could do the first step towards it.

I've tried three times and finally gave up. It would be easier to teach monkeys to fly. 

[DPKANKAN]

2 hours ago, edwinchester said:

Thanks, do you have a link for those figures?

AIR VISUAL phone app.

[canopy]

1 hour ago, djayz said:

The is no collection in our village. Not for THB 10 nor for THB 20. 

Same here. My village successfully fought off government attempts to try to put a garbage service in place. The villagers don't want it, the village chief doesn't want it, everyone is dead set against it. So there is no garbage service in the entire tambon and beyond meaning 100,000 people in this area alone are all burning their garbage or dumping it at roadsides and forests. The villagers feel burning is their god given right and they don't want to be shown up by city slickers with these new fangled dumpster ideas telling them what to do. Giving these people plastic bags or plastic containers any kind is like giving hand grenades to infants to play with. It just shouldn't be allowed.

 

[edwinchester]

13 minutes ago, DPKANKAN said:

AIR VISUAL phone app.

Thanks

[Glaswegian2]

Lots and lots of worthwhile comments, in this topic as in others. But to no benefit. Of no consequence at all. As foreigners here, we are only wallets, our views are unimportant; of no benefit; we know less than nothing and are worth about the same. Non-valuable other than the money we bought here or import, having (wait for it) earned it - in the unworthy and unimportant non-Thai world.

 

Wake up. No  point getting all bent out of shape. Just accept it and understand that one day, Thais will recognise that they should have listened. In the meantime, let them get on with their self-destruction, unburdened by our unwanted and unsought opinions. They will get ripped off by their elected representatives, the police, the army and most of each other. It's the natural order of things. A part of the inestimable love and respect that Thais have for each other and their pooyay. The natural order of things is a part of the price Thais pay for being the only country in the world, and for speaking the only real language in the world. They know this because one of their pooyay told them so, and they can do whatever they want because the same pooyay and their language told them that too.

 

Accept it, learn to love it, try not to rail against it. Just let it happen and smile as you enjoy your life. Your enjoyment of life in Thailand is a function of the overall Thai equation, for good or ill.

 

Mine's a beer. No. Two beers.

 

 

Edited January 23, 2021 by Glaswegian2

[Odysseus123]

28 minutes ago, Glaswegian2 said:

Wake up. No  point getting all bent out of shape. Just accept it and understand that one day, Thais will recognise that they should have listened.

I don't think so...because it is not like the Thai to be either insightful,reflective or remorseful.

Hence little or no change..

The only advice I have got to offer is..before you buy that dream condo in Bangkok,Pattaya,Chang Mai or Chang Rai check out the revolting air pollution for..about 6 seasons past.

If you are happy wearing a 1917 gas mask for up to 4 months a year then please go ahead.

...and avoid Caucasians trying to sell you a stuffed wombat...

[djayz]

3 hours ago, canopy said:

Same here. My village successfully fought off government attempts to try to put a garbage service in place. The villagers don't want it, the village chief doesn't want it, everyone is dead set against it. So there is no garbage service in the entire tambon and beyond meaning 100,000 people in this area alone are all burning their garbage or dumping it at roadsides and forests. The villagers feel burning is their god given right and they don't want to be shown up by city slickers with these new fangled dumpster ideas telling them what to do. Giving these people plastic bags or plastic containers any kind is like giving hand grenades to infants to play with. It just shouldn't be allowed.

 

On my second attempt to get the ball rolling, my missus told me - wait for it - that the villagers didn't want to pay the 10-20 Baht weekly (monthly?) fee for the service... ???? 

[Glaswegian2]

1 hour ago, djayz said:

On my second attempt to get the ball rolling, my missus told me - wait for it - that the villagers didn't want to pay the 10-20 Baht weekly (monthly?) fee for the service... ???? 

 

Try as you might, you can drag the horse, kicking and screaming to the water, but try as you might., you will not be able to make it drink.

 

If it would rather not.

Edited January 23, 2021 by Glaswegian2

[edwinchester]

Huge sugarcane burn just going on a couple of hundred metres from our house.

Somebody should let the Govt know that absolutely nobody gives a <deleted> about a ban on burning.

[Solinvictus]

I wonder if burning about a dozen tires is good or not...

[superal]

3 hours ago, Glaswegian2 said:

Lots and lots of worthwhile comments, in this topic as in others. But to no benefit. Of no consequence at all. As foreigners here, we are only wallets, our views are unimportant; of no benefit; we know less than nothing and are worth about the same. Non-valuable other than the money we bought here or import, having (wait for it) earned it - in the unworthy and unimportant non-Thai world.

 

Wake up. No  point getting all bent out of shape. Just accept it and understand that one day, Thais will recognise that they should have listened. In the meantime, let them get on with their self-destruction, unburdened by our unwanted and unsought opinions. They will get ripped off by their elected representatives, the police, the army and most of each other. It's the natural order of things. A part of the inestimable love and respect that Thais have for each other and their pooyay. The natural order of things is a part of the price Thais pay for being the only country in the world, and for speaking the only real language in the world. They know this because one of their pooyay told them so, and they can do whatever they want because the same pooyay and their language told them that too.

 

Accept it, learn to love it, try not to rail against it. Just let it happen and smile as you enjoy your life. Your enjoyment of life in Thailand is a function of the overall Thai equation, for good or ill.

 

Mine's a beer. No. Two beers.

 

 

True comment , here in the LOS you just gotta go with the flow and changes come from the top so no chance or just get the duck out of fodge

[Johnny3333]

Heard this every year for a decade. Same old story. They burn police do nothing. 

[Incobart]

I made a walk for an hour this afternoon and i saw 10 fire burnings (phuket)

most people burn their garden disposal

When they gone learn that they better compost it then blow it in my lungs ... ?

[kingdong]

10 hours ago, djayz said:

How long does it take for plastic, styrofoam, etc. to biodegrade? Not in our life time... 

I said a !ot,not all of waste is bio degradeable.

[Elkski]

Very sad the learn villages wont even  pay 20 baht for trash removal.  

I was sarcastic when I said I bought a 10 million BKK condo.     Who would want to live with this bad air?  The only people who will buy in Thailand need to come from a country with equal or worse air quality.      If people really knew the real health costs of this.   

So sad. 

[Tropposurfer]

On 1/22/2021 at 10:37 PM, MickGC said:

Thailand is the worlds  fourth-largest sugar producer and second-largest exporter.  The relevant government departments are aware of the pollution problem and are working on various solutions. It's not an overnight fix due to the huge number of smaller family owned farms. Most of these are not wealthy and without government subsidies would find it difficult to change their harvesting practices.  

This is a great article related to the subject. Give it a read before you next blindly criticise the farmers -  https://southeastasiaglobe.com/thailand-sugarcane-burning/

Thanks for the article. In Australia in cane country burning is still done by some, but in nearly all municipalities from northern NSW to the top of Queensland burning is forbidden with stiff penalties unless approved by agriculture consultants of the local council.

As described the  challenge of small farms, little income, and without expensive mechanisation burning is the go-to for weed and pre-harvest and post-harvest land management.

Local co-ops with a pool of crop,-land pre-clearing and tilling machinery subsidised by government might be a way to cut the long-served practice of burning.  I believe the Japanese have developed small cane harvesters and other 'mini' farm machinery.  

[MaxYakov]

Check my Air Pollution Comment HERE.

[canopy]

7 hours ago, Elkski said:

Very sad the learn villages wont even  pay 20 baht for trash removal.  

The important thing to note is this is not a cost issue. Many villagers wouldn't use dumpsters even if they were free. There have even been threads here about expats who pleaded with their neighbors to stop burning plastic because it was damaging their health, even paid them to stop, but they still refuse.