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Repair not recycle - Bangkok beats the West!


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Posted

Yeah they should take their responsibility. Just look how many plastic bags they give you every time you go to the market.

 

You might come home with 2,5 kg plastic and 300 gram food.

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Posted

I wouldn't start on plastic bags as in my experience the ones blowholing most about how many are used, will offer up as many as you like if you pay for them.

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Posted

About two years ago my lawnmower's casing was completely rusted, the engine nearly felt out. Though that was still fine, I was going to buy a new one. Now I know a Thai man nearby who does all sorts of repairs and he had a lawnmower there from another brand of which the engine didn't run anymore. And yes, you can guess it, he used that to repair my lawnmower and ever since I have been using the machine. The fixing was a fraction of another new machine.

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Posted

I repair most things myself, but when fans won't run correctly after a clean then buy new, just not worth repairing, I repair both my vehicles myself, unless it needs a hoist then i reluctantly have to take it to a garage, I say reluctantly bcoz basically i can't trust them to do the job properly and/or they break something else and have to keep watch while they do the job., even basic stuff like fitting new tyres.   I recently got 4 new tyres fitted, and i was told the price included ALL service, I sat and watched as the tyres were fitted and wheels put back on, i sat quietly watching until all wheels were back on, then called over the lady and said they have not balanced the wheels ! "Oh we only balance the front" ''well even they weren't balanced and all wheels should be balanced ! " I took great pleasure in watching the guy having to remove all the wheels balance them then re-fit them. then made them adjust the pressure to what was on the door sticker, by the look of his face it appeared he had no idea that all cars had such a  sticker. This was at a major Tire plus retail store ! But yes some are good at repairing stuff, i know a guy who re-winds motors on the footpath and is fantastic.

Posted

I guess this is one advantage of living in a third world economy country. I'm not surprised at this though. If my experience in Singapore back in the '60s and early '70s is anything to go by, SEA has been way ahead of the western world when it comes to recycling.

 

'Waste not, want not' is a sound philosophy to live by, but it does have one disadvantage. It does make Thais the most awful hoarders!

 

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Posted
20 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

I guess this is one advantage of living in a third world economy country. I'm not surprised at this though. If my experience in Singapore back in the '60s and early '70s is anything to go by, SEA has been way ahead of the western world when it comes to recycling.

 

'Waste not, want not' is a sound philosophy to live by, but it does have one disadvantage. It does make Thais the most awful hoarders!

 

I'm guilty of the last paragraph. "I might need that one day,"????

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Posted
1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

I guess this is one advantage of living in a third world economy country. I'm not surprised at this though. If my experience in Singapore back in the '60s and early '70s is anything to go by, SEA has been way ahead of the western world when it comes to recycling.

 

'Waste not, want not' is a sound philosophy to live by, but it does have one disadvantage. It does make Thais the most awful hoarders!

 

I experienced the same in Mexico. Poorer countries, fortunately, cannot afford to be as "throw away" societies.

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Posted

It's a generational thing as much as a Thai thing.  I was taught that most things are fixable and how to use tools.  The next generation was taught to just get a new one.

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Posted
5 hours ago, bluejets said:

I wouldn't start on plastic bags as in my experience the ones blowholing most about how many are used, will offer up as many as you like if you pay for them.

Yes, and that is exactly the right approach! If people have to pay for them, most will only buy when and if they need. That way they can lower the usage with no need to ban plastic bags. As you say, that only delivers the wrong message and creates the wrong response. Actually same with the joint problem. people don´t stop smoking, just because they say it´s against the law!

Posted
4 hours ago, Gandtee said:

Why embarrassed? Unless you can't repair things maybe. He should be congratulated. I was born in and age when things were repairable and we learnt how to repair them. Which I do to this day. I refuse to join the 'throw away' society which throws money at problems and is using up the Earths resources. Well done , sir. I salute him. Strength to his elbow and thank goodness for YouTube.

Absolutely. Planet is just going to end up a huge pile of junk if we vote 'throwaway' 

 

Nevvermine, Elon might come to our rescue & offer us a place on his new Mars estate 'Halfway to heaven' - but surely, closer to hell.

 

Posted
4 hours ago, Gandtee said:

Why embarrassed? Unless you can't repair things maybe. He should be congratulated. I was born in and age when things were repairable and we learnt how to repair them. Which I do to this day. I refuse to join the 'throw away' society which throws money at problems and is using up the Earths resources. Well done , sir. I salute him. Strength to his elbow and thank goodness for YouTube.

 

Have you ever tried to repair the print head on a printer?     Some things are not built to be repaired.

 

Posted

I guess it depends on attitude, or perhaps, needs over wants.

 

Felt washers, YouTube, bottles of oil, bearings all available in uk at reasonable prices. Just that we can't be assed to look inside the machines, see what needs fixing, look up YouTube, bimble around town for spare parts that may or may not fit, look up on eBay or Amazon...etc etc....

in Thailand, not many people can afford to buy new every few years, this is what makes repairs worthwhile. Needs...money, time, effort...

UK, being a supposedly richer nation has become lazy over the years. Or perhaps, as most people work full time for a living, don't care to be face down, <deleted> up in repairing domestic goods and are prepared to fork out for new goods. Especially when sometimes they can be a lot cheaper than in Thailand.

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Posted
6 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Waste not, want not' is a sound philosophy to live by, but it does have one disadvantage. It does make Thais the most awful hoarders!

You should have seen my garage when I sold the house in UK...full of <deleted> I had collected over the years. I was told, by an old Irishman, when I was an apprentice...Keep it for 7 years. If you don't use it, keep it for another 7,  just in case....

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Posted
2 hours ago, Scott Tracy said:

You should have seen my garage when I sold the house in UK...full of <deleted> I had collected over the years. I was told, by an old Irishman, when I was an apprentice...Keep it for 7 years. If you don't use it, keep it for another 7,  just in case....

Good advice.????

Posted

Repair of common items is a lost art in the west.  Just throw it away and buy a new one...then repeat over and over.

 

I always had good experiences dealing with the Thai second hand repair brigade.  It provides someone with a way to earn a modest living while saving a few of the planets resources.  Who could possibly object to that?

 

A simple example are the sewing ladies who can put a proper button on, repair a tear etc and add years to the life of a favorite pair of shorts etc.  In lumpini park in bangkok the govt has classes on how to sew and i am sure that that skill has helped thousands of poor Thai ladies to make some $$.  They also run free classes on how to cut hair also aimed at giving very poor people a skill.

 

Unfortunately far too many people have developed the if its broke don't even consider fixing, throw it away and buy a new one.  A lot of poor Thais don't have that option so many have become very good at squeezing a few more years out of a variety of products.  

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Posted

yes well my experience is they dont knock anything back and will have a go even if they dont have a clue...cheap enough when you realise they didnt have a clue and end up throwing your item in the bin.....but of course if your TGF takes it somewhere you might get a better result...

Posted
On 9/26/2021 at 7:24 AM, Golden Triangle said:

Not quite sure how to respond to this. 

 

Embarrassed comes to mind.

As in: embarrassed for your own kind?

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