THE WEEK THAT WAS New Year Resolution: Let’s be more environmentally friendly and encourage Thais to do likewise

[rooster59]

 

The news that Thailand’s famed Maya Bay was reopening to limited tourism on January 1st set Rooster into a reverie about a life led amid ever changing attitudes and actions towards both harming and protecting the environment. 

 

Maya Bay in Krabi was ruined by mass and unregulated tourism then was closed for three years. It reopened yesterday with just 375 tourists allowed to stay for an hour each. Sharks have returned to the bay, coral has been regenerated and a species of terrestrial brown crab is now prevalent.

 

Though the continued improvement of the area is a success story for Thailand, much more still needs to be done everywhere and in all forms of life on the part of both the local population and foreigners residing in the kingdom. 

 

There is a will among many dedicated Thai ecologists but we all need to do more so that the issue is not given lip service and that face saving campaigns designed to make politicians look good are swamped by wider public action affecting attitude shifts on a bigger scale. We can all play a part. 

 

Rooster was brought up in a house in the south London suburbs, with a woods and stream behind our garden. They were our playgrounds - push bikes and balls, our toys. 

 

Even in our privileged neighborhood the streets were filthy with litter and dog mess. Public service announcements told us not to litter. Signs in the streets warned dog owners to little effect. No one walking their dog would have dreamed of picking up the pooh like they do now.

 

But slowly attitudes began to change. As kids we burned tires at the end of the garden - something we’d never do today. 

 

Our parents told us of “Pea soupers” - days in London when you could barely see the hand in front of your face when thousands with bronchitis would die. The Clean Air Act began to change that. 

 

In Central London the Thames was filthy. Buildings were caked black in industrial grime and vehicle emissions. These days fish swim far upriver and the buildings have been sandblasted and are cleaner as the air quality has improved. 

 

But litter from millions of kebabs and fast food meals still plagues many areas. Still more needs to be done despite a far more enlightened population. 

 

Of course, there were good things when I was a kid that went downhill. Our groceries were delivered by Mr Salter on his bicycle. His wares were wrapped not in plastic but paper. The “potato man” delivered 56 pound refillable bags of spuds to the front door. Milk bottles were left out for collection with the empties refilled with your “Gold Top”. So many things you bought in the shops could be returned for a few pennies deposit. The “Rag and Bone” man recycled. My dad had one very expensive fridge for 40 years.

 

These disappeared by and large though on moving to Thailand in the 1980’s it was great to see that a version of these were still in place. Some exist to this day though many have sadly gone. Today we throw away far cheaper electrical items and just replace them with hardly a care about what happens to the waste. Out of sight out of mind.  

 

My own attitudes to littering and environmental protection had moved on sufficiently that I was truly shocked by what many Thais did when I arrived in the country.  

 

My first wife, bless her, casually tossed out a Lipo bottle into the undergrowth as we toured Sukhothai on a motorcycle. I doubled back and picked it up saying that little animals would get stuck inside.

 

Years later she told the story that not littering was the only thing I ever taught her! Double bless!

 

The BMA started a campaign of greening and one called “Taa Wiset” or Magic Eye. This was designed to make the population more aware of the environment in Bangkok. It didn’t last.

 

Trucks and filthy buses belched black smoke and the air was thick. You needed to wash after a ride through the city. Dust was everywhere and this only improved after the 1997 economic crash and the end of much construction. 

 

These days the air is cleaner - contrary to the moaners - but the Thai capital and many other cities are still plagued by the latest buzzword “PM2.5”. Crackdowns on pollution don’t address the underlying causes like crop burning by the sugar industry. Much more still needs to be done. 

 

Coastal areas are still thick with trash blown in from the sea. Much of it got there after being blown out from rivers and klongs where it is dumped. People still leave their lunch for others to tidy up in national parks. Liter bins overflow, if and when they are ever filled. Traders still dump cooking oil down the drain. Laws exist but enforcement is still sporadic. 

 

Crackdowns rather than sustainable solutions. 

 

Thailand still has far too much “food and drinks in a plastic” bag style convenience. Things have only worsened as home food delivery adds to waste everywhere.

 

Cast your mind back to a few days before the pandemic began. The much hyped D-Day that was the start of widespread bans on plastic bag use started on January 1st 2020. Two years ago. 

 

Covid-19 completely pushed that agenda off the news though many shoppers at supermarkets now take their own bags and big retailers continue to follow through. 

 

From a personal perspective I have got used to taking reusable bags everywhere. My new condo management introduced recycle bins that pleased and helped me. I put my 5 year old daughter in charge of recycling duties. The kids' Xmas presents were bikes and bike repairs. I’m constantly banging the drum to Mrs Rooster who still doesn’t quite get it.

 

But then do we all?

 

I still ride motorbikes, have a petrol car, still buy countless items in plastic and toss them out expecting them to somehow disappear just because I can’t see them. We’re all just as guilty as ever. 

 

And we can all do more both in our personal lives and in inspiring those around us to protect the environment and educate our children. 

 

My new year resolution is to take more containers to be filled than rely on packaging. To talk to traders about putting things like sugar and dried chili in yet more plastic bags for my noodles. To tell the manager at Big C about the horrendous and unnecessary waste in many of their packaged products. Tell him and others why this will affect the money I’ll spend in his shop. How I can take my trade elsewhere if I’m unhappy. I’ll walk more, cycle more. Take the train when I might have flown.  

 

And yes bang on more even if people don’t seem to listen, even if I’m still hypocritical in many ways. 

 

Let’s all try and do the same and encourage the Thais that we love and care for to follow suit. For the benefit of us all.

 

It’s not a lost cause and genuine change can come from the grass roots of any society.

 

Here endeth my Sunday sermon; I’ll forgo a roundup of more news this week and begin again after the holidays. 

 

Finally, many will be glad to see the back of 2021. It was the Chinese Year of the Ox - maybe it should have been the Year of the Pox, though two years of pox would be more accurate. 

 

February 1st 2022 will see the start of the Year of the Tiger. Hopefully we can roar and see the back of Covid and all its variants. 

 

Hopefully the politicians, virologists, doctors and pundits who talk about living with Covid-19 will start walking the walk. 

 

Hopefully the press will be more responsible in its reporting, less scare-mongering, more keen to call out the “experts’ ” claims and the politicians for their vote buying rhetoric. 

 

We all need to move on, get the economy back on track, get back to work. And quite frankly…..

 

Get our lives back.

 

Happy New Year!

 

Rooster

 

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[ThailandRyan]

Just get them to use the trash cans that line the streets like in other countries around the world, oh wait watch trash cans, ergo why they just throw the wrappers and empties on the ground in an empty field or any Klong.  You can not fix this no matter how hard you try.  

[xenophon]

'encourage Thais to do likewise'

Is this a tad patronising? e.g. lets show some commonsense and encourage ....... (brits, americans, indians, germans, etc. fill in the space) to do likewise

[Cabradelmar]

Yeah, then encourage 40 million tourist to show up and trample the landscape...

[Jack West Jr]

My wife and I each own 2 bicycles , we don't have any motorised vehicles ,we recycle and re-use as much as possible . We only need to hit the street outside our compound in Ayutthaya to be surrounded by all manner of refuse . Thailand : Land of Garbage . Very long way to go yet .

[vandeventer]

2 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Just get them to use the trash cans that line the streets like in other countries around the world, oh wait watch trash cans, ergo why they just throw the wrappers and empties on the ground in an empty field or any Klong.  You can not fix this no matter how hard you try.  

Sometimes you have to dig deep.

[Percy P]

4 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Just get them to use the trash cans that line the streets like in other countries around the world, oh wait watch trash cans, ergo why they just throw the wrappers and empties on the ground in an empty field or any Klong.  You can not fix this no matter how hard you try.  

I'm English  if I come across litter while out walking I would pick it up and bin it. Thai would walk past it . 

[Percy P]

4 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Just get them to use the trash cans that line the streets like in other countries around the world, oh wait watch trash cans, ergo why they just throw the wrappers and empties on the ground in an empty field or any Klong.  You can not fix this no matter how hard you try.  

But its worth trying. 

[Percy P]

Just now, Percy P said:

But its worth trying. Shop keepers could put a charge on an item which when returned the money would be returned. Such as beer.whisky bottles. As a young man I would lookout for items thrown away and take back to the shop and collect the deposit on them. So put a returnable deposit on items which can be recyclable..

 

[Phuket Pete]

Splendid Idea !

Black Exhaust Fumes.jfif

[Cake Monster]

4 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Just get them to use the trash cans that line the streets like in other countries around the world, oh wait watch trash cans, ergo why they just throw the wrappers and empties on the ground in an empty field or any Klong.  You can not fix this no matter how hard you try.  

I live in the Countryside, and an area very close to my house was constantly being used by Commercial Operators for Dumping their Waste.

The Trash pickers would come along and rifle through the stuff, and when they finished, would set fire to the stuff, causing huge plumes of Black, Toxic smoke that could be seen for KM away, and sometimes would burn for Days..

I devised my own Education for these people.

Its called a Smart Phone Camera, or my digital SLR.

Every time I saw one of these Plebs either Dumping, or about to Dump their Waste, I would pedal round to the place on my Bike and start to take Photos of them.

Most would just leg it. However some stood their ground until I started to point to the Phone and say " Tesaban , Photo, you, 2000 Baht "

They very quickly backed down, and now the dumping has all but stopped, as they know I will Photograph them, and possibly report them where they will get a 2000 Baht fine.

Sometimes it was time consuming, but the rewards were worth the effort.

 

 

[MyFriend You]

Happy New year Rooster, a pleasure not having to read anything Covid related for a change, my reading radar gets activated whenever it detects Covid this or Covid that, variant number nine et etc etc.   Year of the Gold Tiger, my year born 1950, hope to get back to LOS soon.  Swasdee Pee Mai

Edited January 2, 2022 by TunnelRat69

[petedk]

48 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

I live in the Countryside, and an area very close to my house was constantly being used by Commercial Operators for Dumping their Waste.

The Trash pickers would come along and rifle through the stuff, and when they finished, would set fire to the stuff, causing huge plumes of Black, Toxic smoke that could be seen for KM away, and sometimes would burn for Days..

I devised my own Education for these people.

Its called a Smart Phone Camera, or my digital SLR.

Every time I saw one of these Plebs either Dumping, or about to Dump their Waste, I would pedal round to the place on my Bike and start to take Photos of them.

Most would just leg it. However some stood their ground until I started to point to the Phone and say " Tesaban , Photo, you, 2000 Baht "

They very quickly backed down, and now the dumping has all but stopped, as they know I will Photograph them, and possibly report them where they will get a 2000 Baht fine.

Sometimes it was time consuming, but the rewards were worth the effort.

 

 

The ground next to us is empty land and people just dump their rubbish there. and I used to do something similar to you, but I had a couple of episodes where the person got quite violent and threatened to destroy my phone and my health. My wife said I would end up dead if I continued. 

Oh and there is a sign saying "No littering - Fine 2000 Baht".

 

Similarly, we live on a corner at the end of a blind road, so it i a perfect place for wait in their cars while the Japanese bosses eat at restaurants on Thong Lor. It isn't uncommon to have up to 10 cars parked around our house with their motors running for 2 -4 hours. I complain about the environment and most turn off the motors, but as soon as I leave they turn them on again.

 

Seriously, most Thai people just don't care.

 

 

[Noah K]

Happy New Year Rooster, and everyone else as well!

One might think that "if I do just a little to help the environment, it won't help very much." At first you might think that to be true. But, when you multiply one little thing by hundreds, thousands, or millions of people, it starts to really add up. I follow what I call the "Four R's."

1. Reuse

2. Repurpose

3. Refurbish

4. Recycle

While I do carry a backpack, and reusable bags (I am forever waving off the practice of double plastic bagging at small markets) to avoid an environmental impact. I do reuse them whenever possible, and until there is a better solution, I repurpose them as trash bags. So many plastic containers can be repurposed for all sorts of things. Then, buy well made products. Yes they initially cost more, but tend to last longer, and can usually be refurbished by the handy DIY or a reputable repair shop.

 

I am typing this response on a 16 year old computer where I have replaced the battery, and the keyboard twice. I didn't know how, but nowadays there is always a multitude of how-to videos on YouTube. Lastly recycle properly. Know what can be recycled, clean out bottles and cans which will keep the bugs away while you collect your recyclables. And, if you don't have time, find someone in your area that can use a few spare baht, and get it to them. Win/win situation for everyone, and what you do helps encourage others to do the same more than just complaining about it.

Edited January 2, 2022 by Noah K

[Tropposurfer]

I'm paraphrasing; Change begins with me.

We use reusable coffee lon, and gaffee buran yen cups, haven't used a throw away cup or cold drink container in many years. I have a rule, done this also for years; If I don't have my reusable cup I don't buy a takeaway coffee - no exceptions.

I make it a habit to buy porcelain reusable coffee cups and give away to someone regularly on birthdays, Xmas etc.

We have compost bin for all our fruit n veg, n other garden waste.

Never use throw away food containers when eating street food, we take containers and they fill those.

Use cloth shopping bags.

Recycle plastic bags for other things to put fruit and veg in.

Carry old bags in the car and bike (no not the missus lol????).

Never use plastic straws.

By as little plastic wrapping as possible, and always refuse plastic bags and say 'no good for Thailand' (mai dee sahrab prathesthai)

in my poor Thai with a smile and caring.

I spend some hours every week cleaning with my rake and grabber tongs the beach and areas around the beach, and taking a ride to the tip with the rubbish collected. I have a rule I never leave any beach without picking up some trash (if there is trash there).

Since I was half my age I have, every time I surfed, pick up trash on the beach in Oz or wherever in the world I have surfed. 

 

[arick]

What a joke there are still burning 50% of the sugar cane fields this years was suppose to be 0%.  Drive up north to Chaing mai couldn't see for more thrn 500 metres because of smoke. Plastic is used  more thrn a farang uses toilet paper 

[sawadee1947]

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Change an come from the grass roots of any society

Well, that's true and started already in Thailand. 

Just Look at those young people who are demanding those changes, though some are in prison 

[gejohesch]

1 hour ago, petedk said:

Seriously, most Thai people just don't care.

 

 

You may well be right ????

 

Someone said "Land of Garbage". Just look at the endless roads littered on both sides. Went to beaches between Prachuap KK and Chumphon a few years back, hardly any foreigners around, littered.... Lived a few years in a nice neighbourhood of Bangkok (max. 10% foreigners), streets looked like open sewage, bad smells, rats.

 

We went one day to take a train at Hua Lamphong. Had an hour to kill waiting and went for a bite to one of the small restaurants immediately outside. A few customers sitting there. As we entered, a big fat rat ran through our legs!

 

"Amazing Thailand" has a long way to go!

Edited January 2, 2022 by gejohesch

[Wandering druid]

what I can can't understand are where are the bins and skips by the roadside? no wonder Thais throw their <deleted> on the road there is no place to put it. Putting up signs is doing nothing !!

[Stevemercer]

I remember growing up in Australia in the 1960s and 1970s. People threw rubbish wherever they wanted. But this slowly changed such that by the 1990s it was no longer socially acceptable.

 

When a Thai visitor casually empties the rubbish from their car onto the street I ask whether they would do so if it was Royal property? Who is responsible for their rubbish on public property? 

 

Maybe a campaign saying that littering is like throwing rubbish onto Royal land or land dedicated to Buddha. It is an insult and disgrace to the whole Thai nation.

 

Of course, increasing the number of public rubbish bins would be an excellent start.

 

In Thailand I am often wandering around with a handful of rubbish looking for a public bin. In Australia there are bins everywhere. Mind you, in Australia I am often wandering around looking for an ATM. This is not a problem in Thailand!

 

[connda]

Environmentally friendly.  <laughs>

It's January so I expect we have  another month of clean air up here in Northern Thailand before the heat sets in and the Thais head for the hills with the express intent of burning them down - year, after year, after year. 
Hell, by that time of year my solar cell probably work at half-capacity as the entire North is shrouded in PM2.5 and PM10 so bad that yearly we have "The Worst Air Quality In The World."  Like on the days I can't see the other side of our mountain valley 10 km away.

Well you could conversely say that Thailand is Number 1 in The Worse Air Quality in The World to go along with having the Number 1 Most Dangerous Roads in The World. 

[chiman]

There is so much garbage everywhere I have gone in this country over the last 15 years.  Side of the road, in a field, on the beach.. the way it gets dumped into the environment here is heart breaking.  There is an island of trash floating in the Gulf of Thailand thats many KM long.  Happy to see the reduction of plastic bags at 7 and such, but it would take education and decades of clean up to really turn things around here... 

[DJ54]

Seriously I thought must be a joke.. in these day and I’ve never seen so many people litter throw trash on the ground thinking someone else will clean it up... eat something just drop it on the ground.. I just

looked in my front yard four styrofoam food containers thrown on the ground.. well should I credit them for feeding the dogs or face value lazy and or ignorant... 

 

It should be taught at home at schools and policed and fined.. IMO the mentality at least in NE oh

one won’t matter.. but it’s not one.. it’s thousands of people....end of rant .. uhhh wait teach to wash knives instead of using the same one to cut meat for a week ... without washing.. 

[natway09]

I would agree with all the post except the EV part.

No point for the next 10 years in Thailand investing in one.

Apart from chargers being so hard to find out of the main cities, the energy you use to recharge is

90% fossil made anyway including coal & even dirty lignite plus the transport loss may even exceed 10%.

Happy New Year to one & all

Question while I am here, How is the Government of the Day going to recoup all the fuel tax 

lost to EV's.?

[bangon04]

15 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Just get them to use the trash cans that line the streets like in other countries around the world, oh wait watch trash cans, ergo why they just throw the wrappers and empties on the ground in an empty field or any Klong.  You can not fix this no matter how hard you try.  

I always had the impression that Royal Parks / Royal land /buildings were immune from the trash and bad behavior. So if Thais can be taught not to do it in Royal parks, surely they can be taught to behave in other places.

[Mike k]

The first time I came here In 2006 I spent a week riding in the back of a pickup with my wife and and her nieces we had bought some lumyai from a street vendor after eating I threw the seed out the back and her niece got all over me for doing it now I see people throwing their trash out of their cars like it don't matter 

[2009]

21 hours ago, xenophon said:

'encourage Thais to do likewise'

Is this a tad patronising? e.g. lets show some commonsense and encourage ....... (brits, americans, indians, germans, etc. fill in the space) to do likewise

I think the point is that now westerners do that already and don't need the encouragement.

 

We already went through our transition of being litterbugs to decent citizens (as detailed in the OP).

[Kenneth White]

Ten years ago was my first visit to Thailand in 50 years, and nothing has changed. I commented to my Thai wife, it was a shame the Thai people are not better stewards of their land. At that time walking around Bangkok everywhere you looked there were plastic bags with empty food boxes that were thrown to the gowned, and dog pop everywhere. I now live in a small city and it is the same. Garbage collection is a joke, animal control is also a big joke, the rice farmers still burn their straw. I could go on with the many environment abuses but why should I. If the Thai government is going to implement this they need to enforce it. 

 

It has been said, and it good advice for all "If you are going to make a change you have to look at the man in the mirror" This is a very profound statement, but the Thai people have no mirrors.

[Stargeezr]

We should all try to be cleaner. I have found that many places in Thailand does not have trash cans or such 

too handy. I tend to pack my garbage around for a while before finding a place to put it.  My Thai family are pretty good with

recycling, and since they have a stall in a local market, they are very aware of the importance of being clean.

  When I ride my motorcycle around the Hua Hin, city and area, I have seen many illegal places used as dumps.

It does make the place a lot less attractive.  Happy New year to all.

 

[Mark mark]

Right On There Rooster. ...