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

[overherebc]

On 1/2/2022 at 1:13 PM, Percy P said:

 

Not a fan of returning whisky bottles. They get relabled, in many cases, filled with copied whisky and sold at a big profit. Cheap poison.

 

[petedk]

I have a letter that I copied from "the other newspaper" a few years ago that I use when teaching oral English.

 

In it, the author writes that he sat in the restaurant car of a train going to Chiang Mai. He was impressed by the cleanliness of the restaurant and of the staff's clean clothes. He then saw a man sweeping up all the rubbish on the floor and sweeping it to the back of the car. He then open the door and swept everything out on to the tracks!! 

 

I used to take the boats on Klong San Saeb and it wasn't unusual to see people throwing rubbish bags into the klong.

A motorcycle repair shop pouring liters of engine oil directly down the drain.

 

The list is endless.

[jacko45k]

17 hours ago, overherebc said:

Not a fan of returning whisky bottles. They get relabled, in many cases, filled with copied whisky and sold at a big profit. Cheap poison.

 

Used to get 'collectors' offering to buy old bottles off me at the old house. Scotch bottles were popular, but the prizes were perfume bottles. 

[overherebc]

29 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Used to get 'collectors' offering to buy old bottles off me at the old house. Scotch bottles were popular, but the prizes were perfume bottles. 

Perfume bottles  re-filled with fine French Perfume at 2 dollars a gallon. ????????

[Kwaibill]

On 1/2/2022 at 12:43 PM, Percy P said:

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

I am a Yank, and do as much the same as possible; I am disabled, and the nearest bin after our village is 1/2 kilometre away, liberally dotted with plastic drinks bottles, styro take away boxes, etc. The nearby klong is a horror.

I think I'll invest in a grabber tool and start  carrying a large bag on my walks.

[heist]

Quote

encourage Thais

Nah, this isn't my country, I'm just a guest. 

 

[Marpa47]

On 1/2/2022 at 4:32 PM, Stevemercer said:

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!

 

There was a youtube video awhile back, (maybe a year or two ), by “notimetobesad” Chuck and Page, where he discussed how the town leadership where he lives had finally gotten their act together, started placing garbage cans around and cleaning things up.  So, it takes leadership and organization.  This is a town with annual festivals and a prominent Wat, so there is tourism and occasions when there is a heavy influx of crowds needing to be cleaned up after.  That is also incentive to clean up — having to put on a good face.  Maybe this is what it takes — leadership from the municipalities to take charge and encourage citizens to follow up.

[Marpa47]

On 1/2/2022 at 6:50 PM, chiman said:

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... 

education may be the key.  If the kids are taught to clean up after themselves, and that it is loss of face to just dump trash around, then maybe they would scold their parents into not doing it also.  That could work.

[Marpa47]

Happy New Year to all!   Sadly in NYC where I just came from, there are trash receptacles aplenty, yet I see people walking right past them and dumping things on the sidewalk.  This slovenliness is even defended as ‘giving someone who cleans up the streets some work’!  And, yes, in NYC one just invites abuse, (at best!), if one makes any comment.  Trash is only one of the problems in our society.  It would be nice if everyone were assured of good housing, food and medical care with education and a chance of a good job in a safe environment.