Garbage In The Kingdom

[RakJungTorlae]

I'm living in Korea now and I have to say the Koreans aren't as clean as they would like you to think.

They have this system of coloured bags, as other posters have said, no trash cans. You buy a bag and put your rubbish in that and someone comes along and takes it away. Sounds good. Twice this week our bag has been emptieed on the ground and the bag taken. Someone is stealing a used, 20 cent rubbish bag (twice). How cheap is that?

Before you say, "oh maybe it was a stray dog." I've been here for 10 months and have yet to see a stray dog. Stray dog in Korea = lunch.

bu shin tang

[dotcom]

I think Thailand just need better street cleaners, in Sydney we have these little mobile things that drive on foot paths that picks up all the rubbish and even sprays it with water, we also have a bigger one for the streets.

i always drop my rubbish, but I have a look around first before I do it, if im drunk i just drop it without caring for anybody.

Hey Roid brain. We don't care how you do stuff in sidney. (correct spelling).

[lardy]

Dirty beaches are a problem in UK also.

In fact worldwide.

[lardy]

I think Thailand just need better street cleaners, in Sydney we have these little mobile things that drive on foot paths that picks up all the rubbish and even sprays it with water, we also have a bigger one for the streets.

i always drop my rubbish, but I have a look around first before I do it, if im drunk i just drop it without caring for anybody.

HI Donk,

Dont be too suprised if one day a street cleaner spots you and "drops" you too

Mind you you could try telling him (or her!) you are just getting ready to blend in with the locals when you arive in LOS in January?

On second thoughts frget that, you would likely get you another beating for trying to take the Piss!

Roy gsd

Nah, People are too scared to say that to me, i mean, would you go up to a perfectly good looking man that looks like a machine of a human and tell him to pick up his rubbish?

It would be likr a flee going up to a elephant

Remember though a mouse scares an elephant sh*tless.

[lardy]

The family has come a long way and rarely do I now have to remind them that this or that area is not a garbage can!

I was walking along Jomtien beach two days ago and the amount of garbage on the beach and in the water is really depressing. What will it take to enlighten the govenrment and the population? Education is the answer but I do not see any evidence of awareness of the problem.

For that matter it surprises me that the beach chair concessions do not pick up everything in sight. A few days / weeks / months of picking up things would go a long way to cleaning the beaches.

I apologize for the essay but this is something I feel very strongly about and would like to change!

Your superior farang attitude must go down very well with your family and neigbours!

If you want to educate, become a teacher, if you want to become involved in local political or social matters then you should become a Thai citizen, if your not prepared make the commitment to become a thai citizen in order to have a legitimate

voice in thia affairs then you either put up with how the locals live or relocate to a place that you are content with.

Thai's were dumping their rubbish where they liked long before you arrived and willstill be dumping it where they like long afer you have gone, you could not have failed to have seen how thais dispose of their litter/rubbish on your very first visit

yet you chose to live amongst it.

Litter and rubbish unfortunately is not considered to be a high priority by the majority of thai's, I suspect that as soon as you are out of sight your family revert to dropping thier litter where they like.

If you really want to make a difference, go down the soi's and beach and clear it up yourself, if you dont want to spend your time picking up other peoples rubbish you should not expect others to do it for you.

I am not saying its right to dump your rubish everywhere but as a farang I know its a matter for the thai's to resolve,

Roy gsd

But rubbsih dumped by Thais does not stay in Thailand plastic bags drift through the oceans killing turtles who think they are jellyfish but thats ok we must say nothing its their country but OUR planet.

[dhind1]

Great topic, dhind1.

On Thai tv, they have 2 short videos everyday. One shows a lady walking and bags flying to her face. One shows some scuba divers and snack bags suddenly flow around them. The last sentence is "Juoi kan khon lah mai khon lah mu keb muang Thai hai suai ngam (Each person, let's help keep Thailand beautiful)".

Thank you for letting us know about the videos on Thai TV. I did not know about

them. If my family has seen them they have not mentioned it. It is a step in the

right direction.

[greenmember]

On Thai tv, they have 2 short videos everyday. One shows a lady walking and bags flying to her face. One shows some scuba divers and snack bags suddenly flow around them. The last sentence is "Juoi kan khon lah mai khon lah mu keb muang Thai hai suai ngam (Each person, let's help keep Thailand beautiful)".

It's on NBT channel. The video was on at 2:27pm (just now).

[mgjackson69]

My wife does not litter anymore...she knows that she will catch hel_l from me if she does. When I explained that Thailand is a beautiful country, and why would she want to "make khee", she understood that right away.

With the older people in the village, I do not bother. I just try to lead by example.

With the wife's brothers and sisters, the ones younger than me anyway, I will show my disapproval when they throw garbage down. They will pick it back up about half the time.

With the nieces and nephews, I 'yap-yap-yap' at them if I see them litter. Usually it takes one "baan nawk baan nawk" and they will pick it up and find a better place for it. Or I will have them give it to me and I will dispose of it.

I recall from my youth, growing up on the Great Plains of USA, my parents were always throwing crap out of the car window.

[Gonsalviz]

Has anyone seen south Korea cleaning up there mess, they are probaly the worlds best, they pretty much all clean up mess after events

Never been to Japan.^

[Gonsalviz]

Has anyone seen south Korea cleaning up there mess, they are probaly the worlds best, they pretty much all clean up mess after events

Haha Koreans freak out even if the end of the jeans is dragging on the ground. It 10 years ago it uses to be a dump. Now its like sparking clean. My cozens on the Korean counsel in Thailand and they have talks on these matter it's very likely they might use a few clean up methods in Thailand.

Only been to Seoul.^

[uptou]

I've been traveling on alot of 3rd class train journeys recently.I didnt see many green thais on the trains.Any garbage gets enthusiastically (almost with a bit of spite ) lobbed out of the window,rather than in the (empty) black bin liners that are between every carriage.

[on-on]

On Thai tv, they have 2 short videos everyday. One shows a lady walking and bags flying to her face. One shows some scuba divers and snack bags suddenly flow around them. The last sentence is "Juoi kan khon lah mai khon lah mu keb muang Thai hai suai ngam (Each person, let's help keep Thailand beautiful)".

It's on NBT channel. The video was on at 2:27pm (just now).

A friend of mine is the male scuba diver in that video. I can't recall if the final cut included it or not, but one of the things that floated by was a turd, heh. Anyway, yeah, I agree with the Australian above. Littering was more common in America in the 70s and 80s when I was a kid, too. We had Woodsy the owl on TV day and night brainwashing us to give a hoot and don't pollute and I guess it worked, because most of America that I see is a lot less covered in diapers and bottle caps than it used to be (though it's not spic and span by any means). Public garbage cans help too and one nice thing back home is that we didn't yank them all out due to domestic terror, so you can actually throw crap away in America. I understand why the UK yanked theirs, but God was it a pain in the ass trying to throw stuff away in London. That was years ago, though. Thailand's horrible about it too, though usually if I walk with the trash long enough a yellow or green can turns up, if not a store's garbage can. I also spend at least 5 combined minutes a week saying "mai sai toong" and "mai ao lort" which seems to perplex, but amuse many cashiers. Now I need to learn the word for receipt specifically for use at 7-11.

Edited August 10, 2008 by on-on

[Chaimai]

Your superior farang attitude must go down very well with your family and neigbours!

If you want to educate, become a teacher, if you want to become involved in local political or social matters then you should become a Thai citizen, if your not prepared make the commitment to become a thai citizen in order to have a legitimate

voice in thia affairs then you either put up with how the locals live or relocate to a place that you are content with.

Thai's were dumping their rubbish where they liked long before you arrived and willstill be dumping it where they like long afer you have gone, you could not have failed to have seen how thais dispose of their litter/rubbish on your very first visit

yet you chose to live amongst it.

Litter and rubbish unfortunately is not considered to be a high priority by the majority of thai's, I suspect that as soon as you are out of sight your family revert to dropping thier litter where they like.

If you really want to make a difference, go down the soi's and beach and clear it up yourself, if you dont want to spend your time picking up other peoples rubbish you should not expect others to do it for you.

I am not saying its right to dump your rubish everywhere but as a farang I know its a matter for the thai's to resolve,

Roy gsd

You have missed the point again Roy.

The OP has made a very good point about education being the first step it trying to get Thais to take responsibility for keeping their country clean and tidy. If they cannot see the need to take responsibility for their actions, then someone needs to steer them in the right direction,

Your high-handed posturing, and derisory comments, about the OP's passion for change are typical of your cheap shots at a poster and your failure to make a positive contribution to the discussion.

I applaude dhind1 for trying to make a difference, whilst your contribution Roy appears to be sweet FA.

Edited August 10, 2008 by Chaimai

[peter991]

Thailand is changing - slowly. When I first visited, it was common practice to throw your cigarette butt into the gutter. A lady street sweeper would sweep it up. Now, throwing a butt away would result in a heavy fine ... until I stopped smoking a few months ago, I used to put out the cigarette and put the butt in my pocket - to dispose of later.

The problem I found in Thailand is the lack of rubbish bins - yes, nice bottle of fruit juice, thank-you. Now - where do I put the empty bottle, please?

Peter

[Chaimai]

Thailand is changing - slowly. When I first visited, it was common practice to throw your cigarette butt into the gutter. A lady street sweeper would sweep it up. Now, throwing a butt away would result in a heavy fine ... until I stopped smoking a few months ago, I used to put out the cigarette and put the butt in my pocket - to dispose of later.

The problem I found in Thailand is the lack of rubbish bins - yes, nice bottle of fruit juice, thank-you. Now - where do I put the empty bottle, please?

Peter

I agree. I have also walked round for ages with an empty water bottle (and the plastic bag that had the Lao sausage, or pork balls in) and, yes, I have sinned occasionally but I always tried to leave the waste somewhere where I thought it would be collected.

I still believe that the first step is education - coupled with encouragement by way of more waste receptacles. Labour is cheap in Thailand and the government could throw people at a clean up campaign. It is also supposed to be a proud nation so the earlier comment about appealing to national pride could also work.

[Spee]

The OP has made a very good point about education being the first step it trying to get Thais to take responsibility for keeping their country clean and tidy. If they cannot see the need to take responsibility for their actions, then someone needs to steer them in the right direction,

My 2 satang worth ...

Naples is without a doubt the filthiest city I have ever seen. Rubbish everywhere and for some reason. It is common practice to dump household trash at bus stops. Every so often someone comes by to pick the sh*t up but by next morning, it's all back out there again.

While not wanting to generalize, I think there is some merit to some Thai people not throwing rubbish away when out in public. I can speak of personal experience up in the village. My partner's kid and brothers would just drop stuff in the yard at the house, like going to the corner store for ice cream, opening it up, and dropping the wrapper in the yard and walking away. I've had to work with them to get a change of attitude. With my partner's daughter, she likes to hang out with me when I'm working in the yard. So I had her help me picking up rocks, trash, etc. And I tell her "mai suay" and she gets and tries to do better. Strangely enough, the inside of the house is usually kept quite clean.