Thailand Has It's Challenges Sometimes.

[fiddlehead]

So, i try to be positive in my life's everyday experiences and learning about culture differences and Thai people.

But sometimes, i get mad.

Especially when it comes to trash and where people decide would be a good place to dump it.

Living near Nai Harn/Rawai area, i could never understand that they put all that money into the area around the lake in Nai Harn and made it so beautiful and then allowed a dump to grow and grow in that area. I was very thankful when it got cleaned up about 2-3 weeks ago.

So, today I am out for a morning jog and go to another of my favorite places which is the football field up by the windmill.

I've been noticing lately that people are dumping their trash there now. Not Cool! There's a place near where i live (near the Muslim cemetary across from Mangosteen) where the municipality has put a dumpster to discourage dumping (i guess) but people unload their trucks with styrofoam and crap just before the dumpster in a swamp area.

But today, I saw somthing worse. Up at the football field, i was jogging nearby and smelled an overpowering smell of sh*t.

I got closer and saw a yellow truck (assume it is a municipality truck) dumping raw sh*t out on the ground there, emptying his whole truck.

This is some nasty, unhealthy dumping that is more than just an eyesore. Kids play up there. (last week i talked to a Thai man who had his family up there cutting the grass by hand (no weed whacker) so they could play some football.

Anyway, i had to vent and so I am telling it to the forum to see if this is common practice by the municipalities in Thailand (to pump out septic tanks and then go spread it around their parks and playfields) Or is this just some odd coincidence that they had to dump once and figured no one would see them early on a saturday morning???

[LivinLOS]

Its issues like this that get me riled up too... And sadly make me feel that this island will not find a way to preserve itself before its destroyed.

There needs to be a will to change, a desire to preserve.

[huggybear]

So, i try to be positive in my life's everyday But today, I saw somthing worse. Up at the football field, i was jogging nearby and smelled an overpowering smell of sh*t.

I got closer and saw a yellow truck (assume it is a municipality truck) dumping raw sh*t out on the ground there, emptying his whole truck.

This is some nasty, unhealthy dumping that is more than just an eyesore. Kids play up there. (last week i talked to a Thai man who had his family up there cutting the grass by hand (no weed whacker) so they could play some football.

Anyway, i had to vent and so I am telling it to the forum to see if this is common practice by the municipalities in Thailand (to pump out septic tanks and then go spread it around their parks and playfields) Or is this just some odd coincidence that they had to dump once and figured no one would see them early on a saturday morning???

Amazing Thailand ! Lets film that for the next TAT promotional video.

Edited August 16, 2008 by huggybear

[LivinginKata]

Maybe they thought they were fertilizing the grass .....

[tommyj4]

What about all the shit that gets dumped down in Bangla, thats shit from all over the country

[huggybear]

So, i try to be positive in my life's everyday experiences and learning about culture differences and Thai people.

But sometimes, i get mad.

Especially when it comes to trash and where people decide would be a good place to dump it.

Living near Nai Harn/Rawai area, i could never understand that they put all that money into the area around the lake in Nai Harn and made it so beautiful and then allowed a dump to grow and grow in that area. I was very thankful when it got cleaned up about 2-3 weeks ago.

Yesterday I saw guys dumping a truckload of construction scraps on that area they just cut and cleaned at Nai Hairn lake.

[YaiJung]

Sadly most of the locals just don't care. They have learned to look the other way. When I lived in Patong our lazy neighbors (the jet ski renters) couldn't be bothered to take the trash 40 ft to the bin, instead they just dumped it all out behind their house less than 20 ft from where they eat and sleep. Then the other locals noticed this and began doing the same. It wasn't long before half the neighborhood was dumping their trash there and to top it off burning it day in and day out. This mess was right alongside a klong that empties directly into Patong Beach. The smell was atrocious. They live in their own self-generated filth and just don't care....

On a side note, I have always been struck by the huge amount of garbage strewn about the Rawai/NaiHarn area. What a mess!!

[LivinginKata]

When I lived in Patong our lazy neighbors (the jet ski renters) couldn't be bothered to take the trash 40 ft to the bin, instead they just dumped it all out behind their house less than 20 ft from where they eat and sleep. Then the other locals noticed this and began doing the same. It wasn't long before half the neighborhood was dumping their trash there and to top it off burning it day in and day out. This mess was right alongside a klong that empties directly into Patong Beach. The smell was atrocious. They live in their own self-generated filth and just don't care....

Just to add to YaiJung's comment. That jet ski rentor he refers to are part of a family of a mum & 3 daughters, who own a total of 10+ houses/rooms at the bottom of Nanai 2. They rent out 7 homes and don't own one single rubbish bin. They use our 2 bins (we have a neighbouring property) and have the cheek to complain to me when one of our bins get damaged or goes missing cos they have nowhere for them & their customers to dump rubbish. The jet ski owner and his cronies used to sit at the road-end drinking and eating in the evening, and just dumped their bottles and rubbish where they sat. What a mess. Thankfully a wall has been built blocking off the access to the scrub land behind their houses, so they no longer use Nanai 2 as their jet ski repair facility and recreational area.

Edited August 17, 2008 by LivinginKata

[Kimera]

What about all the shit that gets dumped down in Bangla, thats shit from all over the country

Really !!!!!

[Kimera]

Its issues like this that get me riled up too... And sadly make me feel that this island will not find a way to preserve itself before its destroyed.

There needs to be a will to change, a desire to preserve.

My two year old daughter has been told to put rubbish in the dustbin and this she does, even if the rubbish is dropped by her Thai friends, Good Eh! Hopefully she will show her children !! its the only way

[PhilHarries]

Its issues like this that get me riled up too... And sadly make me feel that this island will not find a way to preserve itself before its destroyed.

There needs to be a will to change, a desire to preserve.

My two year old daughter has been told to put rubbish in the dustbin and this she does, even if the rubbish is dropped by her Thai friends, Good Eh! Hopefully she will show her children !! its the only way

Yes, a change in peoples attitudes is coming but the question is, Is it coming fast enough to save places like Phuket or Samui? The reality is that worldwide we, the human race, create too much garbage. That coupled with our increasing populations taking up more land space mean there are less and less available dump sites. Environmentalists are against incineration as the solution thus landfill is the only option left unless we all take steps to reduce the volume of trash we produce. Polystyrene containers, plastic bags and bottles are probably the worst contributors as they take decades to break down and even then the end result is not beneficial to the environment. Island communities like Phuket are particularly vulnerable due to the restricted amount of available land.

As for the fly tipping of construction waste and sewage, I can't say for sure, but you might find the disposal of these wastes is by sub-contract. The sub-contractors are paid a lump sum per load from which they have to subtract, amongst other costs, charges for using authorised dump sites. Thus they save money (increase profit) by dumping at night or early morning at any convenient piece of roadside land when nobody is around to report them. As I say I can't say for sure but you might want to send a photograph to the local council or maybe the Bangkok Post but then they tend to avoid printing anything negative these days.

It's a worldwide problem but Asians seem to be particularly adept at adopting the "out of sight out of mind" attitude. I've seen many instances of people living in a nice house 20 metres from a pile of festering garbage they themselves have created.

[LivinginKata]

About a couple of years ago we had a terrible problem with fly tipping of household waste on the ground beyond the end of Nanai 2. Building rubble was encouraged for land infill, but trucks arrived with household/kitchen waste and created a terrible smell. Even worse when this waste was burned off, horrible smoke blowing into our apartments. We complained to the health & safety department of Patong Tesbian. The officer was very helpful and did arrange a back hoe to bury the waste, and stated that he needed photos as proof of offenders. The offenders were Tesiban trucks and trucks from large hotels such as Merlin and Meridien. I presented the photos to Tesiban .... but nothing was done. Eventually the owner of the land fenced it off and had a security gate to vet the truck loads. End of problem.