Thailand Cutting Back On Plastic Bags

[Koo82]

What drives me potty are the little tabs of thin plastic that come off Tesco bags. They're just excess plastic from the manufacturing process, but they detach easily and are buggers to sweep or pick up as they are so thin and light that they just do their own thing.

Is it how they look like?

[paulandmaneerat]

In Taiwan 7-11's charge 1 TWD (Taiwan Dollar) for a plastic bag. It's amazing how people suddenly don't see the need for a bag when they have to pay for it! Good policy.

P&M

[andyalford]

Plastic is NOT Fantastic

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a promo photo of some of the plastic removed from the ocean on the Cornish coast - the question is would you throw this kind of stuff in your swimming pool? Then why did it get thrown into the sea?

Thailand need an Ad budget for educating it's population - it is not a question of wealth - it doesn't cost people anything to throw rubbish in a bin.

[salty]

Since free plastic bags were discontinued in Ireland I always bring back a supply every time I visit Thailand. Great for household rubbish and waste. When shopping I use good quality bags I got at duty free in Don Muang on my first trip to Thailand.

With regards to polluting the environment with rubbish our percentage of slobs is well up to world wide average

Edited April 24, 2009 by salty

[loong]

They are moving away from plastic bags for soft drinks now so everywhere I look I see those plastic beakers littering the place.

[webfact]

Does the campaign "we will wipe out the plastic bag" include the Styrofoam? boxes used for all kind of food as well?

My Soi is plastered with hundreds of this rubbish! Khin Khao finished, box will be thrown away... but not into a garbage bin.

Edited April 25, 2009 by webfact

[Johnxxx]

Please go to beach before the vendors prepare it for the day....the beaches are strewn with plastics of all types. When the tides and currents are in a particular direction, Wongamat beach is like a rubbish tip. So please do not say plastic bags are not an issue in Pattaya, because it is simply untrue.

But is this problem really related to plastic bags only? They throw a lot of the garbage into the sea - sometimes the current goes into the wrong direction ;-) But imagine - what you see is just the garbage what did not get disolved quickly enough in water. The vendors remove the things they can see. The rest is still in the water. Happy swimming :-))) So I am afraid this is a wider problem than a plastic bag problem. It is not caused by the plastic bags but by the people/communities throwing all the garbage into the sea.

Edited April 25, 2009 by Johnxxx

[cekipa]

No plastic bags = better environment

ok, everyone agrees but while slicing melons and watermelons, peeling carrots and bananas, where are you going to throw them together with all your waste ? What is the difference between a rubbish bin double-capped with 2 white "TESCO-LOTUS" plastic bags instead of a black rubbish bag ? Let's do not ignore also the final purpose of a plastic bag ....

[denissr]

I don’t know why some folks think this announcement is strange. Seems like it is great that there is interest in the environment in Thailand. I have been to the coast in Rayon. God knows they need some concern. This is like articles that appear every day around the U.S., I guess the UK and OZ have all their recycling problems in check. I say great for you.

[3zie]

Cutting back on plastic bags

BANGKOK: -- On the occasion of Earth Day yesterday, the Natural Resource and Environment Ministry launched a campaign to cut plastic-bag consumption in the country by at least 10 per cent. Currently, Thais dispose of 1,800 tonnes of used plastic bags every day.

Can that number be right?

If 1 tonne = 1,000 kgs or 1,000,000 grams, and the average shopping bag (according to online sources) weighs 5.5 grams, and if Thais are diposing of 1,800 tonnes daily, that would work out to 327,272,727 bags everyday. In a country of 65,000,000 people that would work out to each and every Thai disposing of just over 5 bags each day, or 35 a week. And remember, that's 5 for each Thai including babies, school children, the elderly, etc. Seems ridiculously high to me, but perhaps my math is wrong.

Your calculations look right to me... When my better half goes to the market (almost every evening) she returns with at least 10 medium sized plastic bags. Add to this a weekly Big C visit and some other shopping activities...

[3zie]

No plastic bags = better environment

ok, everyone agrees but while slicing melons and watermelons, peeling carrots and bananas, where are you going to throw them together with all your waste ? What is the difference between a rubbish bin double-capped with 2 white "TESCO-LOTUS" plastic bags instead of a black rubbish bag ? Let's do not ignore also the final purpose of a plastic bag ....

IF they would start by selling only biodegradable garbage bags (as they do in most European countries) then that makes a big difference...

[samuibeachcomber]

Start charging for plastic bags. Problem solved.

would n't help the food carts on the street

[LivinginKata]

While shopping in Carrefour in Patong, Phuket I noticed that the small clear plastic bags at the bread counter had been replaced by small brown paper bags. Asked the counter lady about this, she just replied.. oh run out of plastic bags. I suspect it's a new shop policy. Good move... well done Carrefour ...

[Smithson]

ok, everyone agrees but while slicing melons and watermelons, peeling carrots and bananas, where are you going to throw them

In the compost bin.

[aussimike]

Cutting back on plastic bags

BANGKOK: -- On the occasion of Earth Day yesterday, the Natural Resource and Environment Ministry launched a campaign to cut plastic-bag consumption in the country by at least 10 per cent. Currently, Thais dispose of 1,800 tonnes of used plastic bags every day.

"We are focusing on plastic bags because they pose a serious threat to the environment," Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti said. "If plastic-bag consumption is successfully reduced, carbon dioxide emissions will also drop."

Plastic does not compose on its own and with more than 40,000 tonnes of garbage collected every day, transportation to disposal facilities or landfills also gets expensive.

Suwit hopes the public will co-operate in the campaign, which runs until June 5.

"Plastic bags are a part of people's every day life, and they can make a difference right away," Suwit said.

The campaign has won participation from many businesses, including Foodlands, Villa Market, The Mall, Jusco, Siam Makro, Siam Paragon, Siam Centre, Carrefour, 7-Eleven, Robinson and Big C.

Suwit said his ministry was also planning to manufacture bio-plastic bags that can decompose naturally.

"Although bio-plastic bags cost more to produce, the government might introduce tax measures to help," he said, adding that the government was also adopting many measures to reduce global warming.

"We plan to reduce petrol consumption, increase green areas and introduce carbon labels," he said.

-- The Nation 2009-04-23

States should follow SA bag ban: Rann

May 4, 2009 - 9:59AM

A ban on plastic shopping bags in South Australia will put pressure on other states and territories to follow suit, Premier Mike Rann says.

The ban on single-use plastic shopping bags, generally used by supermarkets, came into force on Monday.

It will save an estimated 400 million bags being dumped in landfill each year.

But it will not apply to the bags on a roll, used for fruit and vegetables and sturdier plastic bags, used in departments stores.

Mr Rann said there was no question too many of the single-use bags were in circulation.

"Four billion of them are being produced every year just so that Australians can put a few items in them for the short ride between the supermarket and home," he said.[/b]

JUST IMAGINE THIS LAW BEING ENFORCED IN THAI -- HAAA

[Sturbuc]

ppphhhhh....

The best improvement Thailand could do is re use the plastic bags to collect up all the other bloody rubbish that Thai's and farang tourists throw everywhere. And ratun cane those that litter until the message gets through.

Not easy to use the own bag in TESCO - the cashier's don't expect it so you might get everything in a plastic bag to put it into your own bag.

[Galong]

Back in the 90s (can't remember the exact year) there was a drive by the national parks to only use biodegrabable starch-based lunch boxed. It was supposed to become law... guess what? The boxes cost next to nothing, but that was apparently too high a price to pay, so styrofoam (polystyrene) remained the norm.

[cooked]

kind of late to get into this old thread.

I had hardly been in Thailand for three weeks before I got two shopping tee shirts printed (440 Baht) 'I don't like plastic'. (My mastery of Thai is minimal) Thais working in stores that can read find this amusing and generally understand when I give them a flash. I'm sure we could think up a better slogan, looks like a commercial opportunity to me, any feedback here?

[emilyb]

kind of late to get into this old thread.

I had hardly been in Thailand for three weeks before I got two shopping tee shirts printed (440 Baht) 'I don't like plastic'. (My mastery of Thai is minimal) Thais working in stores that can read find this amusing and generally understand when I give them a flash. I'm sure we could think up a better slogan, looks like a commercial opportunity to me, any feedback here?

I'd actually planned on a similar thing. Just a simple "mai sai toong" in Thai with a clever design somewhere on it. Good to hear it's met with humorous understanding.