Major Retailers Start Charging For Plastic Bags

[PeterKesel]

Nice thread.I like this business.A great idea, hope it works as well as it does in Adelaide (oz) as since it's introduction nearly everybody takes the re-usable bags with them when shopping including chiller bags.

[Jose]

Great move, and about time.

I'm hoping Samui & Pha-Ngan follow up.

7-11, where are you on this?

[Deelectro]

The only solution is biodegradeable bags. They have mandated them in my town back home, and all the stores have them, so it is possible.

[thaibkk]

some people here are clapping hands...

but once you get your trolley into the back of your car (or taxi)... how easy it will be to get it out and into your homes...

so paper is better? than you support of cutting down rain forest for your goodies

paper takes about 30 years to rotten to nothing, in case you would wonder...

[marcher]

VERY surprised that everyone is so much in favour of eliminating plastic bags with no real alternative. What does everybody use to line their rubbish bins? Paper would be OK for most rubbish in living areas and bedrooms, IF these are provided, but leaky kitchen waste is completely different. unless of course one installs a waste disposal unit (good idea, may do that!) Someone mentioned that they have 4 canvas type bags, we have more but a single shop at Tops may use 20 bags when I only meant to use 4. Will they sell extra bags cheap or do I leave the rest of my shopping there? Good idea for the environment but not thought out enough to work properly

[ray23]

It is a good idea, my guess tourist will just pay for the bags

[Eggmeng]

Small point, but will people realize they are being charged extra for the bags if they don't examine their receipt? If not, it won't have the desired effect.

I believe 7-11 is owned by the CP Group in Thailand. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[ardsong]

someone needs to talk to 7-11. they are one of the largest waster of plastic bags... they put every little thing in a plastic bag...

Helloo.........................this is the lazy way out

If you have such a good idea why not YOURSELF talking to 7/11???

than you can perfectly explain, why you think they should change their plastic bag tradition.

success, and let us know

[Dakhar]

Wow,

I am moved, and full of mixed emotions....

Tears of astonishment, joy and pride are starting to form. It is like watching an autistic child say a complete sentence!!!!!

Amazing Thailand, there is hope yet.

[hedonist44]

I don't see how it's anything other than them making more money. They should give an alternative such as Paper bags as in the rest of the world. I have always been asked, "Paper or Plastic", why not here? Who the hel_l carries around cloth shopping bags? It's not practical for one thing and I would not do it. So it's nice to think they are helping the enviroment, but it's actually lining their own pockets and everyone is to thick to see it.

[eggomaniac]

A step in the right direction. Time to buy those cloth shopping bags people.

for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction...

Those clothe shopping bags are making people sick. They get right full of bacteria after a few shopping trips. [a few people have the sense to wash them, but that uses water ans adds phospates to the water]

WHY are they burning them???

The bio degradable ones are the answer.

[mythBuster]

Let's hope that they will provide decent bags, that can be reused and not the rubbish in which they pack even your toothpaste. Thai people seem to nee a bag even when they buy three times nothing, a bottle of M150 will be put in a bag. Charge also the mom and pop stores for the plastic waste.

[fsuthai]

The government should legalize growth, harvest, and production of hemp! Good for the fields, better profits for the farmers, and alternates beneficially with the rice crops. It would also create a lot of new "green & clean" processing & manufacturing companies/co-ops to significantly boost employment and the end result could be stronger, eco-friendly paper bags which would be better for everyone. The U.S. has to buy (import) hemp products so Thailand might as well have good hemp products to sell to America and other unenlightedned nations; stuff like bio-fuels, building products, rope, clothes, insect repellent mulch, oils & about 30 other regularly used end products that would be cheaper with improved quality.

Be bold, Thailand. Nobody smokes hemp!!!

[mosquitobill]

I agree with all the posters that it is great news about the charging for plastic bags but call me cynical as the companys don't give a rat's ar-e for the enviroment and its just a way of putting one or two Baht on every purchase

[Thakkar]

I've read about various policies in various countries aimed at discouraging the use of plastic shopping bags. In every case, the inconveniences have turned out to be minor and the schemes have been successful beyond expectation. I think the same will happen in Phuket's case. Let's hope the scheme is quickly introduced everywhere.

[philcobkk]

Great news. I have for 8 years been amazed why the shops love to give away so many plastic bags. I do my shopping at foodland and if I don' t tell them they would give me one plastic bag for each item I purchase, unbelievable. In my country they charge 7 baht 50 for a plastic bag when you shop!!

[AsiaCheese]

i think part of the staff training at 7/11it is that every customer has to leave with at least one bag. i sometimes take my stuff out of the bag and leave on the counter but many times they don't use it on another customer, they just throw it away!

The other day, 7/11 practically forced a bleeping plastic bag down my throat -- I said that I didn't want it, as it was just a small purchase that would go into the box on the back of my bike, but they really insisted...

Took the big retailers a long time to realize that this is an area of great cost savings (no, they're not bothered by overflowing dumps and what goes up into the athmosphere when burned)

[Lannatyne]

Never mind plastic bags. Not even bothered about cloth bags.

Do what Makro does - give 'em nowt. Straight from the shop to the back of the car. Now that's the way to teach people!

[AsiaCheese]

A step in the right direction. Time to buy those cloth shopping bags people.

for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction...

Those clothe shopping bags are making people sick. They get right full of bacteria after a few shopping trips. [a few people have the sense to wash them, but that uses water ans adds phospates to the water]

WHY are they burning them???

The bio degradable ones are the answer.

Ahhhhh, now I know: that's why I was sick as a kid, all the time [kiddin' ] -- there were no plastic bags at the time, but only mom's constantly re-used & bacteria-infested shopping bag...

[fsuthai]

About time too - sick of plastic bags and the smell of burning plastic by the beech from the local dumps!

here they burn the plastic around the corner, a lot people complained but police can't do anything because it is between two areas and police does not know who is responsible.....

That's a "cop-out" by the police, H90...no pun intended. If they really don't know, they could certainly find out! We have a 'recycling' operation in our vicinity (upland valley n.w. of MaeRim, ChiangMai---that used to be known for "the good air"). They burned a lot of plastic and most of the immediate neighbors started getting sick, some very sick! There were a lot of complaints with little to no action. Finally a petition was circulated (by Thais) and signed by hundreds of valley residents, including some falanges. Turned out the site was owned by a cop but the neighborhood pressure resulted in significant improvements to the incinerators and restrictions on time & wind direction as to when the burning of plastic would be allowed. Just takes a little pushing and, usually, a lot of tact!

[klauswernst198]

Lets see how long this "crackdown" on plastic bags will last..

They will get thousands of complains of the local Thai people who don’t share the same view about this as you rich & strange farang.

In a few weeks everything will be back to normal and if ever ask then initiators of this idea will admit that western style living is not for thais....

If you think that Thailand ever will be like you home country better stop dreaming and go home because this will never happen

[anon467367354]

Why not paper bags? Yes, I know it uses wood but at least it is biodegradable. You get paper in Central, The Mall, and Robinson's in certain counters.

In other countries, I have been asked, "paper or plastic?" I normally chose paper other than good for the environment.

Sounds like another way to gouge the customer, be he/she Thai or otherwise.

strangely enough, it takes less energy to produce plastic bags than the paper ones. The alternative would be to make paper bags out of hemp, that would make it feasible. Hemp is the greatest textile resource on the planet. Ford even made a car body from hemp, couldn't smash it or dent it with a sledge hammer, and oh so light. Getting around the Duponts would be an issue though.

[zorro1]

brilliant

[tmark]

... and if they give me straws i either tell them that i don't need any or just take them out of the bag (if i got one) and put them on the counter...

Bit rude don't you think? "Take them out of the bag and leave them on the counter" If you worked in a store and someone did that to you .. what would you think of them? .. be honest .. something along the lines of "You arrogant tosser." possibly. (gotta learn how to say that in Thai one day) The deeds been done already .. go with the flow and take the bloody straw with you .. don't be a "non krengjai" prick.

For something that happens on such a regular basis .. is it too hard to open up the Thai/Farang dictionary and learn how to say "I don't want a straw/bag thanks" 

Mai ow lawt/toong kruhp.

I find myself saying that with almost every visit to 7-11. If it pisses you off .. take charge of the situation instead of moaning about it. It's not really difficult.

Edited November 16, 2009 by tmark

[zorro1]

Bit rude don't you think? "Take them out of the bag and leave them on the counter" If you worked in a store and someone did that to you .. what would you think of them? .. be honest .. something along the lines of "You arrogant tosser." possibly. (gotta learn how to say that in Thai one day)

For something that happens on such a regular basis .. is it too hard to open up the Thai/Farang dictionary and learn how to say "I don't want a straw/bag thanks"

Mai ow lawt/toong kruhp.

I find myself saying that with almost every visit to 7-11. If it pisses you off .. take charge of the situation instead of moaning about it. It's not really difficult.

If you had to say no thank you every time its required i would be mumbling it 50 times a day LOL, hand the straws back with a smile would be offensive? I doubt it very much.

[elcent]

way to go. I always reject plastic bags whenever I can. This happens about 15 times a week.

[danfred]

yes, please start charging for the plastic bags upcountry too! check out this horrible photo I took in Roi Et, Thailand... the crazy thing is that this empty lot is right behind Tesco-Lotus and adjacent to the city's bus station... so it's the first thing people see when they get off the bus!

[sysmaster]

I think that the current plastic bags are to a certain extend degradable.

They do not live forever.

I have always a few at hand in the corner where I clean our cats litter, thus outside but not in the sun, and if they are laying

there to long, I can't use them anymore, they just rip to pieces.

I can't pinpoint a time frame, but a bit over a month or so they lose their strength.

Of course I'm also in favor of using textile bags, for two reasons... one is environmental, the other is shopping habits.. if you only carry a few textile bags and want to avoid the plastic ones, you will not buy more than you can carry.

Specially useful in those supermarkets that use whatever trick to have you buy more than you need. And these days they really are doing an effort.

[jbannister]

Wow I didn't think that would happen. Excellent! Mai ow tung!

Edited November 16, 2009 by jbannister

[trianglechoke]

I am not stupid enough to buy this <deleted> arse endever.

If they wanted to stop the amount of bags being used, they could train the staff to use them more sparingly. If they only cost 0.3 baht to buy and they sell them at 2 or even 1 baht, the stores will encourage staff to use MORE bags for customers.

Thai customes won't argue as it will look like they are arguing over a few bahts worth of plastic and farang customers aree too few and far between to have a significant country wide effect. This about making more money disguised as enviromental concern, and I am surprised you lot haven't clocked it yet.