Plastic Bag MoU Signed In Phuket

[george]

Plastic bag MoU signed in Phuket

Signatories to the agreement to charge for plastic bags

pose for a photo at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday.

A settling pond at the solid waste landfill at

Saphan Hin. File photo.

PHUKET CITY: -- An agreement to charge a small fee for plastic bags was signed by most of the island’s major retailers, with Tesco-Lotus and 7-Eleven the only major holdouts.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony took place at Phuket Provincial Hall (Sala Klaang) at 2pm yesterday.

The event was chaired by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop.

Also attending were new Vice Governor Teerayut Eimtrakul and the three leaders of the project: Phuket Provincial Energy Office Director Jirasuk Tummawetch, Phuket Public Health Office Director Dr Pongsawat Rattanasaeng and Managing Director of Indigo Real Estate Nick Anthony.

Also there to show support were many civil servants and elected officials, including Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong and Phuket Provincial Administration Organization President Paiboon Upatising.

Among those with representatives signing the agreement were Jungceylon, Central, Carrfour, Robinson, Supercheap, Big C, Phuket Grocery, Family Mart, 108 Shop, Index Living Mall, SB Furniture, Homepro, and many more.

Mr Jirasak said Tesco-Lotus and 7-Eleven were both still awaiting final approval from store headquarters in Bangkok.

Also not signing was Makro, which has never given away plastic bags for free.

At the the event, Central Festival Phuket gave two cloth bags to all signatories.

The plastic bag scheme, the first of its kind in Thailand, will be launched on February 14, 2010.

It is hoped that it will lead to a source reduction in solid waste.

Phuket currently produces about 500 tonnes of garbage daily, about twice what the incinerator at Saphan Hin can burn. The remainder continues to pile up in a low-lying landfill around the incinerator.

In 2007, pools of toxic waste from the landfill overflowed into the surrounding waterways, killing millions of farmed fish in the area.

The organizers hope the plastic bag scheme will be the first in a step-by-step process that will drastically cut the amount of trash produced on the island at the source.

-- Phuket Gazette 2009-12-05

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[SM7WGP]

The Thai will not even try to endorse this, then the customers will trow away all pack and plastic surrounding all Items outside the shop instead.

If they put garbage containers outside the the big supermarkets and force them to handle their on packs and garbage would then be better.

[jamesjdaly]

A step in the right direction.

[on-on]

A step in the right direction.

Yes. I still recall the littering ads growing up for decades back in America. It takes a generation or so to change attitudes on this kind of thing, but you have to start somewhere. The idea that nothing will ever change is silly, but so is the idea that it will change overnight. Personally, I've always thought a public service campaign with a certain admired person (or people) making it clear that being proud of Thailand means being proud of Thai land and not dumping waste all over it would be a great way to start. Still, anything would be good.

[SKORPiO]

I have to agree. I have came back from Thailand last week and garbage cans are very difficult to find in public, although 7-eleven has one in front of the door which was usually overfilled. But even though there are not too many garbage cans, the place is pretty clean for the amount of people that live in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Hua Hin. I can only congratulate the waste management of these cities when I look back in time and remind myself of how my European birth city looked like some 20 years ago.

regards,

[noonlover]

Certainly where i live , in a very wealthy middle-class southern city , the waste management is excellent. I fully approve of any system that discourages the use of plastic bags. Perhaps what would really help , would be a little bit of information and education as to why this major problem needs to be addressed.

[LennyW]

I hate to see people getting these drinks with ice in plastic bags, drink the drink while riding the motorbike and simply toss the bag at the roadside when the juice is empty!!