Sea Garbage - Wongamat Beach

[chillibilly]

Ok, when you live in Pattaya, you take it for granted that it doesn't have the most natural, pure beaches with powdery white sand and aqua blue sea but... Everyday along Wongamat beach (don't know about Pattaya Bay beach) the waves deliver an assortment of garbage...such as juice/milk cartons, foam food containers, staws, botttles and such. When looking at the debris, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that it isn't a couple boats passing by dropping their garbage (this debris continues for 4 or more kilometers) and the items are not faded, but brand new. Does the city put their garbage on barges and dump it in the sea or is this from Koh Lang?

[syd barrett]

Sad isn't it? There is no solution. It will get worse in the coming years.

If you want to bathe in the sea and enjoy pristine beaches you will have to travel elsewhere.

You just don't come to Pattaya for the beach.

[keeniau96]

Far better here in Phuket, particularly on the beaches on the western side which are directly on the andaman Sea. Not too bad on the east side. But we still get some garbage.

[doggie888888]

I live near Wongamat, and I know exactly what the OP is referring to. It is sad but I doubt if City Hall is bothered about it. In an edition of Pattaya Mail about a month ago, there was a report with accompanying photo regarding residents of nearby Naklua Beach complaining to City Hall about garbage washed up on their beach...CIty Hall sent their people to inspect but in the end suggested the residents continue to clean up as much as they could themselves because "there was nothing City Hall could do to resolve the problem".

The best thing about Pattaya is we are just over an hour away from nicer beaches in Rayong province eg Ko Samed, Laem Mae Pim and even some of the near islands. The first time I went to Laem Mae Pim, I was shocked there were bins provided by their government at every 50m along the beach. Try finding a bin on Wongamat Beach! The private property owners/developers have only recently put their own bins there because they are sick of waiting for city hall but there are still whole stretches without a single bin in sight. And Pattaya City Hall is much richer (and dependant on tourism) than Rayong province. Go figure! Even funnier, the mayor lives near Wongamat so presumably he has more pressing issues like trying to complete Thappraya Road, haha.

I have seen billboards along Sukhumvit Rd about CIty Hall hotline...I might take some pics and call them...but I won't hold my breath for their action.

[FarangBuddha]

That's just some free Pattaya ambiance for all the Toffs who buy those silly-money condos they are throwing-up willy-nilly over there. Some of the ads they use to promote developments in that area are a real hoot. Plus, who would want to live there and stare into the glowing night skies from the lights of Laem Chabang...basically you have a view of a container port?

Gotta really wonder about the sanity of anyone who buys/rents a beach-side condo in Pattaya or Jomtien

Edited March 14, 2010 by FarangBuddha

[Jonathanpattaya]

Sad isn't it? There is no solution. It will get worse in the coming years.

If you want to bathe in the sea and enjoy pristine beaches you will have to travel elsewhere.

You just don't come to Pattaya for the beach.

It is sad.

Travelling elsewhere is the only solution because I don't even want to dip my big toe in the waters around Pattaya.

There might be a solution:

Educate the Thais on the right way to dispose of their rubbish because they are the most dreadful litter-louts.

[chillibilly]

I live near Wongamat, and I know exactly what the OP is referring to. It is sad but I doubt if City Hall is bothered about it. In an edition of Pattaya Mail about a month ago, there was a report with accompanying photo regarding residents of nearby Naklua Beach complaining to City Hall about garbage washed up on their beach...CIty Hall sent their people to inspect but in the end suggested the residents continue to clean up as much as they could themselves because "there was nothing City Hall could do to resolve the problem".

The best thing about Pattaya is we are just over an hour away from nicer beaches in Rayong province eg Ko Samed, Laem Mae Pim and even some of the near islands. The first time I went to Laem Mae Pim, I was shocked there were bins provided by their government at every 50m along the beach. Try finding a bin on Wongamat Beach! The private property owners/developers have only recently put their own bins there because they are sick of waiting for city hall but there are still whole stretches without a single bin in sight. And Pattaya City Hall is much richer (and dependant on tourism) than Rayong province. Go figure! Even funnier, the mayor lives near Wongamat so presumably he has more pressing issues like trying to complete Thappraya Road, haha.

I have seen billboards along Sukhumvit Rd about CIty Hall hotline...I might take some pics and call them...but I won't hold my breath for their action.

____________________

Last week Pattaya city council discussed the garbage isssue along the streets and one of the problems they brought up was that tourists leave garbage/ liter on the ground. What???????? Most Westerners walking around in Pattaya with an empty water bottle or other liter can't find a public garbage bin to put it in. What do I end up doing??? ---I have to leave it along the street next to a shop's garbage bag placed on the street. Tourist from The West and the developed part of Asia, are brought up to place their liter in a bin or trash can or they can be fined. Pattaya does not have enough public trash cans/ bins...and if they did, the garbage probably wouldn' be emptied everyday.

Next..True there are other cities out there that do know how to take care of their parks. I was in Roi-et, Isaan last summer and was impressed how well kept and clean their city park was. They don't even allow public smoking there.

[Richb2004v2]

I live near Wongamat, and I know exactly what the OP is referring to. It is sad but I doubt if City Hall is bothered about it. In an edition of Pattaya Mail about a month ago, there was a report with accompanying photo regarding residents of nearby Naklua Beach complaining to City Hall about garbage washed up on their beach...CIty Hall sent their people to inspect but in the end suggested the residents continue to clean up as much as they could themselves because "there was nothing City Hall could do to resolve the problem".

The best thing about Pattaya is we are just over an hour away from nicer beaches in Rayong province eg Ko Samed, Laem Mae Pim and even some of the near islands. The first time I went to Laem Mae Pim, I was shocked there were bins provided by their government at every 50m along the beach. Try finding a bin on Wongamat Beach! The private property owners/developers have only recently put their own bins there because they are sick of waiting for city hall but there are still whole stretches without a single bin in sight. And Pattaya City Hall is much richer (and dependant on tourism) than Rayong province. Go figure! Even funnier, the mayor lives near Wongamat so presumably he has more pressing issues like trying to complete Thappraya Road, haha.

I have seen billboards along Sukhumvit Rd about CIty Hall hotline...I might take some pics and call them...but I won't hold my breath for their action.

In my experience having bins does not always end the problem if Thais are involved.

A year or so ago I started cleaning a local beach close to my home in Ban Chang, 45 minutes east of Pattaya. I had a thread on here with pictures. I kept it up for about four months before finally giving in. It was extremely disheartening. I watched Thais ten feet from an empty bin just get up and leave their rubbish where they sat. In fact I actually talked to Thais about it and got their sympathy and support, only to then watch them drive away leaving their rubbish behind them. It's a lost cause it really is. My answer was to stop using that beach.

[manarak]

Isn't there a fine for littering? 500 or even 1000 baht?

Maybe you could talk a cop into spending his day at the beach?

Could this be more profitable for him than motosai/helmet racketting or stopping cars at random?

[doggie888888]

In my experience having bins does not always end the problem if Thais are involved.

A year or so ago I started cleaning a local beach close to my home in Ban Chang, 45 minutes east of Pattaya. I had a thread on here with pictures. I kept it up for about four months before finally giving in. It was extremely disheartening. I watched Thais ten feet from an empty bin just get up and leave their rubbish where they sat. In fact I actually talked to Thais about it and got their sympathy and support, only to then watch them drive away leaving their rubbish behind them. It's a lost cause it really is. My answer was to stop using that beach.

Yes I agree having bins is not the end of the problem. It's a good step in the right direction though. Next step is to have signs and litter inspectors on duty to issue on the spot fines...it'll pay for itself in the first few years until the general public (thai and farang) get the idea that littering is NOT to be tolerated. Maybe it won't work but then having City Hall sit on its ass and do nothing sure as hel_l aint gonna solve anything!

I also think the litter problem on the beach is only part of the problem....god only knows where else the rubbish that gets washed on shore come from. Ships dumping whilst at sea? Whatever the root causes, the problem will only get worse as local governments here are unable to offer any real leadership on resolving a very serious problem that may ultimately impact on the local economy.

I cant help but think of Singapore; in the early days post independence, the rivers, seas and general environment were litter strewn...took at least one generation of serious fines, public education and strict enforcement before they saw any real improvements. And voila, the Singapore of today is a testament to their leadership and single mindedness to minimise litter. Of course Pattaya is not Singapore so I guess the environmet here is doomed until one day people will actually go to Singapore for a baech holiday!!!! Now that would be funny.

[mark45y]

I used to live on the Gulf coast of Texas. We had beach tar (from the boats cleaning their bilges), fire ants, rattlesnakes and drunks racing their cars on the beach along with the litter. I was pleasantly surprised to find the beaches near Pattaya did not have fire ants, rattlers, beach tar or drunks driving at high speeds on the beach.

Yankees and other foreigners used to come to Texas and complain about the beaches. They even started a campaign, “Don’t mess with Texas.” Because if you didn’t know it the difference between a redneck and a good old boy is the redneck throws his empty long neck beer bottle on the street and the good old boy throws his in the ditch. Texas had a lot of litter and the slogan was meant to alleviate that problem. It also used to be legal to drink and drive in Texas until the Yankees kept complaining about that and the law was changed.

A lot of people in the South call tourists snowbirds. There is a Southern song called, “If it’s snowbird season why can’t we shoot em.” I reckon the Thai’s feel the same way about Falangs as Texans feel about Yankees. People from the northern states go down South every winter and try to tell the Southern folks how to live their lives and change all the things that are wrong.

I like Thai beaches. Once I got used to the Elephant poop and the vendors the rest was downhill. You people from Europe and those other countries that swim and tan at the beach have it all wrong. That’s not what Thai people do at the beach.

[Richb2004v2]

I used to live on the Gulf coast of Texas. We had beach tar (from the boats cleaning their bilges), fire ants, rattlesnakes and drunks racing their cars on the beach along with the litter. I was pleasantly surprised to find the beaches near Pattaya did not have fire ants, rattlers, beach tar or drunks driving at high speeds on the beach.

Yankees and other foreigners used to come to Texas and complain about the beaches. They even started a campaign, “Don’t mess with Texas.” Because if you didn’t know it the difference between a redneck and a good old boy is the redneck throws his empty long neck beer bottle on the street and the good old boy throws his in the ditch. Texas had a lot of litter and the slogan was meant to alleviate that problem. It also used to be legal to drink and drive in Texas until the Yankees kept complaining about that and the law was changed.

A lot of people in the South call tourists snowbirds. There is a Southern song called, “If it’s snowbird season why can’t we shoot em.” I reckon the Thai’s feel the same way about Falangs as Texans feel about Yankees. People from the northern states go down South every winter and try to tell the Southern folks how to live their lives and change all the things that are wrong.

I like Thai beaches. Once I got used to the Elephant poop and the vendors the rest was downhill. You people from Europe and those other countries that swim and tan at the beach have it all wrong. That’s not what Thai people do at the beach.

So, are you saying that the people should be left with their trash to do with it as they please? I guess in a way you have a point. If that's how they like it then leave them to it.

Oh yeah. Who are the Yankees? Are not all Americans Yankees? Or is that Yanks?

[Naam]

Oh yeah. Who are the Yankees? Are not all Americans Yankees? Or is that Yanks?

friendly advice: if you ever visit the southern United States don't dare to call a local "Yank"!

[mark45y]

I used to live on the Gulf coast of Texas. We had beach tar (from the boats cleaning their bilges), fire ants, rattlesnakes and drunks racing their cars on the beach along with the litter. I was pleasantly surprised to find the beaches near Pattaya did not have fire ants, rattlers, beach tar or drunks driving at high speeds on the beach.

Yankees and other foreigners used to come to Texas and complain about the beaches. They even started a campaign, “Don’t mess with Texas.” Because if you didn’t know it the difference between a redneck and a good old boy is the redneck throws his empty long neck beer bottle on the street and the good old boy throws his in the ditch. Texas had a lot of litter and the slogan was meant to alleviate that problem. It also used to be legal to drink and drive in Texas until the Yankees kept complaining about that and the law was changed.

A lot of people in the South call tourists snowbirds. There is a Southern song called, “If it’s snowbird season why can’t we shoot em.” I reckon the Thai’s feel the same way about Falangs as Texans feel about Yankees. People from the northern states go down South every winter and try to tell the Southern folks how to live their lives and change all the things that are wrong.

I like Thai beaches. Once I got used to the Elephant poop and the vendors the rest was downhill. You people from Europe and those other countries that swim and tan at the beach have it all wrong. That’s not what Thai people do at the beach.

So, are you saying that the people should be left with their trash to do with it as they please? I guess in a way you have a point. If that's how they like it then leave them to it.

Oh yeah. Who are the Yankees? Are not all Americans Yankees? Or is that Yanks?

In general Yankees are from the Northern States or north of the Mason Dixon line (an old boundary line that has changed into a cultural boundary).

Yankees in the US are people who sided with the industrial north against the agricultural south during the Civil War (1861).

The north wanted to put tariffs on imported machinery from Britain (to stimulate its own regional manufacturing base) while the south didn’t want to start a trade war with Britain because they wanted to sell tariff free cotton to the UK that was at the time in competition with Egyptian cotton.

To farm cotton at competitive world prices slaves were necessary and the north wanted any new states admitted to the union to be slave free to further diminish the south’s economic importance.

The south said to heck with the whole thing and pulled out of the union. The north said this was illegal and invaded the south to preserve the union.

A couple of years after the war started it appeared that Britain was about the enter the war on the side of the south because of the cotton trade and arms sales. Lincoln then wrote the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves in only the southern states (the north still had some slaves). British public opinion at the time was anti slavery and this sentiment prevented the Brits from coming in the war on the side of the south (much to the chagrin of the Brit arms dealers).

Many people in the south are still upset over the whole thing and still discriminate against people from the north who they consider Yankees.

Yankees is a pejorative expression when mentioned in the south and it is still not a good idea to drive a car with New York license plates in small southern towns where the sheriff and judge are still fighting the civil war in their minds. Kind of like today would not be a good day to wear a yellow shirt in some parts of Bangkok.

[Rimmer]

Maybe I'll move this to the US Texas sub forum!! Or maybe not if we can get back on topic.

[chillibilly]

Mark24y says : I like Thai beaches. Once I got used to the Elephant poop and the vendors the rest was downhill. You people from Europe and those other countries that swim and tan at the beach have it all wrong. That's not what Thai people do at the beach.

??? True, many Thai people do not want to get darker, so they do not tan on the beach ; however, if you gave Thais a choice between a pristine, clean beach or a beach with polluted water with rubbish laying all over the place, they would choose the cleaner beach wouldn't they?

It has been proven as countries become more developed and educated, pollution becomes more of a concern than when the developing country is hastily trying to modernize (look at China)... I can remember back in the States in the 60's when they had this big government campaign (using the owl as a mascot) "Give a hoot- don't pollute!". The campaign was directed towards students (which I was at the time) to make them conscious of the environment and what to do with litter. The kids, such as myself, then would get after our parents if they tossed garbage on the ground or in the sea water. IT worked. All it takes is Thailand to do a big advertising campaign for a couple years geared at the school age child to get them to know not to throw rubbage in the water or on the ground...but you also need city garbage bins sitting around and police to enforce the laws.

Second thought... It always surprises me how Buddhism seems to focus on respecting nature, (Christianity doesn't) but I don't see it practiced. (except feeding stray community dogs)

Edited March 16, 2010 by chillibilly

[Danlo]

Its on the cards for a lot of improvement in this situation, I was reading a local Government article on just this and they are aware of it, maybe you should also bench your opinion and either write to City hall or get a Thai to translate a letter to them.