Bangkok Faces A Smelly Future If Garbage Goes Unchecked

[opouri]

Provision of rubbish bins would be a good start. How many times have you looked for a bin to place your rubbish in? It is my experience if you provide somewhere for the rubbish to go people will use it.

When you go to the Talat there are no bins,outside 7 eleven stores nothing.

I no this does not get ride of the end problem but would help eliminate some of the problem of rubbish in drains and rivers.

You can try and educate people but first you need to provide some where for them to put there rubbish.

[harber8]

Smelly future??

Smells already.

[Payboy]

The rubbish bins were removed during those bomb scares a few years ago. The idea was to replace them with clear bins. Predictably, uncle Somchais factory churned out some clear bins, which turned out to be ummm.........rubbish as they disintegrated within a few weeks outdoors.

[razer]

I don't even need to read this article to say .... Blah ...Blah ... Blah ... Blah ... Thailand is big on talk but little on action. They just want to create a perception and think everybody will forget about the problem. I watched Taiwan become a first world developed country in 12 years. This is what is known as national pride and the Taiwanese government actually wants to serve the people and create a good quality of life for its citizens.

[rgs2001uk]

does this article say that other asean people are garbage ????

If you want to know the future for Bkk, go and visit Jakarta.

[brfsa2]

Thai people need to be "RE-Educated" about waste reduction and recycling. no eduction => failure.

I feel upset when I see most drink products so small, like 100ml tetra-pack milks and juice, and people jut buy whole packs of it. Not to mention the plastic abuse everywhere.

Why Thailand cannot follow Malaysia procedures? In Malaysia supermarkets charge about 1Baht per plastic bag! which is very good, so people now bring their own cottom or durable/reusable plastic bags.

There is just so much garbage in bangkok and people dont care at all and make no effort to change it.

we have to start acting:

- bring your own reusable 'Green bag" to the 7/11 and supermarket (I always do and people look at me surprised, like, look at Farang Bah.) a few people doing it here and there and will make other aware and start become more common practice.

- Buy a green bag for friends and people around you.

- Stop buying Tetra-Pak products, i.e. those paper boxes of juice, Look at the bottom of the bag and it will say "Tetra-Pak ™"

They are very very hard to recycle, in Fact thailand does not have the proper technology to fully recycle Tetra-Pak. They contain 4 to 6 layers of different materials glued together, like 2 aluminum foil layers (to avoid light), 2 plastic layers, 1 paper layer. They require special machinery to separate the layers for recycle.

- Use Glass bottles instead of Plastic bottles for water and other drinks.

- Use aluminum cans, they are better than plastic for recycling and more effective. But best is to avoid all cans and bottles.

- Separate the garbage materials accordingly, it becomes easier and time-saving for the recycle workers to process "your garbage". You should separate plastic, paper, metal and most importantly Organics (food waste). It makes a huge difference. (i used to visit and inspect recycle factories)

One of the worst pollutants are from auto-vehicles. like old tires, old burned oil, very hard to recycle and to process.

Tetra-Pak:

Edited February 16, 2013 by brfsa2

[somtampet]

every street stinks now, what are they on about. Thais simply throw their garbage where ever they want, I saw one couple go fishing, they pulled up and threw a big bag of garbage into the water then got out their rods and started fishing, they are totally stupid. In Bangkok of a night the streets are full of rats where ever there is a market, the sellers just throw all their scraps in the gutter so naturally the rats have a feast. Drivers simply open their windows and toss their rubbish on the street, no one cares. They are simply too stupid to realize that this causes disease, I have given up trying to tell them differently, they are all guilty of it.

I rest my case,been saying for years that Bangkok is a cesspit,now some are agreeing.I feel sick when i go to Bangkok,hate the place,my eyes are streaming within 3 minutes

Edited February 16, 2013 by somtampet

[willyumiii]

Since when has Bangkok NOT had a problem with garbage and bad smells???

[willyumiii]

I have commented befor about the iresponsibility if Thai with the proper disposal of plastics, ie, not throwing all garbage on the ground and not burning plastics....and arrogent Thais told me it was a problem caused by farangs who have made plastic products available to Thai people...go figure!

[Pimay1]

does this article say that other asean people are garbage ????

If you want to know the future for Bkk, go and visit Jakarta.

Or Delhi.

[SICHONSTEVE]

I have commented befor about the iresponsibility if Thai with the proper disposal of plastics, ie, not throwing all garbage on the ground and not burning plastics....and arrogent Thais told me it was a problem caused by farangs who have made plastic products available to Thai people...go figure!

Well it's true, isn't it???

Were plastic bags invented by Thai's?

[Amras]

"With a higher ratio of garbage per head than other capitals, we need to adopt a 'think new and act new' approach to manage the problem

no shit! start by taxing plastic bags 1baht/bag, see how many 7/11 gives you with every purchase of everything then.

I'm the same. I bring bags to go shopping. The staff working there get confused. What huh, you want me to do what with this bag. Umm, that's not normal, I'm confused. I don't know what to do! Sorry but they are pretty dumb.

And at 7-11, I buy a few items, I can carry them. I tell them no bag and they get confused again. But what huh. You are going to use your HANDS to carry that.

It's truly amazing at the mindset they all have. It gets quite frustrating.

Thai people need to be "RE-Educated" about waste reduction and recycling. no eduction => failure.

I feel upset when I see most drink products so small, like 100ml tetra-pack milks and juice, and people jut buy whole packs of it. Not to mention the plastic abuse everywhere.

Why Thailand cannot follow Malaysia procedures? In Malaysia supermarkets charge about 1Baht per plastic bag! which is very good, so people now bring their own cottom or durable/reusable plastic bags.

There is just so much garbage in bangkok and people dont care at all and make no effort to change it.

we have to start acting:

- bring your own reusable 'Green bag" to the 7/11 and supermarket (I always do and people look at me surprised, like, look at Farang Bah.) a few people doing it here and there and will make other aware and start become more common practice.

- Buy a green bag for friends and people around you.

- Stop buying Tetra-Pak products, i.e. those paper boxes of juice, Look at the bottom of the bag and it will say "Tetra-Pak ™"

They are very very hard to recycle, in Fact thailand does not have the proper technology to fully recycle Tetra-Pak. They contain 4 to 6 layers of different materials glued together, like 2 aluminum foil layers (to avoid light), 2 plastic layers, 1 paper layer. They require special machinery to separate the layers for recycle.

- Use Glass bottles instead of Plastic bottles for water and other drinks.

- Use aluminum cans, they are better than plastic for recycling and more effective. But best is to avoid all cans and bottles.

- Separate the garbage materials accordingly, it becomes easier and time-saving for the recycle workers to process "your garbage". You should separate plastic, paper, metal and most importantly Organics (food waste). It makes a huge difference. (i used to visit and inspect recycle factories)

One of the worst pollutants are from auto-vehicles. like old tires, old burned oil, very hard to recycle and to process.

Tetra-Pak:

Agreed. Charge for the bags. I've educated the gf about bags, so one person at a time. She's pretty good. Thai's don't give a rats a*** about much outside their little world. (or sometimes even in it!)

[Pimay1]

I have commented befor about the iresponsibility if Thai with the proper disposal of plastics, ie, not throwing all garbage on the ground and not burning plastics....and arrogent Thais told me it was a problem caused by farangs who have made plastic products available to Thai people...go figure!

Well it's true, isn't it???

Were plastic bags invented by Thai's?

I like to eat the foot long hot dogs at 7/11. The other day I got two and the girl put them in a plastic bag. Then she put that plastic bag in another plastic bag. Go figure.

But Makro in Udon has wised up. You shop and purchase whatever. At the checkout they put everything in a shopping cart. No bags whatsoever.

[Amras]

I have commented befor about the iresponsibility if Thai with the proper disposal of plastics, ie, not throwing all garbage on the ground and not burning plastics....and arrogent Thais told me it was a problem caused by farangs who have made plastic products available to Thai people...go figure!

Well it's true, isn't it???

Were plastic bags invented by Thai's?

Ahh yep. Blame foreigners for "MAKING" Thai's use plastic bags.

Apparently free will doesn't exist in this country and they all do what they are told.....wait on second though.......

[SICHONSTEVE]

I have commented befor about the iresponsibility if Thai with the proper disposal of plastics, ie, not throwing all garbage on the ground and not burning plastics....and arrogent Thais told me it was a problem caused by farangs who have made plastic products available to Thai people...go figure!

Well it's true, isn't it???

Were plastic bags invented by Thai's?

I like to eat the foot long hot dogs at 7/11. The other day I got two and the girl put them in a plastic bag. Then she put that plastic bag in another plastic bag. Go figure.

But Makro in Udon has wised up. You shop and purchase whatever. At the checkout they put everything in a shopping cart. No bags whatsoever.

Seems like you like to put you're garbage in your stomach - you can;t even claim that it is recycled as you don't have the enzymes to digest this crap!!!

[SICHONSTEVE]

I have commented befor about the iresponsibility if Thai with the proper disposal of plastics, ie, not throwing all garbage on the ground and not burning plastics....and arrogent Thais told me it was a problem caused by farangs who have made plastic products available to Thai people...go figure!

Well it's true, isn't it???

Were plastic bags invented by Thai's?

Ahh yep. Blame foreigners for "MAKING" Thai's use plastic bags.

Apparently free will doesn't exist in this country and they all do what they are told.....wait on second though.......

So plastic bags are not used in England or America then!!!

You have'nt been to Sainsburys or Tesco's lately, have you!!

[Amras]

I have commented befor about the iresponsibility if Thai with the proper disposal of plastics, ie, not throwing all garbage on the ground and not burning plastics....and arrogent Thais told me it was a problem caused by farangs who have made plastic products available to Thai people...go figure!

Well it's true, isn't it???

Were plastic bags invented by Thai's?

Ahh yep. Blame foreigners for "MAKING" Thai's use plastic bags.

Apparently free will doesn't exist in this country and they all do what they are told.....wait on second though.......

So plastic bags are not used in England or America then!!!

You have'nt been to Sainsburys or Tesco's lately, have you!!

What are you on about? I was talking about the statement of blame the foreigners. As in they can CHOOSE not to use them.

I never said they weren't used overseas, Australia uses them as well. But no where near like here. You often have to actively ASK for a bag. They don't automatically put a single bottle in a plastic bag. They assume you don't need one.

Also they implement re-usable bags etc etc. The mindset is very different.

[SICHONSTEVE]

You are not FORCED to use them.

I, like some other posters have mentioned , often take my bags into Tesco's and if you say "mai ow toong kop kun kap" then you can put your items directly into your own bags. You may or not get a strange look but who cares!!!

[FarangTalk]

I have commented befor about the iresponsibility if Thai with the proper disposal of plastics, ie, not throwing all garbage on the ground and not burning plastics....and arrogent Thais told me it was a problem caused by farangs who have made plastic products available to Thai people...go figure!

Well it's true, isn't it???

Were plastic bags invented by Thai's?

Ahh yep. Blame foreigners for "MAKING" Thai's use plastic bags.

Apparently free will doesn't exist in this country and they all do what they are told.....wait on second though.......

So plastic bags are not used in England or America then!!!

You have'nt been to Sainsburys or Tesco's lately, have you!!

Thais use more plastic bags than any country in the West. In Australia the supermarkets charge for plastic bags and encourage re-use. They sell reusable fabric bags to encourage consumers to avoid plastics. Not to mention the myriad of recycling regulations that have become commonplace.

Thailand is the dirtiest country in the region I have been to aside from Cambodia. Just look at the countryside and you see litter everywhere, you even see plastic bags floating around at sea in the Gulf of Thailand. In the future, it's going to be a major problem.

Where I live in Bangkok, there are no rubbish bins or areas for disposal. People leave their rubbish for collection sitting in the soi at the front of their houses in plastic bags (not even proper rubbish bags let alone wheely bins or dustbins). This attracts vermin like stray cats and rats and it stinks. Around 9pm every evening the rubbish collector comes around and takes most of them away and piles them at the front of the soi to wait on the truck to come and collect. Come late evening there is an actual mountain of rubbish that sits and festers for a few hours. The collectors and binmen do their best but they can only do so much. This afternoon around 4pm there was already some garbage accumulating in this area, and the health hazards are obvious. Less than a metre away, a man stands cooking at his stall, and serving food.

[maidu]

every street stinks now, what are they on about. Thais simply throw their garbage where ever they want, I saw one couple go fishing, they pulled up and threw a big bag of garbage into the water then got out their rods and started fishing, they are totally stupid. In Bangkok of a night the streets are full of rats where ever there is a market, the sellers just throw all their scraps in the gutter so naturally the rats have a feast. Drivers simply open their windows and toss their rubbish on the street, no one cares. They are simply too stupid to realize that this causes disease, I have given up trying to tell them differently, they are all guilty of it.

I rest my case,been saying for years that Bangkok is a cesspit,now some are agreeing.I feel sick when i go to Bangkok,hate the place,my eyes are streaming within 3 minutes

Last summer, a Brit couple had been staying near me in Chiang Rai. They hadn't seen other parts of Thailand so chose to visit Bkk. After a few days, when they returned, the first and main thing they went on about was how the place stank - everywhere they went. And of course the trash all around.

[theblether]

One of the simplest solutions to Bangkok's garbage solutions would be for the BMA to directly employ the massive army of what could best be described as Bangkok's 'rag an bone men and women' or the rubbish collectors who come around collecting plastic bottles and the like.

Give each an area of Bangkok - say 15 sois (for example) they collect, sort all the rubbish, and as BMA employees they would get a guaranteed daily income of 300 baht, and hopefully a long term contract plus social security and some paid holidays, and a better standard of life.

Rubbish separated and sorted and available for recycling or composting and energy generation. The rag and bone folk have a brighter future, And really not that much tax money spent.

If they worked it on tonnage they would get even better results.

[finnomick1]

If there is no effective waste management, Bangkok will be overwhelmed with garbage in 2015 when the integration of the Asean community allows the free movement of workers within member countries.

I don't see what the (supposed) free movement of workers within ASEAN has to do with effective waste management.

Beat me to it. Stupid assumption.

I guess other ASEAN countries pay their waste disposal workers more than their Thai counterpart so when free movement is introduced they'll be off to where the pay is the highest. As a footnote, I've been told in the past that one of the absolute lowest paid jobs in Bangkok is the very brave road sweeper.

[peterbkk9]

The whole country is a dump. Don't you realize?

[finnomick1]

Why not have the waste disposal trucks converted to run on gas.....there's plenty of it here

[Pimay1]

I have commented befor about the iresponsibility if Thai with the proper disposal of plastics, ie, not throwing all garbage on the ground and not burning plastics....and arrogent Thais told me it was a problem caused by farangs who have made plastic products available to Thai people...go figure!

Well it's true, isn't it???

Were plastic bags invented by Thai's?

I like to eat the foot long hot dogs at 7/11. The other day I got two and the girl put them in a plastic bag. Then she put that plastic bag in another plastic bag. Go figure.

But Makro in Udon has wised up. You shop and purchase whatever. At the checkout they put everything in a shopping cart. No bags whatsoever.

Seems like you like to put you're garbage in your stomach - you can;t even claim that it is recycled as you don't have the enzymes to digest this crap!!!

Well mommy thank you for giving me a dietary lesson. You wouldn't happen to be Eric Bahrt now would you. If you are so interested in my eating habits you can pm me with more instructions. I will surely respond in kind. Edited February 16, 2013 by Pimay1

[finnomick1]

I think the smell and associated waste problem starts with the lack of respect people here have for their country and surroundings. Just a thought, is there a Thai word for respect ?

[SICHONSTEVE]

it seems that they are trying to make an effort!!

"We need to study what economic mechanism will work if plastic bags are banned in Thailand," he says. "What would be the reaction of the huge plastic industry in the country? What will be the economic incentive for people to follow this campaign?"

The good news, though, is that many establishments like supermarket chain Tesco Lotus and furniture store Home Pro are open to taking part in the BMA project. In fact, even before the 'No Bag, No Baht' project was relaunched, Tesco Lotus already had its very own 'Green Bag Green Point' campaign. For each bag saved, a customer can earn one Green Clubcard point.

Tesco Lotus senior corporate affairs manager Saofang Ekaluckrujee told IPS in an email interview, "We are very pleased to see policymakers such as the BMA making this issue a national priority. Our Green Bag Green Point scheme's initial target is to reduce plastic bag usage by 9.8 million bags in 2010." Other huge shopping malls like Siam Paragon and Central also give incentives like bonus shopper points for not using their bags – plastic or paper ones for that matter – or a 5 percent discount at certain times of the month.

Even small businesses are joining in. During the BMA campaign's soft relaunch in May, than 5,000 stores in Bangkok's famous Chatuchak weekend market participated.

Chomphu also reports that her monthly visits to the Chatuchak weekend market have become a pleasant experience, plastic bag-wise. "The vegetarian store near Chatuchak that I go to is actively participating in the project," she says. "Buyers are encouraged to bring their own bags."

[SICHONSTEVE]

Yes!!!

I AM Eric Bahrt - you've sussed me!!!

I am a little bit uncomfortable about being your mommy though!!

[Pimay1]

Yes!!!

I AM Eric Bahrt - you've sussed me!!!

I am a little bit uncomfortable about being your mommy though!!

You think YOU are uncomfortable about it.........

[SICHONSTEVE]

Yes!!!

I AM Eric Bahrt - you've sussed me!!!

I am a little bit uncomfortable about being your mommy though!!

You think YOU are uncomfortable about it.........

No!!!!

I know that I'm uncomfortable about it.