Phuket: Rawai Soi Turned Into Garbage Dump

[webfact]

Phuket: Rawai soi turned into garbage dump
Nattha Thepbamrung


Andy Greenlay with the rubbish dump.

PHUKET: -- Canadian expat Andy Greenlay, 71, has been picking up garbage around where he lives in Rawai for 30 years, but the garbage problem has become so bad now that he cannot keep up with it.

Not satisfied the Rawai municipality are doing enough to solve the problem, Andy called The Phuket News for help in getting the trash around Soi Nam Jai and the local market there cleaned up.

“Phuket is a very beautiful place. We shouldn’t let garbage be dumped everywhere like this,” he said.

The problem, he explained, began when a local talad nat market was set up, opening on Wednesdays and Sundays. As rubbish from the market piled up and was not collected, other people decided the whole area was a dumping ground.

He showed The Phuket News the problem. The piles of rubbish include large amounts of styrofoam and other plastic material.

“This place is right next to a big pond which supplies water to many people in Rawai,” he said. “There are around 100,000 fish in the pond and it attracts every kind of bird.”

He said he has never seen any concerted effort by the local government to deal with the problem. A garbage truck from Rawai municipality comes, but that’s not enough, he says.

“They should hire some cleanup staff and set up bins to separate the trash.”

Many people, he said, dump garbage there “as if it’s normal” while others take plastic and styrofoam there and then set light to it, resulting in toxic smoke polluting the air. Some building construction workers have also been dumping cement and building debris in the area.

Every time there is wind, lighter trash is blown everywhere, across the alley, into homes and into the pond.

He said that he thought at the very least the local government should put some fencing around the area and erect a sign prohibiting dumping.

“We can’t change everything but we should try. What each of us does affects everyone else. We have to share and help each other,” Mr Greenlay said.

Approached by The Phuket News, Suracheed Jitmate head of the Rawai Municipality Public Health Department said that he had heard complaints about the mess in Soi Nam Jai, especially the problem from the market.

“I have talked to the market owner once and told her he must look after the cleanliness of the place,” he said. “I saw that he’d put some bins out for the stallholders, but I will talk to him again.

“The owner of the market has to apply to the municipality for a license every year and the rules in the license include regulations about cleanliness. I think we can solve this problem.”

He admitted that he had also heard about the big piles of garbage near the pond and the blown trash everywhere in the soi.

“An owner of land can dump timber and cement if the plan is to build up the land. But no one can dump garbage such as plastic, foam or other polluted items, even on their own land. I will have a talk with the land owner soon to work out a solution.”

Mr Suracheed said that the municipality’s garbage truck goes to the area twice a day, at midday and midnight.

Chasada Sonphuek, the owner of the talad nut, said, “Normally the municipality sends a truck to pick up the garbage and officials regularly check the cleanliness of the place.”

He added that he gives away large garbage bags to every stallholder. At the end of each market day he also hires a crew to clean up the place, he added.

He admitted that the cleaners did not come to work on a couple of occasions recently because it was raining, but said he would talk to stallholders to emphasize they must keep the market clean.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-rawai-soi-turned-into-garbage-dump-38759.php


-- Phuket News 2013-04-18

[NamKangMan]

Don't worry Khun Andy - there will probably be a hotel built on the site within 6 months. :)

[NomadJoe]

The whole island is suffering this problem more and more. Almost every quiet road or soi will have garbage dumped somewhere along it. It seems that if Thai's see garbage, to them it means put more garbage there. The whole island is slowly becoming one big garbage dump. I'm not trying to be melodramatic here. There is simply garbage everywhere in Phuket. Very sad.

Edited April 18, 2013 by NomadJoe

[cloudhopper]

Bravo Andy and Phuket News. Too bad the landlord and local government need to be shamed into action.

[Huayrat]

so when it rains they dont work haha.. Amazing Thailand NOT, more likw Lazy

[fiddlehead]

One thing that would be great to be seen done is to put some rubbish bins out for the public at these markets.
Did you ever go to the market, buy a banana shake or something and drink it while walking around?
What do you do with the empty when you are finished?
Well, most Thai people throw it on the ground.
I always take it home with me and dispose of it in my own trash.
But much of the waste could be gathered in these cans by the people who are throwing them on the ground.
It just takes some getting used to, but there are no options like this.

They finally have some around Nai Harn lake now but it took years of suggestions.

[Jimi007]

The whole island is suffering this problem more and more. Almost every quiet road or soi will have garbage dumped somewhere along it. It seems that if Thai's see garbage, to them it means put more garbage there. The whole island is slowly becoming one big garbage dump. I'm not trying to be melodramatic here. There is simply garbage everywhere in Phuket. Very sad.

Unfortunately you are correct. I know of worse garbage dumps than this, not far from this reported site.

Edited April 18, 2013 by Jimi007

[NomadJoe]

The whole island is suffering this problem more and more. Almost every quiet road or soi will have garbage dumped somewhere along it. It seems that if Thai's see garbage, to them it means put more garbage there. The whole island is slowly becoming one big garbage dump. I'm not trying to be melodramatic here. There is simply garbage everywhere in Phuket. Very sad.

Unfortunately you are correct. I know of worse garbage dumps than this, not far from this reported site.

Yes. There was one forming next to our shop, mostly, we suspect, from the bar girl bar next door, until our staff cleaned it up. Another one has appeared on a vacant lot near the top of our street, on Patak road between Tesco Express and The Big One. When I walked by it the other day I was startled when it suddenly came alive. As many 30 rats went running at the sound of my foot steps. These things are a huge health hazard..

[LivinginKata]

Slightly off topic but along the Kata Beach front road the tesibaan has removed the few trolley bin that used to be there last year, so now there is not one single bin along the entire road front. Where are tourists supposed to place their rubbish ...

The stupid thing is that the rubbish truck goes along the road each morning to collect the bin bags left by the road cleaners sweeping up the leaves.... makes no sense.

[NomadJoe]

LivinginKata, on 18 Apr 2013 - 17:58, said:

Slightly off topic but along the Kata Beach front road the tesibaan has removed the few trolley bin that used to be there last year, so now there is not one single bin along the entire road front. Where are tourists supposed to place their rubbish ...

The stupid thing is that the rubbish truck goes along the road each morning to collect the bin bags left by the road cleaners sweeping up the leaves.... makes no sense.

I noticed that too. I assumed the bins where nicked.

The other stupid thing is the tesseban came by and put up signs along the beach stating a fine for littering, sort of. The sign actually says "Do not waste this place" in English, but I'll assume the Thai is correct. But no bins. They put it right next to where the longtail slobs hang out and leave all their garbage which I pick up on a regular basis. There are still bins in front of the Navy Marine Safety Center, but they are often overflowing. Some of the beach vendors have put out low wicker basket bins with signs which very surprisingly ask people to sort their recyclable garbage. They must make a bit of money on returning the plastic and aluminum.

[LivinginKata]

@NomadJoe

No they were not nicked. Last year there were about 5 green wheely bins along the road. There was an event this year and the tesibaan brought in a load more bins for the event (loads of stalls along the road side). After the event they removed every single bin ... sigh sigh ... no thought at all.

[Shot]

Make the trash bins heavy so they don't get blown over or stolen. Really heavy. Line them with plastic bags. Problem solved, except for the plastic bags, but a lot better then looking at trash all over the place.

[NomadJoe]

@NomadJoe

No they were not nicked. Last year there were about 5 green wheely bins along the road. There was an event this year and the tesibaan brought in a load more bins for the event (loads of stalls along the road side). After the event they removed every single bin ... sigh sigh ... no thought at all.

Sounds like a good Issues & Answers segment to me.

[keestha]

Did you ever go to the market, buy a banana shake or something and drink it while walking around?

What do you do with the empty when you are finished?

Well, most Thai people throw it on the ground.

Right. I remember that in the early seventies, Spain was quite filthy. Going into a bar, thrash all over the floor, really worse than Thailand is nowadays. But then in less than 2 years or so, it became clean like the countries in Northern Europe. Don't know what they did, a campaign on television maybe?

[stevenl]

Make the trash bins heavy so they don't get blown over or stolen. Really heavy. Line them with plastic bags. Problem solved, except for the plastic bags, but a lot better then looking at trash all over the place.

Until somebody states somewhere that Phuket is next in line for a bomb attack, and all bins have to be removed because of that.

[starkey_rich]

The trouble is the dump is full and overflowing in Saphan Hin so they probably think it's a good idea just to let the rubbish build up and blow around the Island. Overflow at dump problem solved.

I posted about the rubbish dump on the the road to Kubar beach last week.This is a huge dump only 100 meters from the 5* Vijett resort and when the wind blows in the wrong direction it stinks Not to mention the rats

[belg]

they will take care it thai stay: set it ablaze

problem solved (in their little heads)

[starkey_rich]

they will take care it thai stay: set it ablaze

problem solved (in their little heads)

Probably .Like the blazing dump on Koh Lanta at the moment

[rascalman]

What a shame people do no care? Just got into Jomtein where they were still playing water games and some streets got litter all over. I hope cleanup has started. People just do not give a damn!

[hansgruber]

Bins take up too much room. That space can be rented out.

[seajae]

I thought this was natural in Thailand, everyone just throws their rubbish wherever they want. It stinks everywhere you go, doesnt matter whether it is Bangkok, Phuket, etc, they all have the same problem, thai people just dont care. Saw a couple pull up to go fishing, set their rods then threw all the bags of rubbish from the car into the water, bloody idiots. Then you have the ones that come along and go through the bins throwing everything all over the place so the dogs can spread it even further, At night the piles are all moving due to huge amounts of rats going through them, especially where the street/footpath markets are. The stench is thet strong you feel like puking, I usually hold my breat as I ride past these areas and they are every where. Thailand needs to make its people start to take pride in their country and stop simply throwing their crap wherever they want but they are simply not interested in doing the right thing or it is easier to to do than caring.