Public Encouraged To Reduce Plastic Bag Usage By 1 Bag Per Person Per Day

[webfact]

Public encouraged to reduce plastic bag usage by 1 bag per person per day

BANGKOK, 25 April 2013 (NNT) – The Department of Environmental Quality Promotion is targeting to have the public reduce usage of plastic bags by one bag perone person per day. If successful, the number of plastic bags that go to waste will be reduced by 67 million each day.

Department chief Chatuphon Burutphat said his department is collaborating with the CP All Public Company Limited to promote the reduction of the use of plastic bags. Shoppers will be encouraged to decline being handed a plastic bag when they purchase less than two items from shops, and also to reduce the number of plastic bags they use each time they go shopping.

Studies have found that Thais use 8 plastic bags per person per day. This amounts to 500 million bags every single day if all 67 million people in the country are taken into account.

Mr. Chatuphon said the attempt by the department will help keep the quantity of trash from exceeding the nation’s capacity in getting rid of them. He also added that greater efficiency in trash management can be achieved if the public helps reduce consumption and sort their garbage out into categories.


-- NNT 2013-04-25

[Payboy]

How's a guy supposed to drink his Pepsi / Coke?

[DocN]

Where 7eleven- cashiers also encouraged to use their brain, before they hand out plastic bags for ice cream- popsicles?

Where Tesco- cashiers also encouraged to put more than 2 items into 1 bag, unless those items are a TV and motor- block?

Where Tops- cashiers also encouraged to put items into cloth- bags, without putting them in plastic- bags before?

BTW: good move to encourage the public to be more environmentally friendly!

[DannyApneaMartens]

Bullxxxx, this is not a sollution to the plastic waste problem in this country.

A complete ban of plastic is the only sollution, and don't come with silly excuses, it IS possible.

Quite a few countries have ruled out a law banning the use of plastic bags.

What's wrong with having a descent shopping bag you can use over and over again?

Edited April 25, 2013 by metisdead

[retell]

wait a minute ,, did i just woke up n the eighties ?? again .

still good idea doubt if it is gonna work

still i'm always the one to decline plastic bags if not needed such as for a drink @ 7/11 , but also when go shopping Tesco / big c 12 products 12 bags

thankfull Makro came to town 12 products NO plastic bags at all ( would help if one could easily grab a box from them thou

[neatfeet12]

I was getting sick of 1 or 2 items being put into 1 plastic bag, so I bought 4 re-usable bags from Big C. I placed them right at the front of the conveyor belt, so that they would be scanned 1st ready to use. That was the plan anyway. I stood there speechless (unusual for me) as she scanned them & put them into a plastic bag. I politely asked her to fill them. "Oh you want use now?" Bless.

Another idea maybe to make people pay for the plastic bags, as they do in some countries.

[itchybum]

wait a minute ,, did i just woke up n the eighties ?? again .

still good idea doubt if it is gonna work

still i'm always the one to decline plastic bags if not needed such as for a drink @ 7/11 , but also when go shopping Tesco / big c 12 products 12 bags

thankfull Makro came to town 12 products NO plastic bags at all ( would help if one could easily grab a box from them thou

never fear, Makro has been bought out by the 7/11 guy.

Plastic bags en mass shall be on the way shortly.

[roiethome]

I tried to use my own shopping bag in Tesco, but the girl simply pushed them aside and still filled their own plastic bags.

If we don't get plastic bags from the stores, we will have to BUY plastic bin liners to put in our waste bins in before putting in the condo waste chute. At least most plastic bags in Thailand get used twice even if they still end up polluting the land fill sites.

[WhizBang]

Thais only understand things when it hits them in their wallet. So, to that end, charge the customer 1 or 2 baht for every bag used (small bag = 1 baht, big bag = 2 baht).

Also, some time ago at Terminal 21 I bought 6 pasteries at one of the bake shops in the basement. Yup, you guessed it, each pastry went into it's own little plastic bag to be sealed shut with cello tape, and the lot went into a big plastic bag. So for 6 pastries I walked away with 7 plastic bags and about a meter of cello tape.

Trying to get Thais to cut back on plastic bags is going to be a hard sell, but charging for each bag would go a long way to making it work.

[Jonesy99]

I bought a bottle of bleach recently and the 7-11 robot cashier gave me a straw!

[hellodolly]

Bullshit, this is not a sollution to the plastic waste problem in this country.

A complete ban of plastic is the only sollution, and don't come with silly excuses, it IS possible.

Quite a few countries have ruled out a law banning the use of plastic bags.

What's wrong with having a descent shopping bag you can use over and over again?

You are quite correct it is not an answer How ever how is it you can say eliminating 67,000,000 plastic bags a day is bull sh-t.

It is a reasonable start that has a chance for success in time.

Are you really that naive to think the government would pass a law outlawing them and the people would listen to them.

This is an English speaking forum but this is one time I wish it was in Thai I would have the wife read it.

I suppose I could use google but there is no telling what it would get changed into there.

[hellodolly]

I tried to use my own shopping bag in Tesco, but the girl simply pushed them aside and still filled their own plastic bags.

If we don't get plastic bags from the stores, we will have to BUY plastic bin liners to put in our waste bins in before putting in the condo waste chute. At least most plastic bags in Thailand get used twice even if they still end up polluting the land fill sites.

Well you are definatly rite about getting used twice for some of them but the statistic said 8 bags a day per person. I think that is high but I do believe there are a lot more than one a day per person.

[retell]

would'nt that hurt all the shops selling nothing but plastic bags , straws , styrofoam , etc . many of those

[hellodolly]

Thais only understand things when it hits them in their wallet. So, to that end, charge the customer 1 or 2 baht for every bag used (small bag = 1 baht, big bag = 2 baht).

Also, some time ago at Terminal 21 I bought 6 pasteries at one of the bake shops in the basement. Yup, you guessed it, each pastry went into it's own little plastic bag to be sealed shut with cello tape, and the lot went into a big plastic bag. So for 6 pastries I walked away with 7 plastic bags and about a meter of cello tape.

Trying to get Thais to cut back on plastic bags is going to be a hard sell, but charging for each bag would go a long way to making it work.

In Canada there is a large chain called superstore. If you want a bag it will cost you 3 cents. I always carried a bag of rolled up used plastic bags to save the plastic bags. As in Canada 3 cents is not a big deal but it was a good way to get people to think conservative,

[toybits]

Ban the use of Plastic Bags. It has been done else where (but not Thailand).

[cekipa]

Plastic bags are an issue when littering. I really do not understand why this "war on shopping plastic bags" by some of you which are very useful to me as bin liners.

Sorry guys but where do you all collect your rubbish in your room/house/apartment ? Or am I missing something here ??

[mok199]

finally...thisis a good start...but will be a long road...the onnly way to really have this work is to charge for bags....but is a step

[DocN]

Plastic bags are an issue when littering. I really do not understand why this "war on shopping plastic bags" by some of you which are very useful to me as bin liners.

Sorry guys but where do you all collect your rubbish in your room/house/apartment ? Or am I missing something here ??

Goin to Tesco for weekly shopping leaves you with approx. 32 plastic bags in 1 month.

I don't know, how much garbage you produce, but...

[cooked]

I got a T=shirt printed 'I don't like plastic'. I have to point at it but people laugh and accept what I have to say.

[Cuban]

Thai plastic bag manufactures will be up in arms within a week.

[dunque]

I bought a bottle of bleach recently and the 7-11 robot cashier gave me a straw!

And you didn't use it. Still, it was worth a try.

[Alainpm]

Biodegradable plastic bag. Next topic.

[cup-O-coffee]

No! I think I will behave like the corporations and do whatever fancies me. When they begin to focus on the corporations and dispense with these idiotic mind placebos for the idiotic sheep, then I might consider using a reusable bag. Who makes and distributes the bags anyways? The corporations. At least Makro has something going for it, and it doesn't seem to bother the shoppers to unload their cart's contents item by item directly into their cars or trucks.

[jamhar]

I bought a bottle of bleach recently and the 7-11 robot cashier gave me a straw!

Dude, check your breath

just say'n

[Plastic Brontosaurus]

Hail the plastic bag

Back in the 1970's there was a movement started by little old ladies in the UK to collect the aluminum tops of glass milk bottles for recycling. This was quickly embraced as an important solution to the problem of pollution caused by said aluminum milk bottle tops, and particularly school children nationwide would collect these pieces of aluminum foil in large quantities, by the garbage bag full. However any other kind of aluminum, which is used in much larger quantities for other purposes, was ignored.

As some will say, "every little bit helps" but to me it was essentially a load of <deleted> (lots of work for hardly any effect) and this whole debate about plastic shopping bags reminds me of this episode.

It was probably once again started by a little old lady in a village in Hampshire, gazing out of her window across her neatly trimmed lawn, and suddenly she discerned the evil presence of a plastic Tesco bag, being blown across said lawn and scaring the feeding blackbirds! OMG <deleted> (not that she would have used such words).

Not having much to do in the latter years of her life, she quickly enlisted the other retired forces in the village, and a movement was born to reduce and if possible ban the evil plastic bag from all supermarket in the nation and ultimately, the world...

The problem is: what is the problem? Plastic bags are very useful:

• They are made of a small amount of plastic (plastic quantity used for product packaging and every other use in life is much more than that used for small plastic shopping bags; as part of the overall production and use of plastic, shopping bags hardly are a blimp on the radar;
• Shopping bags can and very frequently are re-used as trash bags, so people don't have to go out and buy trash bags (I guess the manufacturers of trash bags are at least partially behind the push for banning plastic shopping bags).
• The so-called eco-bags that people can buy (obviously makes sense to sell bags rather than give them away!) to use instead of the plastic shopping bags provided by supermarkets, are usually made of woven polyester. They take much more energy and raw materials to manufacture. They are only used a few times each, on average. They get dirty, and people throw them out (after keeping them for a while until they get dusty too). People forget them and buy more. They don't make sense, as there is no overall difference/reduction in usage (polyester is a plastic).

The whole debate makes no sense. However plastic shopping bags do. When something "green" comes along, people often jump aboard the bandwagon without questioning whether the issue is reasonable. This issue is not. Some environmentalists have tried to sensationalize things by telling stories of ships full of bags being sent to third world countries for recycling. Really? And if yes, I'm sure they would be put to good use and create jobs

Another point is similar to the "glass half empty" vs the "glass half full" debate. People who claim that we should "reduce" (in other words lower quality of an experience) are non-creative. If something is not the right thing anymore, don't stop using it (that won't work anyway because only a minority will comply) but invent something that is better, to replace it.

That's not polyester bags you purchase and throw away after three times usage rather than one because they're too dirty. It's a whole new solution that is better than a plastic bag. I can't be bothered thinking about one, because plastic bags don't bother me. But to those who take offense at the plastic bag, rather than say "stop using them!", start providing a BETTER and USEFUL replacement for them. Duh!

Until that time, I'm a happy use of as many plastic bags as I get at the supermarket. I re-use them as garbage bags, to carry stuff in until they break, and for storage of items such as clothes etc. It saves me from buying garbage bags and storage bags. The plastic bag is useful. It is a great invention and has very limited environmental impact

[cekipa]

Plastic bags are an issue when littering. I really do not understand why this "war on shopping plastic bags" by some of you which are very useful to me as bin liners.

Sorry guys but where do you all collect your rubbish in your room/house/apartment ? Or am I missing something here ??

Goin to Tesco for weekly shopping leaves you with approx. 32 plastic bags in 1 month.

I don't know, how much garbage you produce, but...

... which is fine for me as each time I cover my bin with 2 plastic bags (double cover works better in case of liquids made by fruits)

[cekipa]

I bought a bottle of bleach recently and the 7-11 robot cashier gave me a straw!

[Locationthailand]

Start with the 711 and Family Marts, then the majors like Tesco, Tops, Villa and so on. But it would go a long way to show some tragic results as a TV Commercial in between the soap rubbish they show on TV. Education would help a great deal but Thai's don't get that readily.

[upena]

Gonna be hard to buy a "bowl" of soup from a street vendor

[Mrjlh]

Why not just recycle them...its written on the bottom of the bags!