Thailand launches anti-plastic bag campaign

[thailandbeachisland]

555+ so laughable... who believe them !

[marko kok prong]

but to kon thai once you have thrown the rubbish away it ceases to exist,really they don't see it.

[HooHaa]

quick somebody tell villa and 7-11.

I just did the rounds and came back with one less bag than i did items purchased.

Edited January 31, 2014 by HooHaa

[habfan]

Agree on cut off plastic bag usage and hopefully it puts an end on a strange habit like giving straw for even the beer

I do agree but……… my Wife and I run a beer and liquor store in our village, we also have cold beer fridge in the store. Believe it or not I was forced to buy straws because most of our customers (Thais) kept asking where their straw was when they bought singles from the fridge.

Go figure?

[FM505]

7-11 staff need training. Why do they put my bag of potato chips into a bag? Or a small item that I'm obviously going to put in my pocket?

Retraining...

[FM505]

I bet if the stores charged 1 baht per bag, many people would turn down the bag on offer. They would probably increase their consciousness concerning the great waste that is plastic bags? Just a thought.

Five baht per bag would seal the deal most likely...

[khrab]

This thread could also be about Thai driving habits. Same replies.......

[habfan]

While they are at it at 7-11 they should cut down on the number

of straws, spoons, etc. that they dish out willy-nilly.

Why does two cans of coke need three straws? One yoghurt two spoons?

I bought yogurt the other day, four cups wrapped together in plastic. Inside were four plastic spoons, also wrapped in plastic. The four cups could have been bound together with a band of plastic instead of covering the entire thing, or even by card board. The spoons are unnecessary. Most people are taking them home where they have spoons. The stores should keep a few spoons at the registers and if people need them, they can take them. I'm saving up all the spoons I get and will send them back to the company one day. Its so wasteful.

If my wife didn't get her plastic spoon allotment with her yogurt purchase to bring home to fill yet another plastic spoon drawer then heaven help the employee serving her.

[Cricketnut]

While they are at it at 7-11 they should cut down on the number

of straws, spoons, etc. that they dish out willy-nilly.

Why does two cans of coke need three straws? One yoghurt two spoons?

I know we all don't want to hear this, but culturally speaking it is not proper etiquette for Thais to drink straight from a bottle and from an employment view how many jobs will be lost in the plastic manufacturing sector. Unfortunately it appears that employment and money are more important then the environment.

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[yourauntbob]

i have a couple cloth duty free bags i kept and normally take them when i go for small orders. i like the added advantage of not worrying that the plastic will break and my stuff will end up on the pavement,

[Cricketnut]

Do like Taiwan - charge one baht for a plastic bag. It encourages folks to bring their own cloth bag and re-use it

This done in some states in Australia, except 5 cents per plastic bag. Unfortunately the educational system doesn't seem to teach this. Heck introducing something like this could earn a fortune for Thailand...sorry correction Thaksin. Oh dear we just gave him an idea and a very profitable one at that.

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[thedoctor]

Few months ago

there's a road cycling race RoiEt -- country -- Kaset wasai return

must have been organised by a cycling club i saw many khonkaen shirts on the riders,

At the drinks stations they were giving drinks to riders and watchers,,

that was a sunday,,

monday morning i had to go to RoiEt past the drinks stations,, My god,,

the rubbish was all over the verge and on the road, ,, plastic bottles and wrapping crap everywhere ,,

i said to GF look at this mess how disgusting from a organised race

i said call the police find out who held the race,,,[ the police were there at the road juctions],, then call them to complain,,

She in her wisdom says ,

,

cannot,, who come clean up, nobody ,,

i said the people who drop rubbish should pick it up,, the same people who stand there and give the drinks out ,,

Thailand not do,, And the rubbish stayed there for weeks

What hope is there,,

[BillyBobThai]

We are on the verge of a civil war, and the clowns are worried about plastic bags.

The larger concern might be locating enough body bags.

Edited January 31, 2014 by BillyBobThai

[koto]

7-11 staff need training. Why do they put my bag of potato chips into a bag? Or a small item that I'm obviously going to put in my pocket?

If we would tell them no bag needed, they might start to get the message, they are trained to bag it, so it is done without thinking,

we need to remind and sometimes think for them, I do all the time, also saying to much plastic, now most places don't bag it for me,

efforts on our part also helps...

[PatOngo]

Now what will they pull over their heads when it rains???

[taony]

If my wife didn't get her plastic spoon allotment with her yogurt purchase to bring home to fill yet another plastic spoon drawer then heaven help the employee serving her.

5555!

While they are at it at 7-11 they should cut down on the number

of straws, spoons, etc. that they dish out willy-nilly.

Why does two cans of coke need three straws? One yoghurt two spoons?

I bought yogurt the other day, four cups wrapped together in plastic. Inside were four plastic spoons, also wrapped in plastic. The four cups could have been bound together with a band of plastic instead of covering the entire thing, or even by card board. The spoons are unnecessary. Most people are taking them home where they have spoons. The stores should keep a few spoons at the registers and if people need them, they can take them. I'm saving up all the spoons I get and will send them back to the company one day. Its so wasteful.

You could of bought seperate yogurts, you would of had no wrapping.

The 0% fat ones don't seem to be sold separately for some reason. I buy my Leo individually at 7-11 though. They sell them in two-packs but those come with cardboard packaging. Not as bad as plastic, but it does have ink and other chemicals, so I don't buy them. And excess packaging is just wasteful/ MAybe they could develop some kind of big rubber band that could be reused for that, then I would buy in bulk. I bought the two packs the first few times, but not anymore, i felt too bad. Besides they are only 2 baht cheaper, nice discount!!

[musicguyuk]

Introduce larger, stronger carrier bags so that they do not have to give you so many for a few purchases. Charge 5 baht per carrier bag. Problem solved!

[francescoassisi]

Easy solution ban them, or make people pay for them if they want a plastic bag

If you had done any research before you posted, you'd have found that the issue is far more complicated than that. Quite apoart from the Thai love of, nay, obsession with packaging, there is the purely no practical problem of getting your stuff home. With food, many goods are chilled or frozen and paper, itself a problematic material, is unsuitable.

This is largely thge responsibility of the chain stores we now shop at who are often some distance from where we live, and the way goods are sold requires more packaging.

Many countries have tried to address this problem and so far none has come up with a satisfactory universal answer. However in the end it isn't the customer, it's the company that needs to change.

[belg]

i feel a rise in teen pregnancies, as those teens overhere like to use a plastic bag in stead of a condom.... sorry tierak, no plastic bag

[Muhendis]

Easy solution ban them, or make people pay for them if they want a plastic bag

Spot on Soutpeel. The UK Welsh assembly passed a law in 2010 (I think it was) which forced all shops to charge 5p per plastic bag. People quickly started using hessian and other reusable bags. Didn't we use shopping bags when I was a Kid?

[taony]

At Whole Foods in NYC, they don't charge for bags but deduct $0.10 if you bring your own. Lots of people do it, not for the 10 cents though.

[Showbags]

7-11 staff need training. Why do they put my bag of potato chips into a bag? Or a small item that I'm obviously going to put in my pocket?

perhaps you can be trained to say no bag thanks.

I once bought, along with my shopping, one of Tesco's big strong reusable bags and put it to the front of the items to be checked. I told the assistant to pack the goods into the bag but NO that wasn't allowed. She had to put the purchased bag into another plastic bag!

I would have walked off and left the stuff there, gone to another shop...seriously stoopid.

[taony]

I've done that

[Retiredandhappyhere]

Yes, most packaging these days is excessive and some of it requires a machete to get through it. I always ask that small items I buy at 7/11 and other stores are not put into a bag, which seems to surprise some of the shop assistants. On a slightly different tack, it would also be helpful if more trash bins were provided particularly at strategic points and if Thai people were educated not to throw their bags, polystyrene food containers and other rubbish down in the street and out of their vehicles. It may be that some Westerners do that as well, but they certainly would not do it back in their own countries, where they would no doubt incur a fine if spotted.

[recom273]

What role are 7-11 going to play in this ?

If you go to 7-11 in Malaysia, every customer is asked if they require a bag, in whatever appropriate language.

And it works ..

7-11 have issued memos, explained to their staff ? Staff training in Thailand ??.. I don't think.

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[cracker1]

I suggest that all retailers have a mandatory Govt. regulated charge of 1 Baht per plastic bag taken by the customer.

Can't help but think the problem would be solved in a very short time,

[louse1953]

7-11 staff need training. Why do they put my bag of potato chips into a bag? Or a small item that I'm obviously going to put in my pocket?

No,you need the training.You can say no,you know.My local girls are onto me now.

[louse1953]

7-11 staff need training. Why do they put my bag of potato chips into a bag? Or a small item that I'm obviously going to put in my pocket?

There is another reason behind the thinking, if they put the item in a bag, it means you have paid for it. Sometimes carrying something out without you could be challenged, then look for the receipt that you threw down near the checkout.

Why make things so difficult.The change and receipt go in your hand,your hand goes in your pocket,your feet go out the door,ding dong.Too easy.

[thaisaregrt]

What we need is a catchy slogan and I have one, "use your old bags & bag a red today" we can get rid of two for the price of one and they are both garbage.

[louse1953]

Did think of something stupid---The kids leaving school need the plastic bags to throw out the back of the school bus so the following drunk driver on the second bus can find his way by following the bags on the road.

You got the first part right.