Thailand launches anti-plastic bag campaign

[spidermike007]

Do they just pull this crap out of a hat, or make it up from scratch? Who are these people? He said up to 20 per cent or 80,000 tonnes of the total waste quantity is plastic bags, which last year declined 10,000 tonnes a day. Fewer uses of plastic bags would efficiently help lessen pollution as plastic objects take longer time to decompose.

First of all, how are we to believe plastic use has declined one iota in Thailand? If anything, it seems it is used more than ever. And secondarily, although I applaud any effort toward conservation, do they have ANY IDEA how much effort will be required to educate the Thai public about the evils of plastic, and the extreme level of environmental degradation that is happening on their watch? ANY IDEA? Where would one start? I bring my own reusable bags with me into every market I enter, and people look at me like I am from Mars. Some think it is a good idea, but would THEY ever consider such an act? Every day I turn down a dozen plastic bags of more. I even bring my own water to restaurants now, so I do not have to consume two or more plastic bottles. That could be avoided if the restaurant would forego a few baht per day in profit, and start serving pitchers of water, from the 20 liter bottles that are re-filled. That alone would save millions of bottles of plastic a year, if enough restaurants joined the movement. There are hundreds of areas where conservation could start, and I see very, very little interest on the part of the Thai people, and especially on the part of the visionless Thai government and the inept govt. ministers and parliament. The whole thing is so out of control. I do hope this is something more than just some cynical PR stunt. 7/11 is one of the top plastic waste offenders in Thailand.

[spidermike007]

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.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

Training of this sort would require consciousness, awareness, environmental sensitivity, and an admission that a problem exists. Hence the dilemma.

[rotorbreeze]

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

I regularly go to 7-11 that is kiddy corner to FairTex..I get bottled water as see in the line-up plastic is used far too much...putting items in plastic only to see outside the door the customer removes the item to eat and deposits the plastic in garbage container full of plastic bags!

I have made a celebrity of not bagging any item..Mai Tum... as the staff know me as "No Bag". If I go grocery shopping I have in my motorcycle jacket (light n breathable mess) a mesh re-useable grocery bag I brought from Canada for the specific use in Not using plastic. Big C as well as Tesco check-out cashiers over use plastic..three to four items and rhythm-atic another plastic bag....after explaining no need double bagging...I re-sort the groceries into max of three bags..from 5 or 6 if double bags Frustrated the next time I shop I will now bring along my spare re-useable bag to take groceries home.

AT Home:

I separate the recyclable items into a large garbage bag contains of "washed glass, yogurt containers, plastic items and paper. The garbage collection bins (blue) are mostly full of everything nothing separated and often overflow on the ground where the dogs proudly take they new found bounty back home.

The access road to the apartment is a mess, city-workers removed the Blue barrels but still the ignorant house holders just dump their garbage same spot with no barrel.

Boy what a mess, the smell, great way to advertise the Thai's do not realize how they are destroying the very land they live on.

[01322521959]

Well, there me and er'indoors were in TOPS the other day, with the chap in front being served by the assistant, 1 bag for this and 1 bag for that. Being a "Holier than thou" sort of chap, I'll get my teeth knocked out one day, I found myself holding my 2 large white plastic bags up and telling the others queuing " bring your own bags, I've had these for 2 years." True story, yes, I must get out more.

[samuijimmy]

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.

Fully agree, Louse 1983, there is not one seven eleven or family mart , etc, in BKK or southern Thailand, I have been in, that the staff don't understand ..."mae plastic" which is what I say, .... no straws, no lids, no bag... dead easy... just ask them not to.... but most farang too slow... to say that

it's amazing the staff at these shops, do understand that,....even in non tourist places....

Edited February 1, 2014 by metisdead
Bold font removed.

[Xonax]

Now again!! Nothing wrong with plastic-bags!

Plastic-bags can be recycled. Plastic bags are only a problem, if the consumer throw them in the nature. So why not instead teach the Thais, not to just throw the plastic bags everywhere, but put them in the garbage bin, or if no bin nearby, put them in the bin at home? If the plastic bags are put in the garbage bin, they will maybe be recycled to new plastic bags. Or if they are burned together with the other garbage, the oil in the plastic, will help the burning of the wet garbage.

[MMarlow]

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 don't want the spoons so much that you post about it here, yet each time, even though 7-11s are so wasteful, you accept them just so that you can save them and make a futile gesture of returning them at some stage in the future after you've accepted even more of the spoons you don't want. That's so wasteful, and hypocritical.

Why don't you just tell the assistant that you don't want the spoons?

[MMarlow]

10 Years behind the civilised world yet again. Its BIG 'C' that wants talking to. They will put a single tooth brush into one of their big green carriers. The parent company Walmart / Asda stopped handing out plastic bags more than 2 years ago. So why do it here ? Bring your own!!!!!

Walmart does not own Big C.

[noitom]

And this is the right time for the Thai debate about plastic bags.

[Keesters]

In addition to a campaign reducing the usage of plastic bags there should be a campaign about what to do with a plastic bag if you get one. So many times I've seen people walk out of a 7-11 remove the item they purchased from the bag and then drop the bag. A nearby waste bin remains empty while 7-11 plastic bags are all over the street and sidewalk.

KEEP THAILAND TIDY

[newatthis]

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.

Agree ginjang. I bought a couple of small items at a local supermarket once and didn't want a bag. I went to the service desk to pick up my back-pack and the lady there proceeded to put the items through the cash register. Had to forage through my pockets to find the receipt. It appears that the mindset is "No bag = no pay."

[oldsailor35]

7-11 got to be the worlds worst for plastic bags. Buy a bottle of water and you get a couple of plastic straws all in a plastic bag. I usually just leave all this plastic junk on the counter.

[Kayahammer]

Just ban them. Simple and easy. If people can adjust their lives when suddenly inundated with a metre or more of filfthy water for months, then they can do the same with plastic bags.

[jackr]

Surprised they haven't pointed out wastage would be nowhere near 80,000 tonnes if foreigners weren't here, or that it's the foreigners' fault for inventing plastic and plastic bags.

[RichardtenBrinke]

The most hilarious bags at 7-11 are the tiny ones. The stuff what goes in there could easily fit in your pocket or under the motorbike seat. 10 Baht per bag would work i think....

[lmaxv]

I like Makro...they bag nothing! You want a bag, bring it... I bring my own...same when I go to 7-11. No so difficult...

[witchhunter]

It makes me so sad to witness that a depopulation program is coming also to Thailand. Because the ban of polyethylene bags is a part of it. When the program is in the US or in India, I was thinking, it is probably OK to wipe out people who produce nothing while they are consuming a lot like in the U.S., and obviously there are too many people in India who are turning an environment to a rubbish mountain. I thought that Thailand is different. There are not too high population growth rate, land has a capacity to feed 2-3 fold more people than for now. However, the program is just spreading to any area where there is no resistance to it or people are dumb enough not to see dangers. Why the ban of plastic bags is a part of the program? Because it is about to spread diseases and to increase living cost of a nation. Regarding of plastic bags there is also another way to spread diseases - it is to start recycling of the bags that were in contact with food and have a lot of pathogens inside. Instead of incineration and producing electricity from burning polyethylene. It is a big duty secret of our humankind that so called "green" technologies like solar cell batteries, wind mills, recycling of plastic bags are actually pollute environment and produce more CO2 than power stations at coal burning and incineration of the rubbish. OK, there are too many non-educated fools who have to extinks. Yet, instead of growing a new generations of smart and healthy people we are moving in opposite directions: the use of fluoridated tooth paste, the use of fluorinated additives to polyethylene, spreading a milk formula to substitute a breast milk, indoctrination instead of education, hysteria of fears of radiation and nuclear power - it is all making kids dumb, obedient, physically and mentally compromised, and poor. Yet, I hope to see a better future. Internet is a base of the hope.

[Patrick Mills]

Great idea, but it will take forever in Thailand, everything comes in plastic, and they can't just give you one plastic bag. The only way for it to work is banned it completely , or charge for each bag. I use canvas bags and it's so difficult for them to use them, you give them your canvas bag, they just ignore you and put everything in plastic and then put the plastic bags into your canvas bags. Can you just see Thailand one day without plastic bags on the street, in the empty lot's, hanging on the tree's, what's that all about? We live in a condo, 2 years ago they started a recycle program, it meant that all the plastic, glass, aluminum, paper, etc. was put in one plastic can, and the housekeeping would separate the items and send them to be recycled and split $ with the recycler, then the office people the run the building felt like they should get a cut, and since there was not enough $ to go around, it was discontinued. Lower level corruption at it's best. For me I still think one person can make a difference, the store will I shop are getting used to me, sometimes I even bring a cart when am buying something heavy, everyone stare's at me, maybe one day I will make a difference. There are only a few white heads where I live.

[spidermike007]

Now again!! Nothing wrong with plastic-bags!

Plastic-bags can be recycled. Plastic bags are only a problem, if the consumer throw them in the nature. So why not instead teach the Thais, not to just throw the plastic bags everywhere, but put them in the garbage bin, or if no bin nearby, put them in the bin at home? If the plastic bags are put in the garbage bin, they will maybe be recycled to new plastic bags. Or if they are burned together with the other garbage, the oil in the plastic, will help the burning of the wet garbage.

Your level of delusion is astonishing if you do not think plastic bags are a problem. Get an education. Do some research. Your plastic bags are killing hundreds if not thousands of marine species as we speak. They do not remain in the garbage. It is that simple.

[chooka]

If I'm not mistaken this campaign is launched every year. Last year they offered discounts for every cloth bag you filled at Tesco. This will never work in Thailand.

Barry

Your right it is an annual event. When I go in and buy one small bottle of water they still put it in a plastic bag. If they were serious about it they could actually cut costs by not providing so many bags.

Maybe this CP guy, Thailand's richest man also owns the bag manufacturing company.

Edited February 1, 2014 by chooka

[Ricardo]

If the government were to charge a B1 tax, for every plastic-bag manufactured or imported, retailers would pass the charge on to consumers & consumption of them would plummet, problem solved.

[toysupra80]

It's about time!

Sent from my HUAWEI G700-U10 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[beowolf2012]

When we talk about plastic bags why not make it the same as in Bangkok or pattaya. 2000.00 baht fine for littering. Now I talk about Surin prasat Sisaket and many areas around which all Thai cambodian throw garbage into piles into ditches.
It would quite simply not good actually start Funds landfill

[sawadee1947]

in my home country/Ireland we banned them already several years ago. For extra plastic bags you have to pay extra money up to 50 cents. Most are happy with paper or cotton bags.

Even most little things they put into plastic bags here. High time to stop that nonsense. Teach the students and ask for extra money for plastic bags!!

[Khunangkaro]

Customers Service at Big C in Amnat Charoen hands out useful freebies like dishes cups or baskets when I show up with my grocery without the common plastic bags.

There are plenty of handy carton boxes available for free. These boxes will be sold and recycled after used.

Macro in Ubon leaves us without bags. Contents of our carts go straight in/on our truck. No problem.

[trajan]

in Taipei 7-11s, you need to bring your own bag or pay for a plastic bag if you need it....and non of this straws, spoons and other plastics for every container....

[Showbags]

Pigs in general, pure and simple...go look at any market site after they pack up and leave...absolute filth.

In a Tops the other day, I handed back a bag after the girl beat me to it and put a single item in a bag...she threw the bag away.

A temple down Hua Hin way on the ocean front, but high on a cliff face....they dump all their rubbish over the edge down the cliff to the ocean below, one big land slide of rubbish and the ocean below swirling with rubbish.

Pigs.

[harrry]

If I'm not mistaken this campaign is launched every year. Last year they offered discounts for every cloth bag you filled at Tesco. This will never work in Thailand.

Barry

Your right it is an annual event. When I go in and buy one small bottle of water they still put it in a plastic bag. If they were serious about it they could actually cut costs by not providing so many bags.

Maybe this CP guy, Thailand's richest man also owns the bag manufacturing company.

These are the owners of BigC according to the website

1 Geant International B.V.¹ 264,797,600 32.097 2 Saowanee Holdings Company Limited¹ 218,280,000 26.458 3 Thai NVDR Company Limited 56,060,723 6.795 4 Mrs. Arunee Chan 37,619,714 4.560 5 The Bank of New York (Nominees) Limited 24,390,802 2.956 6 UBS AG SINGAPORE BRANCH 18,000,000 2.182 7 BARCLAYS BANK PLC, SINGAPORE 15,900,000 1.927 8 Credit Suisse AG 10,900,000 1.321 9 Mr. Amnuay Thanarakchok 7,522,200 0.912 10 Mr. Niti Osthanugrah

[Benmart]

If I'm not mistaken this campaign is launched every year. Last year they offered discounts for every cloth bag you filled at Tesco. This will never work in Thailand.

Barry

I don't have a crystal ball, so I can't foresee if something will or will not work in Thailand. What I have seen, from years of coming here, is that change does come...sometime slowly for sure.

There was a time, when very few motorists stopped for red signal lights in Pattaya. Now, most do with varying numbers ignoring it. As time goes by and education gets the word out, more people do comply either out of civic responsibility or conformity.

Just my 2-Satangs worth

[ocean268]

from my iPad in Cha-Am