third world countries,poverty and litter- any connection?

[Crazy chef 1]

i lived in quiet a few third world countries such as parts of Africa,Carribean islands and now Thailand.all of this places have one thing in common:garbage,trash,litter,rubbish everywhere.is it a lack of education or just pure laziness?this ppl have basically nothing to do the whole day they just sitting chatting or sleeping the whole day in a pile of stinking rubbish.in example whenever i go to work i have to pass a town house soi and the majority of their small yards in front of their houses looks like a dumpster side.dog shit on the street everywhere,plastic bags take away food boxes but the kids are still playing there and the adults sitting in the shade and doing FA- its a health risk.but on the other hand in front of those houses are big new cars parked though it can't be poverty.

in your opinion what are the reasons to live in this conditions

[benalibina]

Education, correction, cleanliness....all lack thereoff.

[homeownership]

Depression. Lack of self worth. Sums it all up really.

[HeijoshinCool]

It's why they put back doors in Thai houses.

[geronimo]

I think it is because you have a different set of values to them. If you saw it from their perspective, you would no doubt understand it more.

[Banzai99]

Don't you guys get bored of Thai bashing ?

[Crossy]

A troll post and the replies to it removed.

[NoshowJones]

Education, correction, cleanliness....all lack thereoff.

How often do you see litter bins in Thailand? Outside most 7-11, what about in markets, shopping Malls, even just in the street. If I buy a can of juice, then finish it, I am not going to walk about the rest of the afternoon with an empty can in my hands, so how do I dispose of it?

I place it somewhere on the ground where it won't get kicked about, am I wrong? look at all the new shopping malls going up all over the place, how easy is it to have a bench to sit on with a litter bin beside it?

Maybe I'm going a little bit off topic here, and no, I cannot understand why some people leave so much trash around, so I would say it is just laziness, same as when people ride their motorbikes through a market with passages only about three mts wide pumping their horns because hey can't get past someone, why can't they leave their motorbikes outside and walk? It is so easy for someone to bump against the riders hand on the throttle, and there could be a nasty accident.

What is the betting that there are regular accidents with motorbikes in markets, I think there are regular accidents and they just don't get reported. So there's your answer about all the rubbish, just pure laziness plain and simple.

Just waiting now for some poster to say I am lazy for not carrying an empty juice can around with me all afternoon.

[seajae]

keep saying it, people just dont care or know better, Waiting for my wife to finish work at the port and was watching the locals fish, a husband and wife pulled up on their bike, got off with the fishing rods and a big bag of rubbish, threw the rubbish on one side of the pier then started fishing on the other side. No one gives a damn, just watch drivers/riders toss their empty cartons/bags from their cars/bikes when they finish. The people simply are too lazy to bin it and do not have any respect for their own country, they really need to learn about rubbish and the diseases etc that are caused by it in school. When you go out walking of a night you can see piles of rubbish moving from all the rats inside it, no one cares.

[Banzai99]

keep saying it, people just dont care or know better, Waiting for my wife to finish work at the port and was watching the locals fish, a husband and wife pulled up on their bike, got off with the fishing rods and a big bag of rubbish, threw the rubbish on one side of the pier then started fishing on the other side. No one gives a damn, just watch drivers/riders toss their empty cartons/bags from their cars/bikes when they finish. The people simply are too lazy to bin it and do not have any respect for their own country, they really need to learn about rubbish and the diseases etc that are caused by it in school. When you go out walking of a night you can see piles of rubbish moving from all the rats inside it, no one cares.

I'm sure ThaiVisa WAGS are the exception.

[enuff said]

.

Heck, you oughta see Detroit.

'nuff said

~

[Stradavarius37]

This is not a hard question to answer - it comes down to basic needs. People whose income barely allows them to cover basic needs have less free time and disposable income to allow their minds to focus on aesthetics. Only in the developed nations, where people can work less hours for better pay, do people finally start being able to take a look around them and say - we better clean this place up.

[seajae]

in Australia it is an offence to throw rubbish out in the street/ not bin it and there are big fines. They have one day a year when people all over the country go out and help clean up waterways/the ocean/beaches, forests etc and it is hugely successful because people tend to take pride in their country. I realize this isnt the case everywhere in the world but anyone that says Thailand is a clean country is playing with themselves, look at all the popular beaches early in the morning, most covered in rubbish that has to be removed, the streets are covered the same, people dont give a damn about it, it is easier to throw their crap out the window or drop it, it is the mindset here, not everyone but a hell of a lot and there are many expats amongst them, pride in the country takes a back place to cant be buggered doing the right thing.

[CharlieH]

Forgive them for they know not what they do.

They just dont think about it or the consequences of their actions, not just litter but many things. There are little or no consequences to most things in Thailand and thats the problem.

If there are no consequences to any action, people are going to just do whatever they want, and thats exactly what they do.

Edited June 16, 2014 by CharlieH

[Crazy chef 1]

.

Heck, you oughta see Detroit.

'nuff said

~

i wrote about third world countries including citys..

[TerryLH]

Can someone find a link showing Thailand as a third World country?

I looked, but must have used wrong key words. Couldn't find a list with them on it.

Just curious.

Thanks

In the country side, it's a lot better now than it was years ago when I moved here.

[NanLaew]

What on earth is a third world country?

How old is the OP?

[crazygreg44]

It's why they put back doors in Thai houses.

trying to understand your post . . . .!? Is that because when the trash piles up high at the front door, as often is the reality, they can still take the back door ?

[benalibina]

Education, correction, cleanliness....all lack thereoff.

How often do you see litter bins in Thailand? Outside most 7-11, what about in markets, shopping Malls, even just in the street. If I buy a can of juice, then finish it, I am not going to walk about the rest of the afternoon with an empty can in my hands, so how do I dispose of it?

I place it somewhere on the ground where it won't get kicked about, am I wrong? look at all the new shopping malls going up all over the place, how easy is it to have a bench to sit on with a litter bin beside it?

Maybe I'm going a little bit off topic here, and no, I cannot understand why some people leave so much trash around, so I would say it is just laziness, same as when people ride their motorbikes through a market with passages only about three mts wide pumping their horns because hey can't get past someone, why can't they leave their motorbikes outside and walk? It is so easy for someone to bump against the riders hand on the throttle, and there could be a nasty accident.

What is the betting that there are regular accidents with motorbikes in markets, I think there are regular accidents and they just don't get reported. So there's your answer about all the rubbish, just pure laziness plain and simple.

Just waiting now for some poster to say I am lazy for not carrying an empty juice can around with me all afternoon.

I am not referring to 7/11 or at a market. Have been, albeit in the provinces, regularly to parks, outdoor places for kids etc. Sitting on the grass with litter around, sitting near a big fishpond with litter around everywhere. They were nice places and there were bins around max 100 mtrs away. It annoyed me why, upon asking thais i was with, there answer was....what you worry, not your country and the people dont know any better. Its just the way it is. It left me speechless....and i started to clear the place and was being told.....stop stop not your problem......

[crazygreg44]

Thais that have been abroad as tourists, know better. Look, if the Thais like to live in a trashed, dirty country, let them live in it, they have not deserved any better until someone wakes up and teaches them - from birth thru school thru their adulthood - that throwing your trash into the environment is one of the lowest form of social behaviour. It is something we attribute to monkeys, not to human beings. Give them time to think abut it. If they don't like unspoiled environments, let them have it their way. I am not here to teach them anything else . .i look above all the trash and pretend not to see it, like they do.

[bina]

it started because way back when in the olden days, village thais used decomposable implements to hold food and drinks: my father in law still used cocanut shells as dishes for his animals, his wife still makes much of her food wrapped in or served on leaves... at the end of the day all the food was thrown out of the house to be eatne by scavenging animals such as chickens dogs or the pigs.

the habits remained but the implements changed to non decomposable ... and along with the changes in food/clothing usage (mother in law and father in law have been wearing the same clothes for 7 years, i know cause i recognize them from photos and the new clothes i bought them are still in a box, his rubber shoes are hled together by string. its not just from poverty, its a way of life that is dying out, but shouldnt. reuse of things, wearing things til they fall apart, etc).

although times have changed with plastics and glass, the garbage disposal solutions ahve not changes. so chickens dont eat plastic so it is burned. i noticed this year that many of the city kids did throw stuff in garbage cans (school education programs), but the country kids still tossed out windows and doors, because the culture hasnt been changed yet.

OTH many things are recycled that we dont recycle. jsut think of all the tires *reused in thailand as garbage cans/planters etc... that are tossed in america.

all developing countries have severe problems with garbage as infrastructures for dealing with it are expensive and money doesnt tend to go towards improving garbage disposal, nor roads.

how many generations ago did americans start to recycle? (25 years ago i laughed at my yuppie sister recycling her paper: such an american obsession. now israel also recycles everything.

years ago we used to use old sinks and toilets as flower planters. it was considered uncouth and 'poor'. now it costs a fortune to find one to use as a 'vintage' planter. so thailand will get there eventually... ive noticed the difference from our last visit to the village, and the amount of stuff along the roads...

[wow64]

It's due to your western miss- understand that the rubbish is not actually in these countries but was brought there by the west.. So why should these countries clean up their mess???

Hahahaha

[Daniel Boon]

litter is a world-wide problem ... when i Argentina (about 8 years ago) I noticed some wire baskets atop a timber post where some people put their rubbish for possible collection (and to keep from street dogs) whilst in Cuba, big skip bins were never emptied, the weight of food waste on top compressed the rotting food below ... a deep breath before each bin was advisable

[klauskunkel]

third world countries,poverty and litter- any connection?

the governments:

- no budget for recycling policies

- no, or inadequate facilities for trash

- no corresponding laws. or enforcement

- no urgency to educate people

the people;

- they don't know any better (see above)

[Pii Kate]

In third or second world countries there isn't money to pay for sanitation. Where does the garbage go once collected? All cost money. Money that doesn't exist at that level of service. No one wants to live in filth. Go to Appalachia and see the hillsides brimming with garbage. If you care do something about it. It's unkind to criticize people for thing they can't control.

[NeverSure]

What on earth is a third world country?

How old is the OP?

Today the term is often "developing country."

I could be wrong, but I've read that originally the term first world applied to the Western allies, second world was Russia and allies, and third world was all the rest.

Today it means developing countries, mostly in SE Asia, Africa, Latin America and S. America. LINK

[belg]

i used to get annoyed when i went for a walk to see dog shit eveywhere and irresponsible thai owners....

so... i got myself a dog and now it is time for PAYBACK

5555

[laislica]

it started because way back when in the olden days, village thais used decomposable implements to hold food and drinks: my father in law still used cocanut shells as dishes for his animals, his wife still makes much of her food wrapped in or served on leaves... at the end of the day all the food was thrown out of the house to be eatne by scavenging animals such as chickens dogs or the pigs.

the habits remained but the implements changed to non decomposable ... and along with the changes in food/clothing usage (mother in law and father in law have been wearing the same clothes for 7 years, i know cause i recognize them from photos and the new clothes i bought them are still in a box, his rubber shoes are hled together by string. its not just from poverty, its a way of life that is dying out, but shouldnt. reuse of things, wearing things til they fall apart, etc).

although times have changed with plastics and glass, the garbage disposal solutions ahve not changes. so chickens dont eat plastic so it is burned. i noticed this year that many of the city kids did throw stuff in garbage cans (school education programs), but the country kids still tossed out windows and doors, because the culture hasnt been changed yet.

OTH many things are recycled that we dont recycle. jsut think of all the tires *reused in thailand as garbage cans/planters etc... that are tossed in america.

all developing countries have severe problems with garbage as infrastructures for dealing with it are expensive and money doesnt tend to go towards improving garbage disposal, nor roads.

how many generations ago did americans start to recycle? (25 years ago i laughed at my yuppie sister recycling her paper: such an american obsession. now israel also recycles everything.

years ago we used to use old sinks and toilets as flower planters. it was considered uncouth and 'poor'. now it costs a fortune to find one to use as a 'vintage' planter. so thailand will get there eventually... ive noticed the difference from our last visit to the village, and the amount of stuff along the roads...

Spot on!

And not to mention that many western countries export their trash to developing countries!

But it's just not developing countries that have this problem.

The Spanish had decomposable wrappings and just threw stuff out as you mentioned but with the changes to bring foam boxes, plastic bottles, metal cans etc they also suffer in a similar way.

A big family will go to the beach, set up a tent for shade, stay there until just about dark and walk away leaving a huge pile of rubbish where they were.

It is unbelievable, but it is a regular occurrence, despite there being many bins nearby and signs forbidding leaving rubbish, other people looking on etc.

Another poster said Not My Problem, and that attitude runs through many societies, especially in Thailand - IMO of course!

Finally, it costs money to clean up - where will that come from?

[Suradit69]

Most of the pollution and rubbish are produced in the (supposed) advanced economies. They are just better at dumping it into the oceans and otherwise hiding it from sight ... not counting the frequent oil spills, nuclear meltdowns, contaminated water supplies of course.

[oldsailor35]

Don't you guys get bored of Thai bashing ?

This is not Thai bashing, it is Thai facts.