third world countries,poverty and litter- any connection?

[jmccarty]

No disposal service on a scale needed. No money to pay for it because it is a low priority. Those with money normally pay to keep their own properties clean and don't care if others or common property is full of rubbish. No space for civic minded behaviour if nobody else will think along the same line.

Saying that, my sons school spent a day picking up rubbish at Jomtien Beach about 3 weeks ago. Could not see that they did anything the next day though.

[Patrick Mills]

People are just lazy and don't care about how there country looks. Recycle programs are slow coming too, but if you can sell plastic,metal, aluminum, glass, paper, and cardboard back, you could put food on the table and clean up the country at the same time. Just a Idea.

[oldsailor35]

Close to where i live in Maenam, Koh Samui, there is a business which repairs sponge seats, mattresses etc. They are right on the main road and all their filthy old rubbish is just stacked out front virtually on the pavement. Alongside this eyesore is a 7/11 type supermarket, a nice Flower shop, Restaurant and a Bar. All tidy and clean businesses. At night when the repair business is closed, all their filthy junk is locked out virtually on the pavement. At the back of this business there are a couple of acres of vacant land with rear access. This is just a lazy Thai habit, nothing to do with "Thai Bashing" Just up the road is yet another business, repairing washing machines, and guess where all the junk machines are dumped.............you guessed right, between the shop front and the pavement, once again another lazy Thai habit. They just "do not" see rubbish!

Just around the coastline is a place called Bang Rak which used to be just the same, but now it is tidy and cleaned, but of course the place is occupied by many more Farang than there were about 4 years ago, and so has been tidied up.

As i have said , this is not Thai bashing, but just lazy Thai habits, just drive inland around the village areas and observe the tons of rubbish dumped around some houses which are often broken down dirty looking shacks with a big shiny brand new Toyota truck parked in front.....Not Thai Bashing, once again Thai facts.

Edited June 17, 2014 by oldsailor35

[marko kok prong]

The local town does have quite a few garbage bins,and the main street at least is quite tidy,here in the village though they just throw stuff anywhere,i have treid talking to my wife about this and she has got better,i also tell off the local kids if they come to her shop and throw stuff on the ground when there is a large bin sitting there,but it needs education ,Tv adds an the like,i patrol around my house picking litter up,a daily job,as more always appears.

[glasswort]

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

Not to mention the lack of an organized collection system and/or designated tips. I live in Pattaya and local contractors, restaurants and the like dump rubbish on the side of the road less than a hundred yards from my house on a daily basis. When the rubbish encroaches on to the road an excavator appears pushes the rubbish into a large heap a little bit further off the road into un-fenced lots and the whole cycle starts again.

More should be done to identify the owners of vacant lots where rubbish is dumped and make them responsible for keeping them clean.Furthermore supermarkets and shops should actively discourage the use of plastic bags by charging for them.

Oh dear dreaming again!!!!!

[CharlesHH]

Warning........ do not go to India.

I find Bangkok as a city remarkably clean. Ladies sweeping the street gutters, sides of road for non American speakers, BY HAND with broom. To me that is clean. But I have seen some personal spaces, around homes, scattered with litter.

Personal standards apply.

[glasswort]

People are just lazy and don't care about how there country looks. Recycle programs are slow coming too, but if you can sell plastic,metal, aluminum, glass, paper, and cardboard back, you could put food on the table and clean up the country at the same time. Just a Idea.

We collect all our plastic, glass, paper and cardboard etc and when the various containers are full a Thai guy and his wife come along on their motor bike and sidecar, complete with scales and having weighed it take it away. I tell my (Thai) wife not to take the money they offer, which is never more than 40 or 50 baht, but she will have none of it. I hope the collectors make a profit when the rubbish gets to the next person in the chain.

[Justanotherpassword]

Well, this is a silly post because the country does recycle. Guests visiting here who have just come from China have praised Thailand for her general cleanliness by comparison. Oh, and those "houses full of trash in the front yard" have any of you people thought about this as a recycling hub? These are the folks who go out and collect bottles cans and plastics to sell on to (the Chinese) who reuse them in manufacturing. In my own large condo building the cleaning ladies elegantly divide the trash into bundles by type and the proceeds are theirs with the buildings thanks. We are not set up to do floor by floor trash separation and the service they provide is a welcome one. Thailand already recycles, but the problem is the open land that becomes an illegal dump usually by contractors who don't want to pay to offload cement or building materials from a rehab. The free market provides an incentive for the recyling, but the unregulated market allows for illegal dumping.

This is a silly topic because you can cry and moan about it all you might like, but if it bothers you go home. No one cares if the country is brought up to your specifications of beauty.

[kurnell]

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.

Tassie is incredible. Almost no rubbish, graffiti and McDonalds

[techboy]

I dunno. Is Thailand a Third world country and why? I see that there are areas with litter problems and others not. (Show me a country with immaculate public areas and I guarantee that they have strictly enforced fines). Privately when you see yards loaded with trash and dirty neighborhoods yes it is generally linked to poverty in my observation. I think that is related to despair and loss of self respect.

Edited June 17, 2014 by techboy

[benalibina]

Close to where i live in Maenam, Koh Samui, there is a business which repairs sponge seats, mattresses etc. They are right on the main road and all their filthy old rubbish is just stacked out front virtually on the pavement. Alongside this eyesore is a 7/11 type supermarket, a nice Flower shop, Restaurant and a Bar. All tidy and clean businesses. At night when the repair business is closed, all their filthy junk is locked out virtually on the pavement. At the back of this business there are a couple of acres of vacant land with rear access. This is just a lazy Thai habit, nothing to do with "Thai Bashing" Just up the road is yet another business, repairing washing machines, and guess where all the junk machines are dumped.............you guessed right, between the shop front and the pavement, once again another lazy Thai habit. They just "do not" see rubbish!

Just around the coastline is a place called Bang Rak which used to be just the same, but now it is tidy and cleaned, but of course the place is occupied by many more Farang than there were about 4 years ago, and so has been tidied up.

As i have said , this is not Thai bashing, but just lazy Thai habits, just drive inland around the village areas and observe the tons of rubbish dumped around some houses which are often broken down dirty looking shacks with a big shiny brand new Toyota truck parked in front.....Not Thai Bashing, once again Thai facts.

Yes, you were not thai bashing.

Although you feared it by mentioning explicetely......not thai bashing....3 times.....

Dont live in fear of how others might call you.

[ClutchClark]

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

It does not cost money to clean up your own yard or to pick up the litter in your neighborhood...just use one of the many plastic bags left laying around.

[cooked]

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

Old World, New World, Third World ok?

[kannot]

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.

but not as much as your rose tinted specs brigade eh?

[kannot]

Well, this is a silly post because the country does recycle. Guests visiting here who have just come from China have praised Thailand for her general cleanliness by comparison. Oh, and those "houses full of trash in the front yard" have any of you people thought about this as a recycling hub? These are the folks who go out and collect bottles cans and plastics to sell on to (the Chinese) who reuse them in manufacturing. In my own large condo building the cleaning ladies elegantly divide the trash into bundles by type and the proceeds are theirs with the buildings thanks. We are not set up to do floor by floor trash separation and the service they provide is a welcome one. Thailand already recycles, but the problem is the open land that becomes an illegal dump usually by contractors who don't want to pay to offload cement or building materials from a rehab. The free market provides an incentive for the recyling, but the unregulated market allows for illegal dumping.

This is a silly topic because you can cry and moan about it all you might like, but if it bothers you go home. No one cares if the country is brought up to your specifications of beauty.

Bi focal rose tints I see!! congrats on assimilation Im on my way round to crap on your doorstep.

[kannot]

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.

but they can afford hi speed trains, masses of corruption, rice schemes and other "useful" things!

[benalibina]

Driving through Thailand one thinks ...woooowwww, what a beautiful country........looking far away.........and it really is beautiful......then 1 looks close around whilst driving.......and it is, not everywhere though, really ....so ko prok.....pity.

[Justanotherpassword]

Well, this is a silly post because the country does recycle. Guests visiting here who have just come from China have praised Thailand for her general cleanliness by comparison. Oh, and those "houses full of trash in the front yard" have any of you people thought about this as a recycling hub? These are the folks who go out and collect bottles cans and plastics to sell on to (the Chinese) who reuse them in manufacturing. In my own large condo building the cleaning ladies elegantly divide the trash into bundles by type and the proceeds are theirs with the buildings thanks. We are not set up to do floor by floor trash separation and the service they provide is a welcome one. Thailand already recycles, but the problem is the open land that becomes an illegal dump usually by contractors who don't want to pay to offload cement or building materials from a rehab. The free market provides an incentive for the recyling, but the unregulated market allows for illegal dumping.

This is a silly topic because you can cry and moan about it all you might like, but if it bothers you go home. No one cares if the country is brought up to your specifications of beauty.

Bi focal rose tints I see!! congrats on assimilation Im on my way round to crap on your doorstep.

Confident you will never be happy anywhere you can afford to live. Yes, everyone should be picking up their own trash and yours too because you are a wise elderly grouchy old fellow with poor sanitation habits. Further, I doubt security would let you in my building, but there are CCTV cameras throughout and twice daily cleaning service in all the hallways so feel free to try. Please advise if you need any help paying for the Songtau.

[F4UCorsair]

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.

Well aren't you just from a perfect place ........... in australia do peoples farts smell like peaches and cream too?

Dirtyfalang, with respect, that's a dumb post.

Seajae never implied he lived in, of hailed from, a perfect place. He merely outlined what the Clean Up Australia campaign has achieved, and has certainly changed Australians' thinking on litter. There are still morons who litter, but the change has been dramatic.

It started with the idea and efforts of one man and spread like wildfire. It's not rocket science, and uf everybody does his/her bit, the country can be close to a high standard clean.

I've been surprised by the cleanliness of some towns in Thailand, largely those driven by tourist $$, but disgusteded by others.

If only every country could be as clean as Singapore. It makes Australia look like India.

[scbro]

I was in a beach town in Vietnam just outside HCM, a place for locals mostly. Never in my life have I seen more filthy conditions and blatant disregard for the environment. I am not exaggerating when I say that rubbish was 10 meters thick covering the entire beach, plastic bottles, beer cans, leftover food, paper, cigarette butts. It was absolutely filthy, like a garbage dump and the viets played around like it was nothing. Next time someone tells me how western tourism ruins beaches, I will tell them this story.

I am not smart enough in sociology to make a guess as to why. I think it has to do with selfishness or maybe lack of trust in your fellow man. If you think your neighbor won't care about throwing trash, then you won't care either. It is no coincidence the richest, cleanest and safest countries in the world and regions are known for their trusting population like scandinavia and japan. Question is, do regions get rich because they trust and care about each other or do people begin to care when they get rich.

[MonkeyLoo]

I bought 3 kids from my girls family one of those 10 baht glass bottles of coke each. We were on one of the beautiful beaches looking out accross the crystal clear water.

They finished the cokes and then threw the bottles into the water, to see who could throw the further!!??

I was speechless, got them to retrieve the bottles and clean up some other sh!t.

Its beyond me how they have zero respect for their beautiful country.

Why cant they see that acts like that are worse than p!ssing on a temple?

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