Thai editorial: How to cut our trashy habits

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EDITORIAL
How to cut our trashy habits
The Nation

The answer to Thailand's growing garbage problem lies at home

BANGKOK: -- Today is Thai Environment Day. Exactly 25 years ago, in a speech given on the eve of his birthday, His Majesty the King expressed concern about the worsening environmental problems facing Thailand.

The King pointed to deforestation, a decline in the country's clean-water supply and the dilemma over the imperative to protect a forest versus the need to construct a dam to generate electricity. His Majesty urged us to cooperate in efforts to tackle these problems. At stake, he said, was not just the wellbeing of the country but also the survival of the Earth. In 1991, the government approved a proposal by the Science and Technology Ministry to designate December 4 Thai Environment Day.

Over recent decades the negative impact of Thailand's fast-growing economy and industry has become more and more visible. We have suffered increasing deforestation, multiplying garbage, hazardous waste, air and water pollution, water scarcity, declining wildlife and soil erosion. The boast for economic growth is that it raises living standards, but the cost in damage to people's health and the environment is obvious too.

That cost is most visible in the burgeoning of garbage. Each year the country's households generate 26.7 million tonnes of trash, of which a mere 5 million tonnes is recycled, according to the Pollution Control Department (PCD). The rest - 19.9 million tonnes of putrefying and sometimes-hazardous waste - is tipped into the growing dumps around the country.

PCD director general Wichien Jungrungruang says each year's accumulated garbage would be enough to fill the country's tallest building, the 300-metre Baiyoke Tower II, 139 times over. And that total has grown every year - on average each Thai now produces 1.15 kilograms of garbage a day, surpassing the Japanese average of 1kg.

With that growth has come greater threats to health and the environment. Increasingly bloated, badly managed dumpsites plus illegal tipping have left more and more residents around the country facing hazards such as toxic run-off and smoke from trash fires.

With the situation getting out of hand, it has become obvious we need to find a more efficient way of recycling to help reduce the amount of trash.

The process begins at home, where we can start separating our garbage by type. Recyclable items such as plastic bottles, tins, paper and glass containers can be disposed of separately from household waste and either sold or put out for collection by garbage trucks or scavengers.

Many communities encourage this practice by offering food or everyday consumer items in exchange for residents' recyclable garbage. Such projects are a good way of instilling the idea of recycling in children. But more communities need to offer such incentives if we want to cultivate a national recycling habit among the next generation. The authorities and businesses could help out here by providing funding or consumer items to be exchanged for recyclable garbage.

Thailand is already implementing plans for garbage-fuelled electricity plants as part of the solution to the growing mountains of trash. But we also need a wider cultural change in the way we deal with garbage, and small community recycling projects are the key here. If all of us started recycling our trash today, the Baiyoke Towers of trash would soon shrink and our individual acts of kindness to the environment would quickly pay off.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/How-to-cut-our-trashy-habits-30249115.html


-- The Nation 2014-12-04

[daoyai]

The process of reducing rubbish starts with the retailers and producers reducing excess packaging, replacing polystyrene boxes with biodegradable containers etc. then moves to the home with separation of waste then goes to the govt. waste disposal to compost the organic matter (and use the methane) and recycle the rest. Too often business is given a pass and blame is pit on consumers, consumers don,t generate waste, they just pass it on.

[chainarong]

The trouble in all of Asia, not only Thailand , it is actually one big rubbish dump, (Exclude Singapore) there is your example , Asia is good at copying things , copy Singapore , the saying Asian's can't see rubbish is correct and it starts with the individual , everyone must bin the rubbish , the rubbish must be disposed of properly, not like you see around larger cities and towns in Thailand, placed in residential area's, that's planning and city by laws , either impose them or introduce them, as they say clean up your act, the streets , highways ,canals are filthy, can't U see that.

[Langsuan Man]

You know the authorities could help if they just had garbage cans in public places, maybe if enough people saw them the might use them

Go to Walking Street in Pattaya some night and try and find a trash container to dispose your shawarma napkin. The only place will be the cigarette cans outside of every 7-11, which will most likely already be full anyway

[JohnnyJazz]

I actually find that the garbage men do a good job at recycling when they collect the garbages. They sort out in different bags what they can sell (recycle). Of course more can be done but it's already a beginning.

But the main problem is the number of plastic bags given away by the shopping malls and the big retail stores like Lotus, Big C ... In Hong Kong a while ago they introduced a tax on plastic bags, 50 cents (around THB 2.00) per bag. Nowaday 99% of the people bring their own shopping bags.

[davehowden]

Stop putting EVERYTHING that is sold in the markets into at least 1 and sometimes 2 plastic bags.

Vendor saves money, buyer no longer needs to throw them away somewhere "outside" their house or have the occasional Chernobyl to burn them all.

[Estrada]

"If all of us started recycling our trash today, the Baiyoke Towers of trash would soon shrink". Why are they refering to Baiyoke Tower as trash!

[Estrada]

Yes, exactly 25 years ago, the King said that the forests should be preserved and not cut down. Since then illegal logging mainly attriibuted to MPs and Officials continued unabated so that much of Thailand's forests have been cut down. The usual suspects then started on Burmah, Laos and Cambodia.

[glasswort]

Here we go again. No doubt more talk and very little action.

A good place to start to reduce the amount of rubbish generated is with the retailers and wholesalers. Reduce the amount of packaging that goes into most food items. Force shops to charge for plastic bags. I have posted this complaint many times before and continue to be appalled at the profligate distribution of plastic bags by the likes of Big C, Tesco etc. etc.

[JOC]

For starters teach the staff at 7-Eleven, that not every 15-baht customer need to get 2 plastic bags, 3 straws and 3 plastic spoons!!

And when you decline this "service", the staff look at you , as if you were from another galaxy!!

Something to do with education/lack off maybe??

[shaggy851]

my condominium complex (bangkok) just has one big skip bin that gets filled from all the bins on each floor. The garbage truck then takes the skip away and i assume theres no recycling whatsoever. I have no idea where to start with recycling and if i bothered to sort the recyclables what i would do from there. Theres rarely trash cans when youre out in town you have to make an effort usually a few hundred meters just to find anywhere to dispose of normal rubbish. Ive been out in small provinces, villiages walking and my thai friends, who just throw trash on the side of the road, walking laughing eating and littering as they go. national problem. plastic bags containing drinks are handed out with straws,wrapped in more plastic and food in styrofoam containers ,with plastic utensils and condiments/chillis in bags tied with rubber bands...horrendous

[Pib]

You know the authorities could help if they just had garbage cans in public places, maybe if enough people saw them the might use them

Go to Walking Street in Pattaya some night and try and find a trash container to dispose your shawarma napkin. The only place will be the cigarette cans outside of every 7-11, which will most likely already be full anyway

Amen brother!!! Where my mother in law lives out in the province the garbage along side the roads and right around houses use to be a LOT, but once the local govt started putting garbage cans along the main road/end of sois connecting to the main road and emptying the cans once a week, there was a HUGE improvement in appearance of the whole area....much, much less garbage here, there, just everywhere. Yes sir, a big improvement in appearance.

[angiolo]

no bags in MACRO. Take your own shopping bag

[jaltsc]

"The King pointed to deforestation, a decline in the country's clean-water supply and the dilemma over the imperative to protect a forest versus the need to construct a dam to generate electricity. His Majesty urged us to cooperate in efforts to tackle these problems. At stake, he said, was not just the wellbeing of the country but also the survival of the Earth. In 1991, the government approved a proposal by the Science and Technology Ministry to designate December 4 Thai Environment Day."

From the view out my window, where the mountains are obscured by the smoke from last night's burning and the trash being dumped by the roadside on my way into town and will eventually be burned, it appears that the King's wise and responsible message is being ignored. Actions speak louder than words. Perhaps it should be pointed out that the best way to honor the King is to live by his wise words every day rather than making symbolic gestures a few days a year.

Edited December 4, 2014 by jaltsc

[Pib]

no bags in MACRO. Take your own shopping bag

But like all Thai grocery type stores within Makro there is no shortage of plastic bags to put your vegetables, meats, etc., into...and of course discard these at your pleasure. I wonder sometimes what would happen in Thailand if the people had to go without "any" plastic bags or cell phone service for 24 hours....I'm pretty sure riots and civil war would break out at about 6 hours into the 24 hour period.

[skildpadden]

People are not stupid and I do believe that Thais also want a clean city and coutry.

However if there is no practical availability to dispose of trash, people will throw it in the empty building lots etc. So start with re-introducing trash bins in the streets of Bangkok - and of course place these in convenient locations all over the city - as well as regular emptying of these bins.

Enforce recycling programs for all condominiums e.g. as part of EIA approval for new building projects, as you have a huge amount of trash pile up in a rather small area (I am talking actual trash, not the people) - and it doesn't need to be rocket science either, just start with simple sorting of glass, plastic, paper and then other waste (preferably also batteries). Gradually after some years introduce more refine sorting.

Demand all plastic bags to be bio degradable and ban all styrophoam containers.

[rametindallas]

You know the authorities could help if they just had garbage cans in public places, maybe if enough people saw them the might use them

Go to Walking Street in Pattaya some night and try and find a trash container to dispose your shawarma napkin. The only place will be the cigarette cans outside of every 7-11, which will most likely already be full anyway

They took them all away after one New Year's eve in 2006 when eight bombs were exploded from inside the trash bins, killing three and injuring more than 38.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Bangkok_bombings

[rametindallas]

"If all of us started recycling our trash today, the Baiyoke Towers of trash would soon shrink". Why are they refering to Baiyoke Tower as trash!

Have you seen Baiyoke 2? It's not mad of trash but it is a very large structure. Now, imagine 139 Baiyoke 2 'sized' piles made completely out of garbage (if you can). The size of Baiyoke Tower 2 was used to give you an idea of the size/scale of the problem. Obviously wasted on you.

[ICECOOL]

"Many communities encourage this practice by offering food or everyday consumer items in exchange for residents' recyclable garbage. Such projects are a good way of instilling the idea of recycling in children."

This is just feeding the Thai mentality of "I need to be paid to do anything" Until Thais take pride in their beautiful country and take ownership of the problem nothing will change. A few Thais have that thinking but unfortunately its too few. I have bought my wife some land and the first thing I did was walk around and pick up the rubbish. Then I walked along the stream next to our land and did the same. I told the Thais working there through my wife not to drop rubbish. Its a slow process but until Thais at the top lead this change nothing will really change.

If people do not like or want a plastic bag then say no thank you at 7 or Tesco or Lotus

[RickBradford]

Perhaps an ad campaign on the lines of the following?

[jaltsc]

Perhaps an ad campaign on the lines of the following?

It's not wrong if no one sees me doing it. And if anyone calls me a litter bug, I can sue them for defamation. TIT

Edited December 4, 2014 by jaltsc

[myluckythai]

free stuff for recyclable stuff is nonsense. All the stuff that is to be recycled is already collected by the poor... FOR MONEY, not other crap. it is the rest of the garbage normal people in normal house holds throw aways at the spot when they don't need it anymore.

And yes of course the retailers...

There is a big big villa here in the neigborhood being build. When finished they just pushed a big heap or rubbisch over the edge of a klong on the other side of the street. So clear what happened here, but hey rich guy, so no reaction. garbage has been there for weeks until the city paid to clean it.

When little children finish their drink or whatever they just throw it instantly on the ground, parents and all watching like nothing happened.

Farmers are busy harvesting rice, after they finished a few rai they move on to the next plot and leave a big mountain of plastic and stuff, left over from their lunch.

The overall way the people look at their enviroment makes everything look dirty.

The government can controll the big poluters and manage the big garbage heaps and what not, but only the people at streetlevel can make it LOOK cleaner on the streets and have some respect for their own country

[Emster23]

Thais are already doing there bit to stop growth of toxic landfills. Just throw it on the ground. Not beginning at home, either. Any public place or roadside will do. Last month PM of India launched clean up India campaign and actually went out and cleaned up himself. How about current gov officials and a few media stars go out and lead the way?

[davehowden]

In the small village that i live in; Ban Sentor near to Hang Dong, Chiang Mai; they introduced a rubbish collections service about a year ago.

Rubbish bags are bought from Number 1 for 10 baht each and have an official looking stamp on them.

These bags are then collected from the "main" road twice a week.

It is really heartening to see the take up of this service, even the little-lean to shanties sport their official rubbish bag, it is almost a "face" thing to have one.

I have even seen locals take an unofficial bag and cram it into an official one in case it gets shunned by the collectors.

We also have a re-cycle place that takes all the glass, tins, metal, cardboard etc and we normally get about 100 baht a fortnight for what we take, yes I know, another Cheap Charlie.

As the Old Lady said when she peed in the sea, "every little helps"

[ggt]

Trashy habits? What trashy habits? Everyone knows it is those drunken trashy tourists causing all the problems...

[bangon04]

my condominium complex (bangkok) just has one big skip bin that gets filled from all the bins on each floor. The garbage truck then takes the skip away and i assume theres no recycling whatsoever. I have no idea where to start with recycling and if i bothered to sort the recyclables what i would do from there.

My condominium complex (LPN) makes a very creditable attempt to recycle, with separate bins for each category of trash, even including a separate box for old light bulbs, and the cleaning staff routinely hand sort through any / every rubbish bag which is still tied shut to sort the contents.

I am quite impressed.