Farang man wins praises for collecting litter

[williet98248]

I sincerely hope no one makes a post mocking the no work permit situation because it's real and no matter the good intent can result in problems for the person(s) involved.

A work permit is needed for anything that can be classed as work and all it takes is one person to complain for a reason best know to them but if a foreigner is involved ... ! I'm not saying the authorities in the area concerned would be heavy handed depending on the circumstances but i am suggesting it's not a chance worth taking.

Sad it can come down to this.

Yeah one reason why many don't lift a finger in fear of being arrested and deported. I remember it was the same at the time of the Tsunami when many foreigners came over to do their bit, but the authorities took a heavy hand on the situation, and arrested many. They see foreigners as an interferance, ones which could take jobs away from Thais by their meer presence. So if your mowing your lawn, painting, doing whatever around the house in public view, or even picking up liter on a beach, you could expect a visit from immigration. Work is work, even if you don't get paid ! Thailand is for Thai people, not foreigners.

Surly this cannot be defined as work, technically he would have to gain an income to class it as work. It's more like volunteer, what's the requirement for that? Do volunteer's require work permits?

Yes.

[NongKhaiKid]

I sincerely hope no one makes a post mocking the no work permit situation because it's real and no matter the good intent can result in problems for the person(s) involved.

A work permit is needed for anything that can be classed as work and all it takes is one person to complain for a reason best know to them but if a foreigner is involved ... ! I'm not saying the authorities in the area concerned would be heavy handed depending on the circumstances but i am suggesting it's not a chance worth taking.

Sad it can come down to this.

Yeah one reason why many don't lift a finger in fear of being arrested and deported. I remember it was the same at the time of the Tsunami when many foreigners came over to do their bit, but the authorities took a heavy hand on the situation, and arrested many. They see foreigners as an interferance, ones which could take jobs away from Thais by their meer presence. So if your mowing your lawn, painting, doing whatever around the house in public view, or even picking up liter on a beach, you could expect a visit from immigration. Work is work, even if you don't get paid ! Thailand is for Thai people, not foreigners.

Surly this cannot be defined as work, technically he would have to gain an income to class it as work. It's more like volunteer, what's the requirement for that? Do volunteer's require work permits?

Voluntary work is work so a permit needed and it's definitely not advisable to test the system.

[RT555]

Barefoot and waddeling in garbage and syringes?

[lapd]

Do they charge a bottle deposit? I'm guessing not. Where I live they charge a deposit. You see lots of people with limited means scouring the roadsides and garbage bins looking for them. A couple big garbage bags full of bottles, cans etc. could net them $20-$30 at the bottle depot. Roadsides are picked clean.

If they did that in Thailand the beaches would be spotless. At least from the bottles and cans.

Edited April 22, 2015 by lapd

[maidee]

stealing a job and money from thai garbage workers, let just wait till one of them goes to the police for this illegal activity

maybe he is just a bump looking for some recycle stuff to sell

he is in the garbage bin, does that equal to picking it up ?

[ttthailand]

The Thai country side and beaches are littered with trash. I remember riding my motorbike through the country and stopping along the road at a little wooden rest stop. Behind the stop must have been enough trash to fill 100 bags. Taking a look along the road as I continued my ride I noticed trash underneath all the bushes and trees. Took the beauty away from everything I saw after, sad !

Bangkok may have it's problems but the streets are normally clean and the trash picked up daily.

[teacherpaul]

A couple of things.

Firstly, there is no law saying you can be arrested for mowing your own lawn or painting your own house. Utter fantasy. If any jumped-up official tells you otherwise, he should be promptly told to go forth and multiply.

Secondly, with the AEC opening up soon, there will be a lot more foreign labour coming to Thailand, so Thais need to get used to it and change their attitudes, quickly.

I sincerely hope no one makes a post mocking the no work permit situation because it's real and no matter the good intent can result in problems for the person(s) involved.

A work permit is needed for anything that can be classed as work and all it takes is one person to complain for a reason best know to them but if a foreigner is involved ... ! I'm not saying the authorities in the area concerned would be heavy handed depending on the circumstances but i am suggesting it's not a chance worth taking.

Sad it can come down to this.

Yeah one reason why many don't lift a finger in fear of being arrested and deported. I remember it was the same at the time of the Tsunami when many foreigners came over to do their bit, but the authorities took a heavy hand on the situation, and arrested many. They see foreigners as an interferance, ones which could take jobs away from Thais by their meer presence. So if your mowing your lawn, painting, doing whatever around the house in public view, or even picking up liter on a beach, you could expect a visit from immigration. Work is work, even if you don't get paid ! Thailand is for Thai people, not foreigners.

[JHenry]

Been there done that. Nothing changed. Same old, same old.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

I was in Pratamnak soi 5 area last week in Pattaya, went to the beach there. I was absolutely disgusted with how filthy it was. I see this all over Thailand. The Thais treat their country like a garbage dump.

I think this comes down to the culture of the people, which needs to be changed through education.

When I was growing up in Canada (and we are talking a looooong time ago now), there was always government campaigns called keep B.C. Green. This was on small highway signs, TV and radio ads etc.

On a regular basis the schools would arrange garbage pick up days and all the students would go out and pick up garbage. When I got caught acting up and would get a detention at school, quite often the punishment would be garbage detail.

In my adulthood when I would go out camping, hunting or fishing, I would always take extra garbage bags and would try to take out more garbage than I brought in.

It is a culture that needs to change and can be changed through education. But if they never start they will never get there.

This is the same for many things in this country such as road safety etc. etc.

[Fullstop]

Jakkrit Chainok said Thais have been raised this way so no one should be blamed.

You're right. "No one" should be blamed...but how about blaming "something"? ...

He added that Farang has been taught the otherwise.

... Like Thai culture, the education system and nanny state governments.

[Eaglekott]

Maybe he was sentenced by court for some hours of community service?

[DoctorG]

"leave nothing behing but your footprints" (quote from somewhere)

[stonycan]

I live in canada and its not much diffrent here.camp sites in the bush covered in broken glass and garbage . Its sad ..when i was in thailand i found garbage cans for my garbage..my girlfriend thought it was funny i picked up garbage on the way to drop mine in.. i told her if everyone picked up a few pieces there would be none . I think next time im in pattaya ill hire some kids to clean the beach . No permit needed id think and lets them earn some baht.. garbage is everyones problem .. the earth is all of our home and we need to care

[mercman24]

not much different in the uk. when i lived there me and my grand daughter use to go on "litter patrol" she love it as there were sweets on offer at the end, from my house to the shop we very often picked up nearly a carrier bag full of sweet paper etc, where people would come out of the shop, eat their purchase and just throw the wrappers on the ground, must admit here in BKK i am a bit of an anti litter freak on my walk to the 7/11

[Batboy]

I have seen farangs picking up rubbish on Jomtien beach many times in the past and some young Thai people getting up from their chairs to join them. The sad truth of the matter though is rubbish littering is not only on beaches. Where I live in Samutprakan, people who are generally involved in construction just stop and dump construction waste on the side of the road after a days work. Even a sign saying they can get a THB 2000 fine does not stop them.

[Tassie Norm]

In a small village where I lived, a retired teacher used to pick up 2 children from school every day and bring them back home. Every time those 2 got a drink in a plastic cup and just before entering the village by motorbike they throw away their garbage alongside the road. It's all about education...

I have, for some time now, encouraged my niece and nephew to deposit their empty milk (or whatever) contained in bins I have strategically placed on our premises. Seems to be working but a long way to go yet. Similarly at the brother-in-law' place I asked my wife if we could place bins likewise - done. I have been around a few years now and no one appears to have taken offence. Perhaps a touch bemused but my dear girl supports my approach. No doubt it is education.

[mlmcleod]

I think this would be great national campaign to remove litter!

Instead of complaining about Thais and Thainess, a positive litter cleanup campaign would be a real positive for Thailand!

I would suggest that the beach vendors should be required to police the beach every day as payback for operating on public property for profit!

I think it will require a plague from all the garbage to get any action on this. Sad but true!

[jollyhangmon]

>...An unidentified farang man has won a lot of praises from Thai Facebook users for collecting garbage...<

Very active folks, i see.
How about doing some collecting too, instead of just 'praising' it online?

[Godders]

It never fails to amaze me how Thai people are always banging on about how much they love their country, yet do so little to keep it neat and tidy.

The seaside town where I live is flooded with mainly Thai tourists at weekends and holidays and the rubbish they strew around - not only on the beach, but on roadside verges and any bit of open land they can find - would have to be seen to be believed.

Tons of discarded garbage - everything from old mattresses and black plastic bags full of household waste to discarded food cartons - explains the vile stench that permeates the place almost constantly during the hottest months - and the local rats which are the size of cats.

The hypocrisy of Thais rushing into print to praise a falang for clearing up their filth is breathtaking. What will it take to wake them up from their lazy indifference to the fact that rubbish is not only unsightly but dangerous - an deadly outbreak of typhoid or cholera?

If I were the general in charge of running the country, I would have the entire population of this town and its environs out on a muster parade every Sunday morning for a giant clean-up until they learn the lesson of not cr-pping on your own or someone else's doorstep.

[mike324]

Many International Schools in Thailand that have a Green Space club organize beach clean up trips every year as a way for students to earn community service hours.

[willyumiii]

"Jakkrit Chainok said Thais have been raised this way so no one should be blamed."

Excuse me Jakkrit !

The people who have raised Thais this way are to blame and should be ashamed!

Yes, Thais are responsible for how Thais are raised.

​Thai students are taught about proper trash disposal and recycling in school.

They do a pretty good job of it, at school.

but , as soon as they leave they school property, they follow the example set by their parents and drop everything on the ground.

They do know better.

The only excuse is that they are lazy..and that is a very poor excuse.

[NongKhaiKid]

A couple of things.

Firstly, there is no law saying you can be arrested for mowing your own lawn or painting your own house. Utter fantasy. If any jumped-up official tells you otherwise, he should be promptly told to go forth and multiply.

Secondly, with the AEC opening up soon, there will be a lot more foreign labour coming to Thailand, so Thais need to get used to it and change their attitudes, quickly.

I sincerely hope no one makes a post mocking the no work permit situation because it's real and no matter the good intent can result in problems for the person(s) involved.

A work permit is needed for anything that can be classed as work and all it takes is one person to complain for a reason best know to them but if a foreigner is involved ... ! I'm not saying the authorities in the area concerned would be heavy handed depending on the circumstances but i am suggesting it's not a chance worth taking.

Sad it can come down to this.

Yeah one reason why many don't lift a finger in fear of being arrested and deported. I remember it was the same at the time of the Tsunami when many foreigners came over to do their bit, but the authorities took a heavy hand on the situation, and arrested many. They see foreigners as an interferance, ones which could take jobs away from Thais by their meer presence. So if your mowing your lawn, painting, doing whatever around the house in public view, or even picking up liter on a beach, you could expect a visit from immigration. Work is work, even if you don't get paid ! Thailand is for Thai people, not foreigners.

You are probably right about doing things around the garden etc but I wouldn't advocate telling any jumped official where to go as he / she has the backup to cause a lot of misery and in a ' he / she said, he / she said ' situation guess who is most likely to be believed ?

[Benmart]

The Mayor, Deputy Mayor and concerned city officials of Pattaya , take heed.

The cash cow is being buried beneath a pile of rubbish, corruption and complacency.

[LennyW]

If they put a bounty on plastic bags the country would be spotless overnight!

[Kees5555]

Some years ago a sign was placed in the soi in the pic below, in Thai: "No littering, fine 2000 baht". But police does never come here.
On Jomtien Beach a sign is placed: "No firework, fine 2000 baht" . Yet a tourist did (it was not Dec 31!), just 50m from the police station, police was too lazy to come out of the office. And this happened many times.

I saw a policeman eating and afterwards putting his plastic garbage on the street. I said 'What are you doing now?' Oh, it will be picked up in the evening by the garbage collectors, so no problem'.

I asked a beach chair vendor why he did not clean the 8m wide 'no mans land' next to his, because all the garbage might hurt his business.
Response: 'That is not my land, not my problem, not my business'.

Some beach chair vendors leave plastic bottles, bags (left by their customers) etc on the beach at the end of the day, and only clean their stretch the next day morning.

I asked the manager of Heritage Resort why he did not order his employees to clean the beach in front of his hotel (after some strong winds last September it was shocking dirty during many weeks). He replied: 'City Hall Must do this, not my problem'. I said: 'But it might hurt your business, your hotel guests won't like it, for sure!' I talked politely 5 mins with him, he just didn't care.

Same story with a neighboring hotel.

However I did have some success when talking to someone in Pattaya Park. Inside their (ugly, rusting fence) already during many years there was a lot of garbage, delivered by the wind. 2 days later about 95 % of it was cleaned.

But let me finish with a positive note:
Just lately I saw a Thai family of which the dad collected all the garbage when they left the beach!

When oh when will the police come off their lazy butts to fine people who leave garbage at the end of the day?

[kkup]

+1 for this chap, hope he rewarded himself with a nice coldie afterwards.

[micmichd]

Thais usually don't litter half as much as Farangs do, and the Thai garbage collection system is far better than in many Farang cities.

If only Farangs could behave in Thailand like they would at home.

April 20 was the day after Songkran Finale when the beach area was completely overcrowded and many of the bins were placed on the pick ups, remember?

Special situation.

It's a shame that this bashing goes on here.

Edited April 22, 2015 by micmichd

[DLang]

It would be a cold day in h3ll before a Thai would do such a thing.

If stopping off in Subway or similar I tidy up after myself, empty my tray into the bin and put the tray away for them. The Thais look at me as if I have three heads.

[Thailand]

Thais usually don't litter half as much as Farangs do, and the Thai garbage collection system is far better than in many Farang cities.

If only Farangs could behave in Thailand like they would at home.

April 20 was the day after Songkran Finale when the beach area was completely overcrowded and many of the bins were placed on the pick ups, remember?

Special situation.

It's a shame that this bashing goes on here.

t

Forget to read the first post?

[neeray]

Bravo for the volunteer beach cleaner who risk doing the job without a work permit (ignorance is bliss).

I once told a business associate of my love of Thailand. His immediate comment was "that place is so dirty". Pity.