Plastic-bag-mania in 7-11

[Bezpoleznyak]

I wonder, why do staff in 7-11 have an addiction to put literally each item, however small it is, in a plastic bag? It seems if I were to buy a plastic bag only, they'd put it in another plastic bag. There're plenty of benefits of not using them at all when there's no need -- when I can hold what I've bought in my hands, say, chocolate or a tooth brush or a bottle of water.

I saw once, only once, in one of 7-11 an ad, made by 7-11, saying something like "stop using plastic bags, save the nature" a few months. I've never seen again.

Edited December 8, 2015 by Bezpoleznyak

[eldragon]

One reason I've heard is b/c back in the day everything was wrapped in banana leaves, so Thais think every package is biodegradable. But more likely than that is they're just largely uneducated on the matter.

[impulse]

They're so thin and cheap, it would take me around a year of stops in a 7-11 to collect a kg of plastic bags. Hardly an environmental tragedy considering I use the same amount of petroleum driving a few miles.

The plastic bags aren't the issue. It's the fact that I can walk 500 meters on a crowded street and not see a single waste bin to toss them. I deplore the local habit of just tossing them anywhere, but I can certainly understand why they'd be reluctant to carry a sugar/ketchup coated plastic bag all the way to the next bin.

Edited December 8, 2015 by impulse

[CharlieH]

Staff are "trained" to do a job, and if that includes placing things in bags, thats what they do, its not "their" decision, that comes from higher up and whoever is training them.

[scubascuba3]

we were probably the same 20 years ago. I agree though its ridiculous bag for everything, even 2 bags if you get some water. i guess all we can do is say no thanks

[Expattaff1308]

we were probably the same 20 years ago. I agree though its ridiculous bag for everything, even 2 bags if you get some water. i guess all we can do is say no thanks

That is all that is necessary, I do it all the time.

[tailspin]

OP.....time for some empirical testing....dress up in a plastic bag costume and go into the store and see if they try to put you in another plastic bag......it's the only way to know for sure....

[SoiBiker]

I like the way they give me a straw for any bottle of liquid I might by. Just in case I felt like sucking down 500ml of milk on my walk home.

[billd766]

we were probably the same 20 years ago. I agree though its ridiculous bag for everything, even 2 bags if you get some water. i guess all we can do is say no thanks

That is all that is necessary, I do it all the time.

The only time I use plastic bags from 7/11 is when there is too much to carry in my hands. At my local 7/11 most of the ladies now ask if I want a bag.

[Red Parrot Fish]

Plus a bunch of plastic straws with every bottle of milk or can of beer.

Plastic spoons with every yoghurt.

Trying to "Wave" every sandwich you buy.

Edited December 8, 2015 by CharlieH

[scubascuba3]

yes, a straw with a 7 baht water is a bit unnecessary

[SoiBiker]

Plus a bunch of plastic straws with every bottle of milk or can of beer.

Plastic spoons with every yoghurt.

Trying to "Wave" every sandwich you buy.

Calling them idiots is a little unfair. They're just carrying out company policy, I'm sure.

[cooked]

Makro manage very well without plastic bags.

I got a T-shirt made saying I don't like plastic' as saying it in Thai doesn't seem to make much impression. I have to gibber and point a bit to get my point across all the same. Straws with beer? Same thing in 7/11's in Kuala Lumpur. so probably company policy world wide. Best way to get very drunk.

I always grab my stuff before they can get it into a plastic bag, with a smile of course.

[impulse]

yes, a straw with a 7 baht water is a bit unnecessary

In 7-11, probably true.

But I've seen rat pee and mold and mildew and dirt encrusted cans and bottles sold in other countries, and occasionally off the beaten path in Thailand. Straws are not a bad idea.

[SoiBiker]

yes, a straw with a 7 baht water is a bit unnecessary

In 7-11, probably true.

But I've seen rat pee and mold and mildew and dirt encrusted cans and bottles sold in other countries, and occasionally off the beaten path in Thailand. Straws are not a bad idea.

That's why I transfer my Leo into the finest crystal decanter when I get it home.

[impulse]

yes, a straw with a 7 baht water is a bit unnecessary

In 7-11, probably true.

But I've seen rat pee and mold and mildew and dirt encrusted cans and bottles sold in other countries, and occasionally off the beaten path in Thailand. Straws are not a bad idea.

That's why I transfer my Leo into the finest crystal decanter when I get it home.

You're more disciplined than my friends. Most of their Leos never make it home.

[robblok]

Plus a bunch of plastic straws with every bottle of milk or can of beer.

Plastic spoons with every yoghurt.

Trying to "Wave" every sandwich you buy.

Calling them idiots is a little unfair. They're just carrying out company policy, I'm sure.

Yep its what they are trained to do, and in Thai companies you do what you are told. Especially in positions like that. Can't blame them, also look at the age of them at that age most of us would have done what we were told too. I just tell them no rods no spoons and at the local one they know me and don't even try it anymore.

[Gutenberg]

It is Americanized I guess. Also Tesco, shopping for around 4,000 THB and nearly every second item the lady puts it in a new plastic bag.

But I must admit, I like it.

[dbrenn]

All the OP has to do is take his own plastic bags, hemp sacks, or whatever he'd prefer, and tell the 7-11 staff to put his items in it.

In places like Australia, when you go to the bottle shop, they don't give out any plastic bags at all. If they have any spare, you might get a dirty old cardboard box, or you might have to carry the goods around with nothing to put them in. Add to that the sky rocketing cost of electricity, so as to subsidise all those unproductive wind farms, showers that emit tiny jets of water, half-flushing toilets, horrid fluorescent light bulbs, etc, etc.

I'm glad that the tree-hugging eco-nazis that rule over us in the west haven't got their way here, yet.

[h90]

Everything in a plastic bag?

They cheat you....the bigger things should be put into two plastic bags for protection (beer/water/milk).

[impulse]

It is Americanized I guess. Also Tesco, shopping for around 4,000 THB and nearly every second item the lady puts it in a new plastic bag.

But I must admit, I like it.

Me, too. They're the perfect size for one day's worth of kitchen trash, so I'm reminded to take it downstairs every day. A good thing in the tropics where stuff goes really bad if I don't take it out every day.

And I haven't had to pay for a trash bag in years. I bought a pack of 20 full size trash bags a couple of years ago, and still have half of them for those times when In have bigger stuff to bin.

[joeyg]

I fold them into the triangles then use them for trash. Never bought a plastic trash bag...

[willyumiii]

It is "up to you".

You need to take responsibility.

I have never had anyone in Thailand, in 7/11 or any other store, try to force me to take a plastic bag when I tell them that I do not want them.

If they do not speak Engish, I say " Farang America mai chop plastic."

They may laugh, but I never leave the store with a plastic bag!

Have you considered bringing your own reusable bag?

I have seen them for sale at TESCO and yes, even at 7/11!

Edited December 9, 2015 by willyumiii

[willyumiii]

All the OP has to do is take his own plastic bags, hemp sacks, or whatever he'd prefer, and tell the 7-11 staff to put his items in it.

In places like Australia, when you go to the bottle shop, they don't give out any plastic bags at all. If they have any spare, you might get a dirty old cardboard box, or you might have to carry the goods around with nothing to put them in. Add to that the sky rocketing cost of electricity, so as to subsidise all those unproductive wind farms, showers that emit tiny jets of water, half-flushing toilets, horrid fluorescent light bulbs, etc, etc.

I'm glad that the tree-hugging eco-nazis that rule over us in the west haven't got their way here, yet.

Careless people like you are the reason "Eco Nazis" are required in today's world.

Did you know that the largest percentage of plastic garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean comes from SE Asia?...and there is a huge island of it out there.

[SoiBiker]

All the OP has to do is take his own plastic bags, hemp sacks, or whatever he'd prefer, and tell the 7-11 staff to put his items in it.

In places like Australia, when you go to the bottle shop, they don't give out any plastic bags at all. If they have any spare, you might get a dirty old cardboard box, or you might have to carry the goods around with nothing to put them in. Add to that the sky rocketing cost of electricity, so as to subsidise all those unproductive wind farms, showers that emit tiny jets of water, half-flushing toilets, horrid fluorescent light bulbs, etc, etc.

I'm glad that the tree-hugging eco-nazis that rule over us in the west haven't got their way here, yet.

Careless people like you are the reason "Eco Nazis" are required in today's world.

Did you know that the largest percentage of plastic garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean comes from SE Asia?...and there is a huge island of it out there.

01 plastic.jpg

That's actually a photo of the debris caused by the 2011 Japanese tsunami.

[01322521959]

I carry a couple of large white plasic bags that I've had for 5 years, they've been used in Tescos in Thailand and the Uk, I like continuety ... Bit of a hygene risk now, I must wash them this week. I also carry a lighter one with me, often when I hand it to the assistant she chucks it in the bin for which I get a sick pleasure reprimanding her for. Great fun I have ... I must get out more.

[h90]

I carry a couple of large white plasic bags that I've had for 5 years, they've been used in Tescos in Thailand and the Uk, I like continuety ... Bit of a hygene risk now, I must wash them this week. I also carry a lighter one with me, often when I hand it to the assistant she chucks it in the bin for which I get a sick pleasure reprimanding her for. Great fun I have ... I must get out more.

people like you discredit us all......When I come the next day everyone thinks the next weirdo comes......Instead of reprimanding he for doing her job proper and trash the old dirty bags, you could use them as rubbish bags or buy some real fabric bag.

[dbrenn]

All the OP has to do is take his own plastic bags, hemp sacks, or whatever he'd prefer, and tell the 7-11 staff to put his items in it.

In places like Australia, when you go to the bottle shop, they don't give out any plastic bags at all. If they have any spare, you might get a dirty old cardboard box, or you might have to carry the goods around with nothing to put them in. Add to that the sky rocketing cost of electricity, so as to subsidise all those unproductive wind farms, showers that emit tiny jets of water, half-flushing toilets, horrid fluorescent light bulbs, etc, etc.

I'm glad that the tree-hugging eco-nazis that rule over us in the west haven't got their way here, yet.

Careless people like you are the reason "Eco Nazis" are required in today's world.

Did you know that the largest percentage of plastic garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean comes from SE Asia?...and there is a huge island of it out there.

01 plastic.jpg

That's actually a photo of the debris caused by the 2011 Japanese tsunami.

True.

The island of plastic bags in the pacific is actually the size of Texas, or so the eco-zealots tell us. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch.

Anyway, who cares, the Pacific is a big place, and the North Pacific Gyre, a rotating current of water, keeps all trash in a place where nobody ever goes.

Eco-obsessives get on my nerves - while they bang on to all of us about how frugal we should be, most of them fly around in planes, wilfully polluting the atmosphere with all those greenhouse gases. They should walk or cycle everywhere - bunch of hypocrites.

[duanebigsby]

They're so thin and cheap, it would take me around a year of stops in a 7-11 to collect a kg of plastic bags. Hardly an environmental tragedy considering I use the same amount of petroleum driving a few miles.

The plastic bags aren't the issue. It's the fact that I can walk 500 meters on a crowded street and not see a single waste bin to toss them. I deplore the local habit of just tossing them anywhere, but I can certainly understand why they'd be reluctant to carry a sugar/ketchup coated plastic bag all the way to the next bin.

It is part of an environmental tragedy. Everything in Thailand is put into these bags amounting to a huge amount. southeast Asia, India, and China are the largest per capita plastic abusers.

The plastic is an environmental issue!

[duanebigsby]

yes, a straw with a 7 baht water is a bit unnecessary

In 7-11, probably true.

But I've seen rat pee and mold and mildew and dirt encrusted cans and bottles sold in other countries, and occasionally off the beaten path in Thailand. Straws are not a bad idea.

Rinse the can off?