Litter everywhere - Doi Suthep left in a mess as volunteers save the day

[rooster59]

Litter everywhere - Doi Suthep left in a mess as volunteers save the day

Image: Sanook

CHIANG MAI: Participants in the Tiaw Kheun Doi festival left the road up to Doi Suthep in a terrible mess Friday.

Empty plastic bottles and foam food containers were strewn all over the hillside even though there was supposed to be a ban on such items this year. The festival is held on the eve of Visakhabucha day and some 10,000 people went up to the famous temple at night.

Most of the litter was supplied by firms feeding the hungry pilgrims and despite pre-arranged litter bags left at strategic intervals much of the waste was left lying about.

But some 2000 students and volunteers turned out on their day off later to collect the trash and restore the area to cleanliness. Some 50 tons of rubbish in 5000 black bags was collected and sealed ready for collection by local authorities.

Source: Sanook

-- 2016-05-21

[cmsally]

Surely its not necessary to eat while you hike !

If they really need to be fed, then before the hike starts!

Water in reusable water flasks , maybe the generous "companies" would like to hand those out instead.

[Thailand]

Well done the students and volunteers.

[marko kok prong]

After nearly 5 years here,i have given up worrying or telling Thai's that i am with littering is not good. When i lived before with my ex wife i would go around the house and shop she had over the road picking it up,and putting it in the large bin outside the shop,everyday. I recentley had to go back to get a ladder i had left there,both house and shop where like a tip.However not all Thai people are like this my new girlfriends house,is spotless inside and out ,not even a scrap of cellophane,or plastic straw to be seen.Education is the key,public ad's on tv,teach in the schools not to litter,thinks will change slowly if this is done,but it does not seem an issue at present.

[Jeremy50]

Surely its not necessary to eat while you hike !

If they really need to be fed, then before the hike starts!

Water in reusable water flasks , maybe the generous "companies" would like to hand those out instead.

Tell a Thai that they might not have access to food for a couple of hours, and they probably won't do the activity. And most likely don't have the sense of planning to eat an energy giving meal an hour before setting off, or to carry a small snack such as a banana in their pocket. Well done cleaning up this atrocious mess, now everyone can start on the rest of the country. Good Luck!

[whatproblem]

So it takes 2000 students to clean up after 10000 Thais ,1 student to 5 Thais ,dirty disgusting people ,they stand next to a bin and throw their rubbish on the floor ,my friends in England say Thailand beautiful untill I show them a video of me going on a typical bike ride ,rubbish everywhere

[dcsw53]

Why are most Thais litter louts. They would they do this at home, so why do they seem to take pleasure in doing it at festivals.

It needs a role model to make it clear to everyone, farang and Thai, that we have a duty to look after this country. Not a politician, member of the army or police, they would be derided for being self serving. Maybe one of the Royal family or some icons from the media.

The reporting is typically flawed. 10,000 people dumping plastic food trays and empty drinks bottles,are never going to generate 50 tonnes of waste, even with some contents inside. 5 kg / person, you can't even carry that at the start of the event !

[NickJ]

They want to get littering into the ASEAN Games as the Thais train very hard from an early age...........Its a long handed down National Pastime.

[bluebluewater]

Always and forever my biggest surprise of SE Asia is how they trash their countries . . .

Alas!

[eliotness]

After nearly 5 years here,i have given up worrying or telling Thai's that i am with littering is not good. When i lived before with my ex wife i would go around the house and shop she had over the road picking it up,and putting it in the large bin outside the shop,everyday. I recentley had to go back to get a ladder i had left there,both house and shop where like a tip.However not all Thai people are like this my new girlfriends house,is spotless inside and out ,not even a scrap of cellophane,or plastic straw to be seen.Education is the key,public ad's on tv,teach in the schools not to litter,thinks will change slowly if this is done,but it does not seem an issue at present.

I've helped organise outdoor events in the UK, where large bins were placed all over the field, but at the end of the events the bins are only 1/2 full but the field was covered in litter, including used babies nappies. Littering is a problem all over the world, but in Thailand it seems to be the use of various plastics for food containment that is the major issue. The use of such containers was supposed to be banned at that event, so who neglected their duty to enforce that ban ?

[eliotness]

Always and forever my biggest surprise of SE Asia is how they trash their countries . . . Alas!

Not only do they trash their own countries, if you check marine pollution on the internet, South East Asian (including China) countries are responsible for most of the world's marine pollution. For example, Thailand dumps more rubbish in the seas than the whole of the EU.

[sawadee1947]

pigs in pig's country

[shirtless]

You only need to go off the beaten track to see the real Thailand , and its disgusting.

[cmth]

Not related directly to this festival but one of the biggest issues I see in Thailand is the lack of trash cans. Those of us that don't litter end up searching for a trash can like we're trying to spot Waldo. Many times I just end up with a pocket full of trash. One of the first things I noticed about Thailand compared to the West was the lack of trash cans. Getting people to use them would be a lot easier if you could find one.

[daoyai]

used to see the ones made from old tires, they were cool ,haven't seen one for awhile. ^^^

[Doc46]

,,,That's normal for Thailand Where ever you go you will see that,,,

[slapout]

Not related directly to this festival but one of the biggest issues I see in Thailand is the lack of trash cans. Those of us that don't litter end up searching for a trash can like we're trying to spot Waldo. Many times I just end up with a pocket full of trash. One of the first things I noticed about Thailand compared to the West was the lack of trash cans. Getting people to use them would be a lot easier if you could find one.

Any receptable suitable for and placed in areas for trash desposal willl be stolen as someone will envision having a use someday, even though they do not know what that use will be. The blue plastic 100 liter containers used to mix pesticides by farmers are carried back and forth daily due to theft if left on the farm.

There is someone who buys most anything the bin men/women bring them, except the plactic bags, food to go is handed over in, I have watched those become roadside trash, discarded by the bin people.

[johninbkk]

Whole country is like this, Disgusting

[elgordo38]

Surely its not necessary to eat while you hike !

If they really need to be fed, then before the hike starts!

Water in reusable water flasks , maybe the generous "companies" would like to hand those out instead.

I think I know of a person interested in donating red water flasks emblazoned with a large capital T

[elgordo38]

Why are most Thais litter louts. They would they do this at home, so why do they seem to take pleasure in doing it at festivals.

It needs a role model to make it clear to everyone, farang and Thai, that we have a duty to look after this country. Not a politician, member of the army or police, they would be derided for being self serving. Maybe one of the Royal family or some icons from the media.

The reporting is typically flawed. 10,000 people dumping plastic food trays and empty drinks bottles,are never going to generate 50 tonnes of waste, even with some contents inside. 5 kg / person, you can't even carry that at the start of the event !

Its called Trash Terrorism. They country is being destroyed from within.

[Lannig]

I thought that styrofoam food containers had been banned?

At least where I buy some street food, it's now handed in paper bags instead of the usual foam boxes.

[elgordo38]

Always and forever my biggest surprise of SE Asia is how they trash their countries . . . Alas!

I raised two daughters and they learned from an early age that you do not litter your own nest. Litter prevention should be taught in schools here right up there with how to use a mobile or a tv remote and apply lipstick and nail polish and looking in a mirror for hours. A lot of good your good looks will do you you when your up to your bum in garbage.

[Jeremy50]

used to see the ones made from old tires, they were cool ,haven't seen one for awhile. ^^^

They are ubiquitous in Issan, and most other areas. They can be bought anywhere just about. I don't think that they are much good, as content can be limited, and the lids keep falling off. The modern tall plastic are at least proper bins.

[eddie61]

I am Swiss, and as a 6 year old, we were taught not to litter, or pollute our rivers and lakes. That was 50 years ago.....

The seeds sown then, are reaped now, when despite having among the highest prices in the world, we have a vibrant tourism industry, and we can still swim in the lakes and probably safely drink water from the main rivers. Wealthy Thais love Switzerland, but not sure if Swiss love them, known for dumping litter wherever they go.

Certainly, I would be happy to do the experiment, by drinking a glass of unpurified water out of the Limmat, the main river that flows through Zurich, or the Rhone, that flows into Lake Geneva.

Only a long term strategy of education will pay off!

Edited May 21, 2016 by eddie61

[KhonKaenKowboy]

It's a shame that 1 in 100 in Geneva have HIV. http://lenews.ch/2014/12/08/hiv-infections-down-in-geneva/

[billd766]

pigs in pig's country

Actually that is completely untrue.

Pigs are one of the cleanest animals around but what makes them dirty are the lazy owners who can't be bothered to keep them clean.

When you see them wallowing in the mud it is their way of cooling down and keeping cool.

Did you know that like humans, pigs can get sun burnt and that they can also get heat stroke and die if it is too hot.

[nakhonandy]

It's a shame that 1 in 100 in Geneva have HIV. http://lenews.ch/2014/12/08/hiv-infections-down-in-geneva/

What has this to do with the topic?

It's a shame I am not a billionaire also, but I don't post that drivel.

[eddie61]

It's a shame that 1 in 100 in Geneva have HIV. http://lenews.ch/2014/12/08/hiv-infections-down-in-geneva/

I did say the Rhone that flows INTO lake Geneva I did not say the Rhone as it flows OUT of Lake Geneva......

We have neighbours, not subject to swiss law, on the other shore in that part of the world.... In Zurich, we do not have neighbours, and the river that flows out should be OK.

Edited May 21, 2016 by eddie61

[KhonKaenKowboy]

You should have bothered to read all 8 other posts. A Swiss man had to lecture us on the cleanliness of their gypsy superior citizens. I guess they think they are so clean they can share needles.

[eddie61]

You should have bothered to read all 8 other posts. A Swiss man had to lecture us on the cleanliness of their gypsy superior citizens. I guess they think they are so clean they can share needles.

My point was about long term strategy, starting with EDUCATION.

As a very open society, we have a fair share of the world's other problems, and many of our own homemade problems, but education about pollution is not one of them,