Koh Samui mayor wants garbage producers to pay more if they produce more garbage

[robsamui]

The Thai administration is unable to imagine that development and expansion is ongoing. Therefore (once again) - for example - an increased-capacity underwater power cable will be installed in 2018 which is only be barely sufficient for the needs of today. When it is finally installed it still won't be sufficient. However, in this case there won't be any loss of face, as it's the PEA's fault for getting it wrong once again.

 

The same with the vastly overcrowded roads and road fatalities. Since 2004 the volume of vehicles has tripled. Members of Samui Rescue will unofficially admit to at least 20 deaths a month.  But the "official" figures have remained frozen in place, still pinned at 2-3 deaths a month, as they have been for the last 12 years.

But these are things that cant be seen. You can't walk past them and shudder. You can't smell them and retch - unlike the fiasco with the incinerator and the increasing mountains of rotting garbage.

 

Already the situation is beyond the control of the local Samui government. It has been for quite a while now. But that's fine. It's hidden away and can't be seen. Unfortunately now even the Samui Thai people themselves are kicking up a fuss and muttering. So the best thing to do is continue to pretend it's not there - and cover it all over with plastic tarpaulins.

You can tell that the Civic Leader(s) is now in a total flapping panic about it, due to his current public sidestep. Firstly - this is no longer the accumulation of garbage piling up and waiting to be incinerated. It's suddenly become a "landfill" - despite the fact that it's enormously above ground and not in deep holes waiting to be "filled".

Second - his very un-subtle shifting of blame. It's not his fault. He didn't cause it (therefore he should have to fix it, by inference). It's the fault of the hotels and resorts for not paying their garbage collection fees. Of course he hasn't actually come right out and admitted the situation is out of control - right now it is a "problem". And he reckons one of the ways to solve it is by charging the big resorts a few thousand baht more every month. Thus - if they're not paying, it's not his fault that the festering mess is not being addressed and attended to.

 

Sadly, it's gone beyond local and regional abilities now. The only way this is going to get shifted is by our military government taking the initiative and sending in the army with diggers and trucks and garbage boats. And that probably won't happen until the tourist trade is threatened - as several people here have already surmised.

 

It needs just one foreigner to become seriously ill, and their Embassy to declare Samui a health hazard. Then all those uniforms who are fussing about measuring the distance from the sea to the nearest buildings and pulling down overhanging street signs will all be supplemented by a few hundred others with facemasks and shovels.

Until then, all we can do is sit back and watch.

 

 

Edited September 9, 2016 by robsamui

[robsamui]

Maybe this will help prod things along . . . 

 

[inzman]

There is already a budget to deal with this, but the money seems to disappear. So adding more money to the problem will just end up going to the local Benz dealer. The govt should step in and stop the insanity. 

[impulse]

I wonder what would happen if every review of every local hotel on every one of the usual booking websites included a complaint about the stench of garbage?  Or even just a good percentage of them.

 

Not that I'd ever advocate something like that.

[Anythingleft?]

There seems to be a huge avoidance of anyone in the management of these projects to look for outside advice and support from other countries who have expertise in these areas. Utilizing the money available to implement tried and tested methods from elsewhere would IMO seem to be a good start, this for one seems ready for an implosion that will impact them on many levels

[robsamui]

5 hours ago, Anythingleft? said:

There seems to be a huge avoidance of anyone in the management of these projects to look for outside advice and support from other countries who have expertise in these areas. Utilizing the money available to implement tried and tested methods from elsewhere would IMO seem to be a good start, this for one seems ready for an implosion that will impact them on many levels

Face face face face - loss of it.

They would rather suffer plagues of locusts and suppurating boils than 1. admit they need help in the first place and then 2. accept it from a FARANG (shriek!) 

An interesting nation . . . 

[samuijimmy]

Removed the photo image..... misleading as taken off the internet and not on Samui.

 

Come on Rob, you are good at getting your own pictures!