Welcome to paradise - sorry about the rubbish!

[TSF]

Thais like to blame tourism for these garbage problems, shifting the blame onto foreign tourists, but it's Thais themselves who trash their beaches. Go take a look at any popular Thai beach that is used exclusively by Thais, such as Bang Saen beach. Pretty well zero foreigners there, go take a look at 5pm on a Sunday when all the Thais from Bangkok have left. See the mountains of trash they leave behind.

[robertthebruce]

2 minutes ago, carmine said:

 

What time of the year were you here?  And where in Thailand?

 

 

Does it really matter what time of the year he was here...

 

and all over Thailand there is Trash strewn or piled up everywhere , ....

 

Thais don't get the Clean Environment Concept....,  like Safety why bother ??

 

 

[jlwilliamsjr18]

Correction... There are many aspects of Thailand I truly like, but one thing is for certain, I've learned in my 20+ years...it is NOT PARADISE.

[phetphet]

I was driving from Bangrak down the road towards the airport departure terminal the other day. On the left before the turn into the airport there is a rubbish tip. Someone had cut a channel from the tip to the road, and filthy black water that stank to high heaven was flowing across the road. It was like that for several days. I dread to think what is leaching out of that tip.

[newnative]

13 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

So.....what's the issue?

All beaches are similar......

Not true.  Pattaya Beach is remarkably clean, especially considering all the tourists who use it.  I walk the promenade regularly and it usually looks like these pics I took in November.  It's not pristine, there's litter here and there, but it's not filthy.

[Loeilad]

1 hour ago, notmyself said:

 

 

 There are a couple of questions you could ask yourself here.....

 

Is all the garbage you see on beaches from locals or even Thailand - simple answer -  NO!

 

why do people throw their garbage away like this? - Simple answer - there is no proper refuse collection system and disposing of it in any other way would be too costly.

 

[notmyself]

1 minute ago, Loeilad said:

there is no proper refuse collection system and disposing of it in any other way would be too costly.

 

 

Yes. The municipality gives more than enough to do it but it is still not done. Why is that?

[mussy32]

Rubbish is becoming a problem all over Thailand, the people need bins, free bins and many of them at easily reached points for people to dump,,,,and large items also, fridges, mattresses, etc...with maybe bins for plastic, etc...and letting the public know about locations, how is this for helping?  

[Loeilad]

32 minutes ago, bkkgriz said:

However, not a single person will lift a finger and actually do anything about it. All talk, no action.

Garbage disposal needs paying for - paying for it means taxes.

 

It is good to check out the Swedish model for this - some reports exaggerate the whole process but the reality is that countries like Sweden are getting more and more of their energy needs by burning rubbish. Installation is costly but the end results pay for themselves over time and of course the spin-off is good for tourism and other industries that rely on a clean environment.

[Siamfan]

Something that needs to be added-  about 90 percent of the plastic bottles washed on shore are - what a surprise- Vietnamese and Chinese origin... you can clearly see non-Thai language on the stickers or prints on the bottles and cans...  the wind and currents bring it into the gulf....so its NOT only from Thais that dump stuff in Klongs - and not at all from Tourists on the beach... A lot of the small (energy drinks) glass bottles and light bulbs ( to attract squid...) however are dumped from the fishing boats on sea at night... that is really a shame that should and could be directly addressed... Plastic at least doesn't hurt somebody, but broken glass on a sand beach in a tourist destination is a serious problem !

Edited December 20, 2016 by Siamfan
missed something

[tails]

First time I have ever heard a Thai Government official suggest  in any way that Thai's were actually responsible for this nightmare. It's normally the Tourists fault!

 

Could this be a baby step in the right direction? Oh no wait... it's just a news article, not action.

Edited December 20, 2016 by tails

[Loeilad]

41 minutes ago, johnny49r said:

Some people mentioned that folks should simply take their trash to a bin instead of tossing it on the ground.

Anyone seen a bin lately? And if there was one, who would empty this magical bin?

Even the big metropolitan places like malls and the airport have precious few disposal bins. 

 

Thai culture also prevents proper disposal and recycling of trash. I have seen countless adults and children simply toss their trash on the roadside. 

Thais apparently see beauty in a landscape choked with plastic waste. Perhaps I just need attitude adjustment!

not so much "Thai Culture" they simply don't hae a garbage collection infrastructure - which requires taxes.

[Elkski]

40 minutes ago, snoopy21 said:

Not even the beaches! I live at Pattaya. It is a common practice that people dump their trash or even construction wastes and any unwanted items outside from their balcony or leave them in opened space.

to TAT.. and all potential tourists this is what I saw..  my thai lady friends first comment here in the USA is how clean it is...  just no trash 

[Tchooptip]

A picture of Lamai beach yesterday monday december 19, sorry to be a negative person but the beach was clean everywhere , maybe I should not have posted it 

[maddermax]

If you watch the Thais around town you can see that they have no pride in their country as they drop rubbish anywhere and everywhere.  Some years ago the UK Government had a campaign, telling people to 'Have pride in your country' and 'take your rubbish home' which were very successful.  A similar scheme here would be very timely.

[FitnessHealthTravel]

I'm one of the few surfers on this Island. It is surf season and I have often surfed in this corner of Chaweng (south) over the past 10 years. Honestly this is pretty normal for the first rains and storms of the season. Without GENERALISING which I'm about to do I can tell you over 90% of all beach trash comes off the fishing boats. Nets, buoys, broken lights, and other fishing equipment just gets thrown into the sea. The other 10% come from the beach and the storm drains. What's more alarming is Thailand keeps talking about 'looking after the tourists' one of the main reason we get visitors to Koh Samui, especially Chaweng as it has a beautiful beach (most of the time). This trash was and is still there in part a week after I took that photo.

 

Oh yeah...I didn't paddle out that day...obviously.

 

[johnhw]

4 hours ago, fish monger said:

Slobs and pigs....And there isn't any room for argument...! The people here couldn't care less about the environment. And that goes for the past couple hundred years and it's no overnight fix.

Only on TV would you find such overwhelming, stuning,  selective, tunnel-visioned, hypocritical  denial represented by a Westerner calling people here slobs and pigs for their environmental pollution.

[Loeilad]

2 minutes ago, maddermax said:

If you watch the Thais around town you can see that they have no pride in their country as they drop rubbish anywhere and everywhere.  Some years ago the UK Government had a campaign, telling people to 'Have pride in your country' and 'take your rubbish home' which were very successful.  A similar scheme here would be very timely.

If you were around in the 60s in US or Uk will remember exactly the same - it took some massive yet very effective national campaigns to change the public's attitude towards littering. (see the relevant picnic episode of Md Men).

However  unsightly littering may be it isn't the sum total of the problem - although a change of attitude might go a long way to convincing the authorities that they have a responsibility to do something (if they too are litterers how can we expect change?)

 

[superal]

You cannot get away from it , Thailand loves its plastic bags . No matter what you buy in the shops your purchase will be put in a plastic bag . Even 7 -11 put my 1 packet of cigs in a plastic bag . Back in the UK plastic bags are not given out free any more , they have to be bought at 5 pence each and that has proven to be a deterrent . Customers now take their own carrier bags .

[FitnessHealthTravel]

3 minutes ago, Tchooptip said:

A picture of Lamai beach yesterday monday december 19, sorry to be a negative person but the beach was clean everywhere , maybe I should not have posted it 

 

Not sure why you are apologizing for your post. Why...It's not Political Correct to speak your mind. Mate, it is what it is.  The photo you posted is the far south side of Lamai beach and it protected geographically this time of the year from direct storms. The swell and winds change. There are certain places that 'collect' the trash such as South Chaweng. You will also find that just past that rock in the background of your photo the sand disappears almost completely due to the tide and swell direction changes. So parts of the island are beautiful, South Lamai is this time of the year.  Thanks for the pic.

 

 

[FitnessHealthTravel]

4 minutes ago, johnhw said:

Only on TV would you find such overwhelming, stuning,  selective, tunnel-visioned, hypocritical  denial represented by a Westerner calling people here slobs and pigs for their environmental pollution.

 

 

Change will come...ONLY when it is exposed on Social Media and embarresses the Government. Only then they seem to respond. However they also go after the person who compains.  I guess I'll get a visit from them soon.

[Loeilad]

1 minute ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

 

Not sure why you are apologizing for your post. Why...It's not Political Correct to speak your mind. Mate, it is what it is.  The photo you posted is the far south side of Lamai beach and it protected geographically this time of the year from direct storms. The swell and winds change. There are certain places that 'collect' the trash such as South Chaweng. You will also find that just past that rock in the background of your photo the sand disappears almost completely due to the tide and swell direction changes. So parts of the island are beautiful, South Lamai is this time of the year.  Thanks for the pic.

 

 

The beach at Lamai is cleaned - sure - but where do they put the rubbish?? We know they have problems with th incinerator and also the landfill.....on Samui - so in effect all they are doing is saving up the problem for later.

[FitnessHealthTravel]

1 minute ago, Loeilad said:

The beach at Lamai is cleaned - sure - but where do they put the rubbish?? We know they have problems with th incinerator and also the landfill.....on Samui - so in effect all they are doing is saving up the problem for later.

There is landfill stations behind the Court House in the South and at the Airport in the North.  In Australia we call them TIPS. There are also recycling stations in the South behind Wat Kunaran temple in the south where they sort the plastic. There is also another in Chaweng Noi.  That's where is SHOULD go.

[hotchilli]

Good luck in trying to change the mindset of people just throwing garbage onto the road sides or klongs... I've witnessed a thousand times locals & farangs just throwing bottles or plastic bags down on the ground.
Actually where I live Thais are the worst culprits, even throwing trash at the roadside as they ride there motorbikes.
Street vendors dumping rubbish where they stand, with no concern at the impact.
But I still lay the blame at the chiefs, they offer no alternative, no bins, no skips, piss poor collection points.
Also they should provide education within schools to the next generation teach them that they are responsible for their own environment & should lead by example, others will follow.

In my experience if trash bins are provided farangs will use them, however I have witnessed Thais walk past a bin & two metres away throw rubbish on the floor.
 

Edited December 20, 2016 by hotchilli
additional comment

[Elkski]

maybe it would be easier for you to tell me where I can find 200 ft visability?   no sign of fishing or net drags in the sand?  On one dive at Koh PHI PHI  the fun turned into finding 2 oz lead weights.    a healthy variety of reef fish life?  I hear Myramar may be the place?   its not my fault I have dove extensively in the Caribbean.  Cozumel, Roatan. Belize,  Cayman etc. 

Edited December 20, 2016 by Elkski
spelling

[johnhw]

3 minutes ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

 

 

Change will come...ONLY when it is exposed on Social Media and embarresses the Government. Only then they seem to respond. However they also go after the person who compains.  I guess I'll get a visit from them soon.

Agreed. However, calling people here "Slobs and pigs" is ignorand, disgusting, offensive and counterproductive 

[twizzian]

Like all other laws that are not enforced here, 'Fly tipping' will never end..

[fish monger]

5 minutes ago, johnhw said:

Agreed. However, calling people here "Slobs and pigs" is ignorand, disgusting, offensive and counterproductive 

Excuse, but did I say "slobs and pigs".......I meant slobs and pigs...I don't care how ignorant you think that might be, but it's the truth...!

[Tchooptip]

10 minutes ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

 

N

11 minutes ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

 

Not sure why you are apologizing for your post. Why...It's not Political Correct to speak your mind. Mate, it is what it is.  The photo you posted is the far south side of Lamai beach and it protected geographically this time of the year from direct storms. The swell and winds change. There are certain places that 'collect' the trash such as South Chaweng. You will also find that just past that rock in the background of your photo the sand disappears almost completely due to the tide and swell direction changes. So parts of the island are beautiful, South Lamai is this time of the year.  Thanks for the pic.

 

 

ot sure why you are apologizing for your post. Why...It's not Political Correct to speak your mind. Mate, it is what it is.  The photo you posted is the far south side of Lamai beach and it protected geographically this time of the year from direct storms. The swell and winds change. There are certain places that 'collect' the trash such as South Chaweng. You will also find that just past that rock in the background of your photo the sand disappears almost completely due to the tide and swell direction changes. So parts of the island are beautiful, South Lamai is this time of the year.  Thanks for the pic.

 

 

"Not sure why you are apologizing for your post"

Simple: Irony!  ...in this environmental negativism. 

[oyster]

4 hours ago, fish monger said:

Slobs and pigs....And there isn't any room for argument...! The people here couldn't care less about the environment. And that goes for the past couple hundred years and it's no overnight fix.

 

It's a tropical culture thing, for thousands of years everything was wrapped in banana leaves, then paper, fish and chicken served up on wooden sticks..... all very biodegradable, now its all plastic which as we know doesn't.... ban the plastic and about 80% of all refuse will disappear.