Thais condemned as "fifth worst" polluters of the sea on the planet

[Travel2003]

On 2/9/2017 at 10:40 AM, Jeremy50 said:

I've almost never met a Thai who's the slightest bit interested in the environment, or the problems of deforestation, pollution, or the extinction of animal species. Largely that's because most of Thailand's forests are long gone, and fauna all but disappeared. If it's gone why bother about it? As for trash, it's  in huge piles all around every village in the land, and alongside all the roadsides, so it would be odd for them not to throw it in the sea too.

You beat me to it.

Agree, you can see garbage basically everywhere in Thailand, so surely they dump at sea as well as in the rivers.

[Shawn0000]

20 hours ago, Sakeopete said:

Some of the island like Koh Chang years ago hired companies to remove trash. The would take it out to sea and dump it. Sometimes the boat pilots wanted to save diesel and wouldn't go far enough out and by the next day the trash was on Koh Chang's beach. I don't know if that is still happening but it wouldn't surprise me . 

No, they have an incinerator now, like many islands.

[anotheruser]

20 minutes ago, Shawn0000 said:

No, they have an incinerator now, like many islands.

Do the incinerators work now? I remember reading some story about this problem and garbage stacked up because the incinerator had been out of commission for quite some length of time. 

 

A quick google search gave me this.. is this the incinerator you are talking about? 

 

http://www.samuitimes.com/the-shocking-truth-behind-samuis-garbage-disposal-crisis/

 

I might be mistaken maybe you were referring to Koh Tao?

 

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2016/11/21/koh-tao-alarmed-growing-trash-pile/

 

That is what hasn't already been dumped in the sea.  

 

Edited February 10, 2017 by anotheruser

[anotheruser]

I could be mistaken again you possibly meant Koh Lipe?

 

 

[Shawn0000]

16 minutes ago, anotheruser said:

Do the incinerators work now? I remember reading some story about this problem and garbage stacked up because the incinerator had been out of commission for quite some length of time. 

 

I'm not sure, not been there for a couple of years and to be honest there were big piles of rubbish there at the time.

[Shawn0000]

5 minutes ago, anotheruser said:

I could be mistaken again you possibly meant Koh Lipe?

 

 

 

Thats an example of a good one, cant you see the recycling all sorted in the background, looking real good!

[anotheruser]

Just now, Shawn0000 said:

 

I'm not sure, not been there for a couple of years and to be honest there were big piles of rubbish there at the time.

 

As i said those are piles of garbage before they undoubtedly threw a good portion of it in the sea. according to the article about Samui the incinerator hasn't worked since 2008.

[anotheruser]

Just now, Shawn0000 said:

 

Thats an example of a good one, cant you see the recycling all sorted in the background, looking real good!

Where does the stuff that can't be sold at a profit go on Lipe? Yes I noticed everything worth money has been bundled up.

[Shawn0000]

4 minutes ago, anotheruser said:

Where does the stuff that can't be sold at a profit go on Lipe? Yes I noticed everything worth money has been bundled up.

 

Where does it go anywhere?  Generally in a hole to slowly leach pcbs and other toxins into the soil, there is no perfect solution, one of the biggest differences between here and the West, is that ours is out of sight and out of mind.

[anotheruser]

3 minutes ago, Shawn0000 said:

 

Where does it go anywhere?  Generally in a hole to slowly leach pcbs and other toxins into the soil, there is no perfect solution, one of the biggest differences between here and the West, is that ours is out of sight and out of mind.

You attempted to explain the problem away by saying islands have incinerators. Now you are back tracking the problem of garbage in Thailand is very real. The west isn't perfect in this regard but there is a bit more effort than what is happening here. You should go work for the EPA under Trump if you do not accept this.

 

FWIW the report was about the problem in Thailand and not other places. Nice try at deflection however.

Edited February 10, 2017 by anotheruser

[Shawn0000]

1 minute ago, anotheruser said:

You attempted to explain the problem away by saying islands have incinerators. No you are back tracking the problem of garbage in Thailand is very real. The west isn't perfect in this regard but there is a bit more effort than what is happening here. You should go work for the EPA under Trump of you do not accept this.

Where I come from the solution is to dump it in natural gorge, no one says anything about it because they don't see it.  My point was that we are talking about it because it is in front of us, that might actually be a little better than if it was all quickly being dumped somewhere harmful and no one was even talking about it.  My personal view is that we would progress quicker if they did not get rid of it for us, let us drown in it for a while and then we will all be motivated to stop producing it, while they dump it for us there is little incentive.

[anotheruser]

Just now, Shawn0000 said:

Where I come from the solution is to dump it in natural gorge, no one says anything about it because they don't see it.  My point was that we are talking about it because it is in front of us, that might actually be a little better than if it was all quickly being dumped somewhere harmful and no one was even talking about it.  My personal view is that we would progress quicker if they did not get rid of it for us, let us drown in it for a while and then we will all be motivated to stop producing it, while they dump it for us there is little incentive.

The ocean is just like that gorge. This is what happens when eventually the gorge is full and over fills.

[Seligne2]

1 hour ago, Shawn0000 said:

No, they have an incinerator now, like many islands.

Can you tell me what islands? Samui, no. Tao, no. Lipe, no. Phuket, maybe, Larn, no...

[anotheruser]

1 minute ago, Seligne2 said:

Can you tell me what islands? Samui, no. Tao, no. Lipe, no. Phuket, maybe, Larn, no...

He is just making it up as he goes.

[3NUMBAS]

Micro plastics are now in the food chain when you eat sea foods...Coming to a hospital near you 

[Shawn0000]

1 minute ago, Seligne2 said:

Can you tell me what islands? Samui, no. Tao, no. Lipe, no. Phuket, maybe, Larn, no...

 

Koh Samui has one, it was broken but I heard it is fixed now.

Koh Tao has a broken one.

Koh Phuket has one.

Koh Larn, I doubt it, it is tiny and near to the mainland.

Koh Phi Phi has one

Koh Rang has one

Koh Samet has one

This is boring, there are so many, lots built by NGO's and volunteer groups, some private initiatives and some by the government.

[Shawn0000]

9 minutes ago, anotheruser said:

He is just making it up as he goes.

 

^

[anotheruser]

6 minutes ago, Shawn0000 said:

 

Koh Samui has one, it was broken but I heard it is fixed now.

Koh Tao has a broken one.

Koh Phuket has one.

Koh Larn, I doubt it, it is tiny and near to the mainland.

Koh Phi Phi has one

Koh Rang has one

Koh Samet has one

This is boring, there are so many, lots built by NGO's and volunteer groups, some private initiatives and some by the government.

Yet Thailand is the 5th largest ocean polluters when the population is 20th in the world? A picture says a lot of words and they contradict your every statement. 

 

Also can you find a source that says Phi Phi has one that actually works?

 

You have ruined what ever credibility you had by making such claims.

Edited February 10, 2017 by anotheruser

[ocddave]

What scares me more, is that Thailand isn't the worst polluter, YIKES! I can't even imagine what the other countries above Thailand on this list must be like to win those honors.

[anotheruser]

The pace at which tourism on the island is growing is unsustainable. Proof of that is everywhere one looks. Refuse lays piled up in heaps alongside stretches of certain roads, buzzing with flies. Brown streams of waste snake out of many points along the shore into the majestic water circling Phi Phi, grimly illustrating a losing battle with waste disposal. The island produces 25 to 40 tonnes of waste a DAY depending on the season, but can only afford to ship a portion of that to the mainland for disposal. As a result burning trash, or dumping it into the waters, is a common occurrence.

The ever shifting amorphous sea of tourist faces, emboldened by lack of over sight, and many imbibed brews, appear oblivious to the waste and damage they leave in their wake.

[Shawn0000]

2 minutes ago, anotheruser said:

Yet Thailand is the 5th largest ocean polluters when the population is 20th in the world? A picture says a lot of words and they contradict your every statement. 

In no way has my comment been contradicted by the fact that Thailand dumps a lot of plastic in the sea, they ALSO have a lot of islands with incinerators, was that really that hard to get?  I guess you are deluded into thinking that most of the plastic originates on islands, perhaps as they are also in the sea, I think I am down on your simple level now, right?  In reality a lot of the waste starts off on the mainland and gets washed into the sea by rain through the rivers.

[anotheruser]

2 minutes ago, Shawn0000 said:

In no way has my comment been contradicted by the fact that Thailand dumps a lot of plastic in the sea, they ALSO have a lot of islands with incinerators, was that really that hard to get?  I guess you are deluded into thinking that most of the plastic originates on islands, perhaps as they are also in the sea, I think I am down on your simple level now, right?  In reality a lot of the waste starts off on the mainland and gets washed into the sea by rain through the rivers.

None of the incinerators work are you deaf?

[ChakaKhan]

On 2/8/2017 at 11:27 PM, colinneil said:

Only fifth????

Everywhere you go here you see people throwing plastic away.

Go in any 7/11 you get plastic bags, see mai ow they look at you as if you got 2 heads.

Thais go out  for the day, stop for a picnic everybody gets in the vehicle leaves all the plastic bags polystyrene behind.

They have no consideration what so ever for wildlife.

I will have to say the 7-11 guy up here in cm asks me if i want a bag--so at least

there is ONE thai that works there that is hopefully starting a trend!

[Shawn0000]

4 minutes ago, anotheruser said:

None of the incinerators work are you deaf?

Except they do, I have been to several of the ones on my list and seen them working, you are just making things up.

[ocddave]

2 minutes ago, ChakaKhan said:

I will have to say the 7-11 guy up here in cm asks me if i want a bag--so at least

there is ONE thai that works there that is hopefully starting a trend!

We try to do our best here, we have multiple containers we have them refill when we go out to the markets.

[anotheruser]

Several posts earlier you said you weren't sure and when you visited a few years ago garbage was quite evident. Things haven't improved.

Edited February 10, 2017 by anotheruser

[Shawn0000]

18 minutes ago, anotheruser said:

Yet Thailand is the 5th largest ocean polluters when the population is 20th in the world? A picture says a lot of words and they contradict your every statement. 

 

Also can you find a source that says Phi Phi has one that actually works?

 

You have ruined what ever credibility you had by making such claims.

 

The incinerator works, the staff do not, that is the problem on Phi Phi.  Your credibility was lost a long time ago when you originally failed to understand the most basic of comments and took it as some kind of support of dumping trash, you are clearly quite a simple person.

[anotheruser]

Just now, Shawn0000 said:

 

The incinerator works, the staff do not, that is the problem on Phi Phi.  Your credibility was lost a long time ago when you originally failed to understand the most basic of comments and took it as some kind of support of dumping trash, you are clearly quite a simple person.

If the staff don't work the incinerator isn't operational. Care to do some footwork and google the incinerator for me? I gave articles and sources. 

[anotheruser]

My credibility was lost? Thailand lost credibility when they became one of the worst offenders on the planet as far as polluting the ocean goes. 

[anotheruser]

12 minutes ago, Shawn0000 said:

Except they do, I have been to several of the ones on my list and seen them working, you are just making things up.

You said earlier you hadn't  seen them and were there years ago. Which is it? i can quote you directly that you weren't sure and saw fair amounts of garbage stacking up.

Edited February 10, 2017 by anotheruser