Fight against garbage in the ocean starts at individual level: Greenpeace

[webfact]

Fight against garbage in the ocean starts at individual level: Greenpeace
By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM
THE NATION

 

 

BANGKOK: -- SOLUTIONS to the massive garbage “islands” floating off Thailand start at the individual level, but government policy and regulation is also needed, officials and environmentalists have said.

 

Earlier this month, pictures of large amounts of garbage floating in the sea spread on social networks and sparked public concern about a chronic but often forgotten problem affecting Thai marine resources. Government authorities and the environmental group Greenpeace agree that both public and private measures must be implemented to counter this problem.

 

Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaign director Tara Buakamsri said the garbage problem was very serious and urged sustainable solutions that start at the individual level.

 

“I myself did not really realise how serious this problem was until I saw the picture of floating piles of garbage,” Tara said. “I understand that this is only a fragment of the garbage that ends up in the sea, as a study has found that one out of every 100 pieces of garbage will be washed into the sea.”

 

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30307347

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-02-27

[doremifasol]

 

The Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaign director 

 did not really realize how serious this problem was .....

 

[fruitman]

And has Tara also seen what huge cars the Thai drive, (if there's no congestion at least) or how they dispose (read burn) old batteries??

 

And what does Tara think of the smog in China? Yes that's because westerners love to import everything from their factories.

 

Thailand should stop buying cheap lowquality plastic products which are broken in a few months...better buy high quality which lasts many years.

[Brer Fox]

Here's a novel idea. Deposit legislation.

Taken from Wikepedia:

Container-deposit legislation is any law that requires collection of a monetary deposit on soft-drink, juice, milk, water, alcoholic-beverage, and/or other reusable packaging at the point of sale. When the container is returned to an authorized redemption center, or to the original seller in some jurisdictions, the deposit is partly or fully refunded to the redeemer (presumed to be the original purchaser). It is a deposit-refund system.

Governments may pass container deposit legislation for several reasons:

• To encourage recycling and complement existing curbside recycling programs, to reduce energy and material usage for containers
• To specifically reduce beverage container litter along highways, in lakes and rivers, and on other public or private properties (where beverage container litter occurs, a nominal deposit provides an economic incentive to clean it up; this is in fact a significant source of income to some poor individuals and non-profit civic organizations)
• To discourage the purchase of the products by raising their initial price, (eg Thailand sugar consumption)
• To extend the usable lifetime of taxpayer-supported community or regional landfills, and
• To protect children and animals by reducing the likelihood of glass lacerations.
• To not depend on commercial entities for recycling. The commercial interests can oppose the recycling for various reasons, although they may have an incentive to reduce the packaging cost, and voluntarily, e.g., by competition, introduce a refund for recycled containers. And the refund policy may be less than just, e.g., no refund without new purchase.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container_deposit_legislation

[fxe1200]

All solutions to fight these problems are known. And to kill the "mai pen rai" attitude towards avoidable waste, Prajuth needs to pull his famous article 44 out of his pocket. Or nothing will change in this land full of uneducated and ignorant folks.

[outsider]

Fight against garbage starts at individual level - PERIOD. Doesn't matter if it's in the ocean or on land.

[kiwikeith]

2 hours ago, Brer Fox said:

Here's a novel idea. Deposit legislation.

Taken from Wikepedia:

Container-deposit legislation is any law that requires collection of a monetary deposit on soft-drink, juice, milk, water, alcoholic-beverage, and/or other reusable packaging at the point of sale. When the container is returned to an authorized redemption center, or to the original seller in some jurisdictions, the deposit is partly or fully refunded to the redeemer (presumed to be the original purchaser). It is a deposit-refund system.

Governments may pass container deposit legislation for several reasons:

• To encourage recycling and complement existing curbside recycling programs, to reduce energy and material usage for containers
• To specifically reduce beverage container litter along highways, in lakes and rivers, and on other public or private properties (where beverage container litter occurs, a nominal deposit provides an economic incentive to clean it up; this is in fact a significant source of income to some poor individuals and non-profit civic organizations)
• To discourage the purchase of the products by raising their initial price, (eg Thailand sugar consumption)
• To extend the usable lifetime of taxpayer-supported community or regional landfills, and
• To protect children and animals by reducing the likelihood of glass lacerations.
• To not depend on commercial entities for recycling. The commercial interests can oppose the recycling for various reasons, although they may have an incentive to reduce the packaging cost, and voluntarily, e.g., by competition, introduce a refund for recycled containers. And the refund policy may be less than just, e.g., no refund without new purchase.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container_deposit_legislation

 

When I was a young lad I never went hungry , even though we were very poor my mother raised four of us with no father to help.

I always had money and made this by collecting refundable bottles and cashing them in.

Australia has refundable beer bottles now.

bring back the glass bottles , get rid of the plastic, stop handing out plastic bags and straws that become garbage instantly, get people to take a shopping bag to the supermarket just like our old Mums did years ago.

Enlight the enlightened ones who could not have the courage to take on the mongrels producing plastic garbage by the tonne.

 

Make every country accountable for cleaning up the ocean as this is a very serious problem more serious than the amount of attention given to this hideous pollution that is entering the food chain through fish that eat and absorb the chemicals from plastic worthless crap.

[elgordo38]

4 hours ago, Brer Fox said:

Here's a novel idea. Deposit legislation.

Taken from Wikepedia:

Container-deposit legislation is any law that requires collection of a monetary deposit on soft-drink, juice, milk, water, alcoholic-beverage, and/or other reusable packaging at the point of sale. When the container is returned to an authorized redemption center, or to the original seller in some jurisdictions, the deposit is partly or fully refunded to the redeemer (presumed to be the original purchaser). It is a deposit-refund system.

Governments may pass container deposit legislation for several reasons:

• To encourage recycling and complement existing curbside recycling programs, to reduce energy and material usage for containers
• To specifically reduce beverage container litter along highways, in lakes and rivers, and on other public or private properties (where beverage container litter occurs, a nominal deposit provides an economic incentive to clean it up; this is in fact a significant source of income to some poor individuals and non-profit civic organizations)
• To discourage the purchase of the products by raising their initial price, (eg Thailand sugar consumption)
• To extend the usable lifetime of taxpayer-supported community or regional landfills, and
• To protect children and animals by reducing the likelihood of glass lacerations.
• To not depend on commercial entities for recycling. The commercial interests can oppose the recycling for various reasons, although they may have an incentive to reduce the packaging cost, and voluntarily, e.g., by competition, introduce a refund for recycled containers. And the refund policy may be less than just, e.g., no refund without new purchase.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container_deposit_legislation

Well Brer you laid it out pretty well. You and I know the answers now how do we do a seismic shift to Thai thinking. I have read of foreigners doing beach cleanups and the Thai's sit there and laugh at them. Very few Thai's seem to grasp the seriousness of pollution and its consequences. Schools should have more nature trips to the beach give the students each a garbage bag and have at it. Give incentives for the best collector. Analyse what people are throwing away and have a subjective discussion. Then you must have the attention of the packaging producers and after all they are a business that wants to sell more not less. Passing on a clean planet is just not in most peoples DNA. Then you have a newly elected president that wants to dismantle the EPA and put coal workers back to work as the Tarot card reader said the "the cards have no answers"

[Travel2003]

A comment to the title only.....wrong wrong and more wrong.

The individuals (no matter where) would not care less about anything else than the individual and family.

It starts at the highest level in a country, and is handed down to the educational system and then justice. 

Then the 3 oldest generations must first die, together with their deep rooted attitudes, and one can make good progress.

 

 

 

[drgoon]

 

 

In some locations there is already an awareness of the effects of pollution

 

Most of the rubbish around our immediate area is handled reasonably well.  

 

There is a lot of recycling of anything useable although there are still small random deposits of household refuse.

 

Industrial pollution is a big issue as we all know. Thailand is no better than many countries and worse than some.

 

When I use term industrial pollution I mean dumping of rubbish from industrial use in the countryside.  An example would be the cement truck driver cleaning his agitator out into the drain on the roadside. 

 

There are many other examples and I'm sure you all understand what I'm talking about.

 

Greenpeace is correct though. Pollution mamagement starts with the individual. As a previous post mentions, education of children at an early age is important in changing attitudes to the environment and sustainability.