Samui’s garbage problem is getting out of control

[sawadee1947]

" I have the power. I can do what I will"

Something was said by that Soldier.

So, why not use your ultimate power to solve that problem?

And don't come with solutions as burn it or wash it into the ocean.....

[lvr181]

7 minutes ago, sawadee1947 said:

" I have the power. I can do what I will"

Something was said by that Soldier.

So, why not use your ultimate power to solve that problem?

And don't come with solutions as burn it or wash it into the ocean.....

Sadly that is not going to happen. There is no, or very little, acceptance of effective common sense farang thinking (or solutions) in Thailand! 

 

How can you think such thoughts?   You're a 'bad' person.  

[sawadee1947]

24 minutes ago, lvr181 said:

Sadly that is not going to happen. There is no, or very little, acceptance of effective common sense farang thinking (or solutions) in Thailand! 

 

How can you think such thoughts?   You're a 'bad' person.  

Mea Culpa. Sorry. I seem to be a fool

[elgenon]

17 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Push it to one edge of the island, then out to sea & start a new island !!

Yes, incinerating causes air pollution. Put it on barges and heave ho.

 

One would think when you are planning a tourism area to have things figured out. But money flows in mysterious ways.

[zaZa9]

1 hour ago, elgenon said:

Yes, incinerating causes air pollution. Put it on barges and heave ho.

 

One would think when you are planning a tourism area to have things figured out. But money flows in mysterious ways.

Sadly , trucking it to big barges , shipping it to the mainland , and trucking it to yet another land site causes  near as much air pollution and does not get rid of the problem. Since simple economics makes ( poor ) Thais pretty efficient recyclers at the trash bin level , Im guessing there isnt a lot of plastic/aluminium/glass in this stockpile anyway. The solution is probably to get the incinerator going again asap and run it 24/7. Sure residents will complain , the stench must have them complaining already , but the need to stop this ticking time bomb is paramount...

[longtom]

My Thai partner is very ashamed about such things, she suggested that Thailand (or at least Samui) should be sold to another country, preferably Switzerland, they would ensure good maintenance. 

.

[lvr181]

9 hours ago, elgenon said:

Yes, incinerating causes air pollution. Put it on barges and heave ho.

 

One would think when you are planning a tourism area to have things figured out. But money flows in mysterious ways.

"But money flows in mysterious ways."   Not really - it just keeps flowing upwards 

[lvr181]

7 hours ago, longtom said:

My Thai partner is very ashamed about such things, she suggested that Thailand (or at least Samui) should be sold to another country, preferably Switzerland, they would ensure good maintenance. 

.

"...she suggested that Thailand (or at least Samui) should be sold to another country,..."  Too late, it has already been 'sold' to China.

[ttrd]

RE - it’s 30-rai landfill now holding more than 200,000 tons of accumulated garbage

 

Just to take a shower with water from a drilled well on this island would require a radiation protection suit - saved by the bell last year when the freshwater pipeline from shore was connected...

 

The island may be a ticking bomb when it comes to epidemic eruptions...

[Samuiclaudia]

My original thread seems to have disappeared.  My point is that the local authorities are removing public dustbin bins which is leading to garbage being left on the roadsides.  Removing bins is not going solve the problem - in fact it will only make it worse.  People have to discard rubbish.  The beautiful island, Koh Samui,  will become a tourist eyesore and may prevent tourists from returning.  

[Tropicalevo]

1 hour ago, Samuiclaudia said:

My original thread seems to have disappeared.  My point is that the local authorities are removing public dustbin bins which is leading to garbage being left on the roadsides.  Removing bins is not going solve the problem - in fact it will only make it worse.  People have to discard rubbish.  The beautiful island, Koh Samui,  will become a tourist eyesore and may prevent tourists from returning.  

You need to understand the basic principal here.

 

Collecting garbage requires money. Money for people, garbage trucks, incinerator plants etc.

 

There are NO land taxes, house taxes, community taxes or council taxes in Thailand. The ONLY money for collecting garbage comes from the monthly fee that we should all pay. If you do not pay - do not complain. The government has decided to remove the bins because very few people are paying. It is NOT a government problem - they do not create the piles of garbage. Residents and tourists do that. If you pay the tax, you can put a bin on the road near your property. Soon, all of your neighbours and some people from further away (who do not pay the tax) will dump their garbage in your bin - creating a huge eyesore. The government will see that one person is paying but many many are dumping garbage, ergo the bin gets removed.

 

Until all residents admit to themselves that we are the problem (it is our garbage) and sign up to pay the garbage tax, this issue will not be resolved.

 

The old, over-used excuse that 'I only rent, it is my landlord's problem' is incorrect. It is YOUR garbage - YOUR problem.

 

The tax is due on each individual property. A landlord with 6 bungalows would have to pay for the tax x 6. Hotels and commercial properties have a different agreement and usually pay larger sums of money for garbage disposal.

 

To take your comment - "People have to discard rubbish." Yes. And they should pay to have it removed! This is a worl-wide princilpal.

 

I charge my customers for garbage removal and I pay the taxes on their behalf.

[Tropicalevo]

Just now, Tropicalevo said:

You need to understand the basic principal here.

 

Collecting garbage requires money. Money for people, garbage trucks, incinerator plants etc.

 

There are NO land taxes, house taxes, community taxes or council taxes in Thailand. The ONLY money for collecting garbage comes from the monthly fee that we should all pay. If you do not pay - do not complain. The government has decided to remove the bins because very few people are paying. It is NOT a government problem - they do not create the piles of garbage. Residents and tourists do that. If you pay the tax, you can put a bin on the road near your property. Soon, all of your neighbours and some people from further away (who do not pay the tax) will dump their garbage in your bin - creating a huge eyesore. The government will see that one person is paying but many many are dumping garbage, ergo the bin gets removed.

 

Until all residents admit to themselves that we are the problem (it is our garbage) and sign up to pay the garbage tax, this issue will not be resolved.

 

The old, over-used excuse that 'I only rent, it is my landlord's problem' is incorrect. It is YOUR garbage - YOUR problem.

 

The tax is due on each individual property. A landlord with 6 bungalows would have to pay for the tax x 6. Hotels and commercial properties have a different agreement and usually pay larger sums of money for garbage disposal.

 

To take your comment - "People have to discard rubbish." Yes. And they should pay to have it removed! This is a world-wide principal.

 

I charge my customers for garbage removal and I pay the taxes on their behalf.

 

[Tropicalevo]

On 02/09/2017 at 11:51 AM, longtom said:

My Thai partner is very ashamed about such things, she suggested that Thailand (or at least Samui) should be sold to another country, preferably Switzerland, they would ensure good maintenance. 

.

And you would all HAVE to pay the appropriate taxes or go to gaol.

 

Your Thai partner should not be ashamed - she should just encourage everyone to pay the garbage tax. Do you pay it?

[longtom]

2 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

And you would all HAVE to pay the approprate taxes or go to gaol.

 

Your Thai partner should not be ashamed - she should just encourage everyone to pay the gabage tax. Do you pay it?

 

First she was ashamed about the story with the incinerator, how they let if fall into disrepair because the money for maintenance went into politicians pockets and Samui is in a f$%#ed up situation because of that.

 

Yes we pay dilligently every month for our shop. We rent our home all inclusive, fixed price including water/electricity and as we assume also garbage fee. It is really not up to us to ask our house owner about whether he pays, the family is extremely rich and owns many property and a chain of gold shops.

 

I must say though that the very nice lady who collects the garbage fee told us many times about her problems with collecting the fee from Thais, many refuse to pay and abuse her verbally in the process, she seems really depressed about that. But again that's the duty of the Thessaban to enforce payment.

 

And finally, they recently removed the last public bin in Nathon, in front of the Seatran ferry ticket and queuing area. For quite some time everybody here has to put out the garbage at a certain time, around 6PM, all in plastic bags which are of course often torn apart by dogs. To be fair, this bags are collected diligently every evening/night,but I think thats not the same everywhere on the island.

 

And of course all Tourists have nowhere to dispose of their garbage except maybe at some 7/11s.

 

[longtom]

39 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

And you would all HAVE to pay the appropriate taxes or go to gaol.

 

Your Thai partner should not be ashamed - she should just encourage everyone to pay the garbage tax. Do you pay it?

Since you posted the same in the other thread I will post my answer here also:

 

First she was ashamed about the story with the incinerator, how they let if fall into disrepair because the money for maintenance went into politicians pockets and Samui is in a f$%#ed up situation because of that.

 

Yes we pay dilligently every month for our shop. We rent our home all inclusive, fixed price including water/electricity and as we assume also garbage fee. It is really not up to us to ask our house owner about whether he pays, the family is extremely rich and owns many property and a chain of gold shops.

 

I must say though that the very nice lady who collects the garbage fee told us many times about her problems with collecting the fee from Thais, many refuse to pay and abuse her verbally in the process, she seems really depressed about that. But again that's the duty of the Thessaban to enforce payment.

 

And finally, they recently removed the last public bin in Nathon, in front of the Seatran ferry ticket and queuing area. For quite some time everybody here has to put out the garbage at a certain time, around 6PM, all in plastic bags which are of course often torn apart by dogs. To be fair, this bags are collected diligently every evening/night,but I think thats not the same everywhere on the island.

 

And of course all Tourists have nowhere to dispose of their garbage except maybe at some 7/11s.

 

[Samui Bodoh]

46 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

You need to understand the basic principal here.

 

Collecting garbage requires money. Money for people, garbage trucks, incinerator plants etc.

 

There are NO land taxes, house taxes, community taxes or council taxes in Thailand. The ONLY money for collecting garbage comes from the monthly fee that we should all pay. If you do not pay - do not complain. The government has decided to remove the bins because very few people are paying. It is NOT a government problem - they do not create the piles of garbage. Residents and tourists do that. If you pay the tax, you can put a bin on the road near your property. Soon, all of your neighbours and some people from further away (who do not pay the tax) will dump their garbage in your bin - creating a huge eyesore. The government will see that one person is paying but many many are dumping garbage, ergo the bin gets removed.

 

Until all residents admit to themselves that we are the problem (it is our garbage) and sign up to pay the garbage tax, this issue will not be resolved.

 

The old, over-used excuse that 'I only rent, it is my landlord's problem' is incorrect. It is YOUR garbage - YOUR problem.

 

The tax is due on each individual property. A landlord with 6 bungalows would have to pay for the tax x 6. Hotels and commercial properties have a different agreement and usually pay larger sums of money for garbage disposal.

 

To take your comment - "People have to discard rubbish." Yes. And they should pay to have it removed! This is a worl-wide princilpal.

 

I charge my customers for garbage removal and I pay the taxes on their behalf.

 

Collecting garbage does require money; we agree on that.

 

"There are NO land taxes, house taxes, community taxes or council taxes in Thailand. The ONLY money for collecting garbage comes from the monthly fee that we should all pay. If you do not pay - do not complain." I do pay, so please do not tell me not to complain. Fair enough if the monthly fee is the sole source of cash (I do not buy that), in that case the government should set up another revenue stream. Whingeing, sitting in their air-conditioned offices and doing nothing is NOT an answer. Solving problems is.

 

"The government has decided to remove the bins because very few people are paying." This is the response of a four-year old. Why not work to solve the problem rather than 'take their ball and go home'? Solve the problem.

 

"It is NOT a government problem - they do not create the piles of garbage. Residents and tourists do that." This is absolute nonsense! The government has been pushing endlessly for increases in tourism, tourist dollars and tourist numbers. Garbage is a by-product of mass tourism; if you push for increased numbers and revenue, then you also need to deal with the residual problems. Saying that the government doesn't have anything to do with the hundreds of thousands of people who visit Koh Samui is utter nonsense. Solve the problem.

 

"If you pay the tax, you can put a bin on the road near your property. Soon, all of your neighbours and some people from further away (who do not pay the tax) will dump their garbage in your bin - creating a huge eyesore. The government will see that one person is paying but many many are dumping garbage, ergo the bin gets removed." The answer is NOT to take away the bins like a four-year old child losing at a game; the answer is to work with the community to solve the problem. Government is there to assist and work with the community, not come up with some BS juvenile punishment. Solve the problem.

 

"Until all residents admit to themselves that we are the problem (it is our garbage) and sign up to pay the garbage tax, this issue will not be resolved." I would say that residents are PART of the problem, but that tourists are a MUCH MUCH bigger part. Set a tax on hotel rooms to pay for garbage. Add 100 Baht to plane tickets. There are several possible solutions, but choosing to do nothing to make everything worse is a STUPID way to deal with a problem. Solve the problem.

 

"The old, over-used excuse that 'I only rent, it is my landlord's problem' is incorrect. It is YOUR garbage - YOUR problem." Garbage fees should be included in rent. Let the government set up a campaign to do this. Easy to do. Solve the problem.

 

"The tax is due on each individual property. the tax is due on the property." As above, include garbage fees in the price of rent. Solve the problem.

 

"I charge my customers for garbage removal and I pay the taxes on their behalf." You are doing the right thing. Why not encourage others to do the same? Solve the problem.

 

You have the right idea that garbage is a problem, and that it needs funds to be dealt with.

 

However, this idea that the government only has a passive role, sitting on its ass denying people service if they don't voluntarily pay is complete and utter nonsense. People don't pay taxes voluntarily anywhere in the world; there is a reason every country/state/province/municipality has a tax collection department. Further, the question needs to be asked; what has happened to all the money that has been collected and/or allocated to Koh Samui for the last several years? We have an incinerator; what happened to the funds for that? Why isn't it fixed? Where did the money go?

 

There is also this idea that the government has no responsibility for this matter. The government has been promoting Koh Samui on a global basis for years and years, and has helped develop the island into a place of mass tourism which brings in billions (I don't know how much) of Baht to the country. The least that it can do is use a small portion of that money to fund some public services on the island itself. The idea that only the residents have responsibility is complete and utter crap!

 

Solve the bloody problem!

 

[sambum]

3 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

 

Collecting garbage does require money; we agree on that.

 

"There are NO land taxes, house taxes, community taxes or council taxes in Thailand. The ONLY money for collecting garbage comes from the monthly fee that we should all pay. If you do not pay - do not complain." I do pay, so please do not tell me not to complain. Fair enough if the monthly fee is the sole source of cash (I do not buy that), in that case the government should set up another revenue stream. Whingeing, sitting in their air-conditioned offices and doing nothing is NOT an answer. Solving problems is.

 

"The government has decided to remove the bins because very few people are paying." This is the response of a four-year old. Why not work to solve the problem rather than 'take their ball and go home'? Solve the problem.

 

"It is NOT a government problem - they do not create the piles of garbage. Residents and tourists do that." This is absolute nonsense! The government has been pushing endlessly for increases in tourism, tourist dollars and tourist numbers. Garbage is a by-product of mass tourism; if you push for increased numbers and revenue, then you also need to deal with the residual problems. Saying that the government doesn't have anything to do with the hundreds of thousands of people who visit Koh Samui is utter nonsense. Solve the problem.

 

"If you pay the tax, you can put a bin on the road near your property. Soon, all of your neighbours and some people from further away (who do not pay the tax) will dump their garbage in your bin - creating a huge eyesore. The government will see that one person is paying but many many are dumping garbage, ergo the bin gets removed." The answer is NOT to take away the bins like a four-year old child losing at a game; the answer is to work with the community to solve the problem. Government is there to assist and work with the community, not come up with some BS juvenile punishment. Solve the problem.

 

"Until all residents admit to themselves that we are the problem (it is our garbage) and sign up to pay the garbage tax, this issue will not be resolved." I would say that residents are PART of the problem, but that tourists are a MUCH MUCH bigger part. Set a tax on hotel rooms to pay for garbage. Add 100 Baht to plane tickets. There are several possible solutions, but choosing to do nothing to make everything worse is a STUPID way to deal with a problem. Solve the problem.

 

"The old, over-used excuse that 'I only rent, it is my landlord's problem' is incorrect. It is YOUR garbage - YOUR problem." Garbage fees should be included in rent. Let the government set up a campaign to do this. Easy to do. Solve the problem.

 

"The tax is due on each individual property. the tax is due on the property." As above, include garbage fees in the price of rent. Solve the problem.

 

"I charge my customers for garbage removal and I pay the taxes on their behalf." You are doing the right thing. Why not encourage others to do the same? Solve the problem.

 

You have the right idea that garbage is a problem, and that it needs funds to be dealt with.

 

However, this idea that the government only has a passive role, sitting on its ass denying people service if they don't voluntarily pay is complete and utter nonsense. People don't pay taxes voluntarily anywhere in the world; there is a reason every country/state/province/municipality has a tax collection department. Further, the question needs to be asked; what has happened to all the money that has been collected and/or allocated to Koh Samui for the last several years? We have an incinerator; what happened to the funds for that? Why isn't it fixed? Where did the money go?

 

There is also this idea that the government has no responsibility for this matter. The government has been promoting Koh Samui on a global basis for years and years, and has helped develop the island into a place of mass tourism which brings in billions (I don't know how much) of Baht to the country. The least that it can do is use a small portion of that money to fund some public services on the island itself. The idea that only the residents have responsibility is complete and utter crap!

 

Solve the bloody problem!

 

Good post - answers and comments!

[carmine]

This island has become one big rubbish tip. As are many of the beaches, thankfully not all.   Although, judging from the photos circulating on beaches in Pattaya, they are to my astonishment filthier than ours.

 

Still no chance the Thais can adopt the Malaysian MO of beautifully clean beaches.  I guess they've cottoned on the the fact tourists prefer garbage free beaches.

[YetAnother]

On 9/1/2017 at 4:58 PM, Pinot said:

Thais never do anything till they have to...or it's too late. 

and perhaps not even then

[farang62]

Time to lease a High temperature incinerator and start burning the piles of garbage before the  ground water is contaminated.

 

Have to start some where, do something the problem will not go away by it's self.

 

Naysayers will abound about the burning and air pollution, better than pollution of our oceans.

 

No One want to do anything!

 

[observer90210]

Not to worry....

 

...with all the semi-nude shirtless farangs who will be caught smoking on the beach, the 100'000 THB fines enforced, there will be enough money to send out the garbage pile, by air-mail to China for recycling or disposal.

[sambum]

Just now, observer90210 said:

Not to worry....

 

...with all the semi-nude shirtless farangs who will be caught smoking on the beach, the 100'000 THB fines enforced, there will be enough money to send out the garbage pile, by air-mail to China for recycling or disposal.

The same thing will probably happen to it as the last time money was provided to solve the problem.

[Brother3579]

Year 2012? What the heck isMayor do sth about it? I dont think so.

Incompetent he is, if it is beyond yr interllectual resignation is an best option. How much this island have accumulated income ? Shame on authorities

[zaZa9]

Can someone who knows about it , start a crowd funding for getting the incinerator working again  please?

[Green Phoenix Energy]

On 9/28/2017 at 4:36 AM, mark01 said:

Someone's "spies" are not that great are they? 555.

 

On 9/29/2017 at 6:11 AM, sambum said:

Good post - answers and comments!

 

On 9/1/2017 at 9:00 AM, wvavin said:

Check the Samui government officials' family bank accounts and the answer is there!

I would be curious of where the money is going, But they can't even find a Billionaire "Boss" or an Ex PM (or two)

 

[observer90210]

The saddest bit is that for the fraction of the cost for a submarine, a brand new high tech incinerator could be set up and maintained for the next decades.

[sambum]

25 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

The saddest bit is that for the fraction of the cost for a submarine, a brand new high tech incinerator could be set up and maintained for the next decades.

Indeed, but that's not "toys for the boys"! And when you can't hide for long in an incinerator!

[wakeupplease]

On 9/1/2017 at 10:34 AM, hotchilli said:

Push it to one edge of the island, then out to sea & start a new island !!

Push the island into the sea and then no more tourists to rip off and blame, job done.

[sambum]

52 minutes ago, wakeupplease said:

Push the island into the sea and then no more tourists to rip off and blame, job done.

Been thinking of that solution for a while?