Thailand to junk three kinds of plastic by end of this year

[Zack61]

1 hour ago, mrjohn said:

"Thailand free of plastic"??

 

Thais have been throwing it away for 30 years or more. The soil, the rivers the forests are full of it already. 

 

 

And Thailand is not the worst offender. Indonesia and Cambodia are far worse

[Beggar]

What I ask myself is who throws all the garbage into the see. The plastic might be or is just the part that didn't get dissolved. Are garbage removal companies in many countries behind this? Perhaps a cheap way for them to get rid of it? 

[josephbloggs]

45 minutes ago, Paul Henry said:

More wishfull thinking from the beaurocracy. If my memory serves me right bottle cap seals were to finish last year. What happened to that Government decision.OPPS sorry we forgot to make it happen!

Your memory does not serve you correct. That ban comes in to effect at the end of this year. 

[josephbloggs]

31 minutes ago, Sonhia said:

Much the same as no plastic seal around the neck of a water bottle cap! 

 

More talk... No action as usual... Dribble... 

Sorry to spoil your bash but that ban comes into effect at the end of this year. Sorry to disappoint you. 

 

Dribble. 

[Srikcir]

19 minutes ago, Zack61 said:

And Thailand is not the worst offender. Indonesia and Cambodia are far worse

Albeit 2010 statistics - plastic waste produced per year (rounded):

• Indonesia     5.05 million tons
• Thailand      3.53 million tons
• Vietnam       3.27 million tons
• Philippines   2.57 million tons
• Malaysia       2.03 million tons
• Myanmar       1.37 million tons
• Singapore     0.36 million tons
• Cambodia     0.34 million tons

In comparison:

• China      59.08 million tons
• Japan       8.00 million tons
• Australia   0.90 million tons

https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution

 

[lvr181]

It seems that in the Kingdom, where there is a will there is NO WAY!

 

How do they dispose of plastic waste now? ????

 

Hope they can do it but history points to just another pipe dream. ????

[Prairieboy]

3 hours ago, Phuketshrew said:

Not so long ago 7/11 declared that they would stop the usage of plastic bags. Now I seem to get offered more than ever - sometimes a plastic bag inside a plastic bag. There does not seem to be the will to stop using them as it's the easiest option for the staff.

2 or 3 weeks ago I bought a few things at Tesco Lotus - surprise, surprise they put it in a paper bag.  Every time since then they have used plastic bags as usual.  

 

[chrisinth]

1 hour ago, seancbk said:

 

You probably don't shop everyday in the wet markets where you see housewives with 10+ plastic bags of veggies, fruit and ready cooked food.   You also know they sell drinks in plastic bags each with a plastic straw.
 

 

This is the actual line that I was responding to:

 

"One person uses approximately eight plastic bags a day – or 500 million plastic bags per day for the whole nation"

 

Not the average person, but one person. I was just stating that I don't. Not really concerned what other people do......................

[lvr181]

2 hours ago, Eligius said:

I see, according to the article, that the 'roadmap' is being invoked.

Right - we all know from long experience how accurate and reliable THAT will be!!

 

LARGE holes in either the road or map or both!

[hotchilli]

The day I see Styrofoam or plastic food bags eliminated is the day I believe there's been a change in habits! 

[connda]

I'll believe it when I see it.  The Petro-Chemical industry and retailers will scream.  Probably end-users too.  

 

But a move in the right direction.

[Ulic]

I don't get plastic bags from Makro, and I don't have any problem getting things home. I just bring my back-pack. I do bring my reusable plastic containers when I go to the Jomtien Night market. It brings a puzzled look to the stall operators face, and then a smile. All that said I still use plenty of plastic for fruits, vegetables, and meats I pick up at Makro. As has been pointed out, it is the disposing of these plastics that is the problem. I think the answer is the high-temperature burning and conversion to energy by Sweedish designed/type power plants. Maybe not a perfect solution but as they say "don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good". 

[bbbbooboo]

Hmmm... the more westernised Thailand becomes, the less attractive it is, with less and less western tourists going there. Tell me i’m wrong

[KKr]

2 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Albeit 2010 statistics - plastic waste produced per year (rounded):

• Indonesia     5.05 million tons
• Thailand      3.53 million tons
• Vietnam       3.27 million tons
• Philippines   2.57 million tons
• Malaysia       2.03 million tons
• Myanmar       1.37 million tons
• Singapore     0.36 million tons
• Cambodia     0.34 million tons

In comparison:

• China      59.08 million tons
• Japan       8.00 million tons
• Australia   0.90 million tons

https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution

 

and in per capita numbers that means ?

Also, to keep things in perspective, 949,789 metric tonnes was exported (thus add a few tons for local recycling)  from the USA when China still accepted their garbage.

"
 

An analysis of trade data from the US Census Bureau found that other countries have accepted more plastic scrap.

• In the first six months of 2017, a little over 4,000 metric tonnes of America’s plastic went to Thailand, but the country took in 91,505 metric tonnes of America’s scrap in the same period this year. That’s an increase of 1,985%.
• Malaysia experienced a similar increase, a rise of 273% to 157,299 metric tonnes.
• Vietnam also saw a significant rise, to 71,220 metric tonnes in the first six months of this year.
• Exports to Turkey and South Korea also rose significantly in the same period, to 11,224 metric tonnes and 14,760 metric tonnes, respectively.
• Despite the China ban, Asia remains the main destination for American waste exports. In the first six months of this year, 81% of plastic waste exports from the US went to Asia, a 7% drop on 2017.

"
stats at earlier post # 20

 

[ZeVonderBearz]

13 minutes ago, bbbbooboo said:

Hmmm... the more westernised Thailand becomes, the less attractive it is, with less and less western tourists going there. Tell me i’m wrong

Yes, a country trying to clean up its issue with waste makes it far less attractive. More plastic,more burning and more dirty fuels. That'll make any country more attractive.

[raccos21]

How about the manufacturers and the supplier. They can get rid of it. I don’t think so.

[Donut21]

Good news.  Now the rest of the world follow.

[Jiggo]

6 hours ago, Lupatria said:

I don't think my neighbors will get used to drink straight from the bottle or eat from banana leafs or paper plates within 3 years.

In Vietnam they use reusable bamboo straws in some bars, bloody good idea.

 

[55Jay]

Makro shoppers know they won't be getting any plastic bags.  So they plan accordingly.  I used to pick up a few free cardboard boxes from the bins at Makro.  After a while, I had a nice stack of them at home and they fetch a tidy price at the recycle shop near the house.

[Dek Somboon]

5 hours ago, Phuketshrew said:

Not so long ago 7/11 declared that they would stop the usage of plastic bags. Now I seem to get offered more than ever - sometimes a plastic bag inside a plastic bag. There does not seem to be the will to stop using them as it's the easiest option for the staff.

Absolutely. After touring 8,000 km through Thailand with wifey on 2 separate trips, we came across only one 7/11 where they asked if we need a bag. The others all tried in vain to give us bags - mostly while wearing their green “say no to plastic bags” campaign apron...????????????????‍♂️

[Redline]

Please stop burning plastic as well

[Tropposurfer]

6 hours ago, chrisinth said:

I don't think I have ever used 8 plastic bags in a day. With the exception of any weekend shopping, not even in a week.

 

Now, the second statement above, does this mean that Thailand is responsible for 16% of pollution in all seas? And just to satisfy my curiosity, when the rubbish is collected from our homes, what is the process used to ditch 'most of the plastic' at sea?

 

IMO, unless they have replacements to substitute what they are planning to ban, this is a pipe dream. Even if they do have replacements, expect a price rise across the board to get the money back for a more expensive replacement.

So if we (all peoples collectively) have little impact by use of a few bags per week etc (I imagine this is what you are inferring to your use of bags per week) how can this make an impact on the world ... i.e. it’s just a bit!

nearly 9 billion people on earth.

do a fractional

multiplication of some of these people using say, 4 bags a week and see what number you come up with !!!!

If our individual impact is tiny then why are our rubbish dumps overflowing, our oceans choking, our sewerage systems breaking down because of single use 100,000 + year life plastics clogging the systems.

any, any efforts to change our use of non biodegradable plastic and anything else that’s not biodegradable is a step in the right direction.

How about all us TV readers, members, and posters change how we interact with plastics.

re-use shop bags 

re-usable drink cups n cold drink cups in our carry bags and on our bikes

refuse being given plastic at stalls n vendors present your own biodegradable carry bag.

reuse plastic bags we do get many many times and when no good place in supermarket recycle bins.

if you drive a shit vehicle get rid of it and get the most eco friendly one you can or downgrade to a scooter.

if you go out to buy takeout to eat at home or by the road take a container and ask to have food put in that.

if its a choice between a re-useable plate at a food vendor or two or three layers of plastic and polystyrene choose the plate place. Vendors will get the message quick smart n change service protocols.

its not up to someone else to care, to be stewards of the world we live in, to initiate actions that ultimately are about care of yourself. It is our individual responsibility.

if readers here have kids, grandkids think about this ... do you want your children to not be able to go outside, not be able to swim in the sea, to run and play in parks n fields because they’ll be choking, drowning and face diseases because of the crap we lack the will to change?

 

[Dek Somboon]

4 hours ago, Beggar said:

What I ask myself is who throws all the garbage into the see. The plastic might be or is just the part that didn't get dissolved. Are garbage removal companies in many countries behind this? Perhaps a cheap way for them to get rid of it? 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stemming-the-plastic-tide-10-rivers-contribute-most-of-the-plastic-in-the-oceans/

[kkerry]

5 hours ago, Benmart said:

I carry my own reusable bags in my "man purse" and have two in the car. Rarely do I see anyone using the same during my daily trip to Big C.

I carry a thin nylon bag that folds small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. To this day I still encounter surprised looks from cashiers at supermarkets when I ask them to use it. A few times at the local market I've heard other customers asking the girl who runs the fruit stall what is the foreigner doing, when she puts my purchases in my supplied bag rather than a couple more plastic bags. Apparently I am also her only customer who doesn't require pink salt with cut pineapple...

[Dek Somboon]

4 hours ago, Zack61 said:

And Thailand is not the worst offender. Indonesia and Cambodia are far worse

Thailand is in the world’s top 5: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hannahleung/2018/04/21/five-asian-countries-dump-more-plastic-than-anyone-else-combined-how-you-can-help/#6f816d821234

[Darkside Gray]

I thought the great leader banned plastic cap seals last 2 years ago?

[Too young to be old]

8 hours ago, Bipolar said:

Seriously, this is simply stupid. Another manner in which Thailand is bending over to farang influence. Plastics are not the problem, it is the way that it is disposed. I like to see how the locals start disposing their rubbish and waste without plastic bags and most juristic maids will have a tough time cleaning the common areas. Maybe what I will do, is whenever I see a farang, simply discard my dirt at them! These so called climate friendly hypocrites. I really hate it when Asian countries are subjected to farang rules....if these farangs do not like anything, please do not stay in Asia...go back to where you came from.

 

The sea moves and rubbish thrown in the sea moves around the world. This is a world-wide problem. To call it farang rules is just silly. In the UK after free plastic bags were banned, usage dropped by 83%, from almost 8 billion to just over 2billion a year. Isn't that a good thing?

[Too young to be old]

2 hours ago, Donut21 said:

Good news.  Now the rest of the world follow.

The West started years ago.

[natway09]

Thank you B Polar It is not the plastic itself it is how us idiots dispose of it

[Phatbeets]

lol I see its still April Fool's Day in LOS.

 

Absolutely nothing has changed in any 7/11 or any food stall I have seen.

 

The mentalities are not yet ready, get it? - they need another 20 y  so cha chaaa every body, please

 

thx