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


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What container or tray will the market stallholder use when I buy my mango and sticky rice with the sachet of coconut milk ? 

No bags at the supermarket checkout , just buy a bundle of bin bags , simple.

Just take a couple of old socks to carry the cucumbers.

Perhaps mother-in-law's old bra to  carry the water melons.

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9 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.

You seem to have missed the point. Many countries around the world finally realize that we can't continue consuming plastics as we have done in the past. These are a serious threat to the environment. 

It's not a "farang" or Asian issue, it's an issue every single one of us face today and our children tomorrow. 

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22 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.

I'm prepared to pay a little extra.

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14 hours ago, Humpy said:

What container or tray will the market stallholder use when I buy my mango and sticky rice with the sachet of coconut milk ? 

No bags at the supermarket checkout , just buy a bundle of bin bags , simple.

Just take a couple of old socks to carry the cucumbers.

Perhaps mother-in-law's old bra to  carry the water melons.

paper or a bagasse tray

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Definitely no need to wait 11 years, to ban all of the above. Especially those styrofoam food containers. They are horrific. In the US they are now made out of recycled paper. That is the way to go. And plastic bags? That will be a rude shock to the average Thai, when they are not allowed anymore.

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29 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Definitely no need to wait 11 years, to ban all of the above. Especially those styrofoam food containers. They are horrific. In the US they are now made out of recycled paper. That is the way to go. And plastic bags? That will be a rude shock to the average Thai, when they are not allowed anymore.

Plastic bags are not going any where....Plastic bags are here to stay...Plastic is good....

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My Thai relatives think what you wrote is so ridiculous that you must be trolling farangs to see what nastiness you can provoke from them.  Lots of farangs love this country.  We pay our taxes and we support our families.  Our blood is here and we support what is good for this land.  

 

Consider all the oil wasted making plastic bags to just throw away.  That oil is actually irreplaceable chemical feedstock to create fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, equipment, and other supplies.  Just say no to the damn bags at 7 when you run in for a water or whatever.  And far from throwing your trash at me, you are wallowing in it.  Your beautiful country has lots of dirty little dumps down at the end of the soi or along the canals, and the dogs root through the trash and the winds grabs the discarded bags and waft  them up into the trees where they blossom like some bizarre flower whose only fruit is ugliness.   I actually did have trash thrown at me from the kind and polite Thai driver in front of me on Petchkasem  in Petchaburi.  How inconsiderate of this beautiful land where every filling station has ample trash bins.  Behavior like that is like taking poison and hoping the farang you hate will die.  Kudos to the government for this effort. 

 

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I was wondering about microbeads, didnt hear of that.

Amazing very tiny pieces of plastic , you even cant see !! In all sort of cosmetics. No function at all , filling, but spread to kill. With the fish you eat it gets back to you and is in your body. Great.

And now Thailand want to catch it?  GOOD ! In western countries they hardly can get them (in existing cleaning installations) out, so Thailand has the answer? I red in western countries they just forbid to use it ?!!

Probably you need to use RO filters for the waste water, but then the water is super clean again and can be reused. It costs and that is the only thing which hold back all. Money, greed. And of course you have to handle the waste of the RO installation. Thailand goes for that? Wow! 

I do see there are 37 plastic recycling companies in Thailand, good.

But of course they are mostly in grouped industrial areas. What about collecting?

What about government dont take care for waste disposal? Yeh then it lies around everywhere and pollutes.

 

People shouldnt be so stupid, sugar can just be brown, natural, not making it white. Coffee bags (ok Thailand dont have that culture) can just be brown, normal, but they make it white, by bleaching. Toothpaste and many cosmetic stuff has titan oxide in it, to make it white, it tickles the mind you should get  whiter teeth. 

BUt happy today now we have charcoal toothpaste, black as ..... charcoal and people are swearing by it to have whiter teeth.

We just do things which makes no sense and is just filling, to drive up prices. Low cost filling for volume (making money) which dont do a thing, just maybe tickle your mind and you pay.

 

Guess bipolar is bipolar. He doesn t like aliens at all (there is a word for it, but cant say) and thinks Thai should keep on polluting their country.

HE admits there is the problem with waste disposal, but then bring it on aliens and alien rules. Maybe he likes to thrive in his own garbage, oh no he likes to dispose it to anyone he doesnt like.

He is right and if all (300 million/year) tourists will go , then there is less plastic and finally solve ? plastic problem in Thailand. 

But at the same time whole Thailand will collapse then.

  

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On ‎4‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 8:09 AM, 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.

Here lies the problem People are not capable and mature enough to manage this themselves. So, big brother must do it.

 

I am from California when the strict plastic bags laws came into place. We adapted quickly and easily (after much groveling and complaining). This is really a no-brainer and nothing that should require so much debate.

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Large plastic bags such as what are given out in supermarkets are fine. We reuse them as trash bags. I recently read an article that stated plastic trash bag sales skyrocketed when these bags were eliminated.

 

It's the small bags, plastic in plastic in plastic type bagging, plastic cups for sugary drinks and most of all styrofoam takeaways. Get rid of that and you'll be well on your way.

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17 hours ago, Individual One said:

My Thai relatives think what you wrote is so ridiculous that you must be trolling farangs to see what nastiness you can provoke from them.  Lots of farangs love this country.  We pay our taxes and we support our families.  Our blood is here and we support what is good for this land.  

 

Consider all the oil wasted making plastic bags to just throw away.  That oil is actually irreplaceable chemical feedstock to create fertilizer, pharmaceuticals, equipment, and other supplies.  Just say no to the damn bags at 7 when you run in for a water or whatever.  And far from throwing your trash at me, you are wallowing in it.  Your beautiful country has lots of dirty little dumps down at the end of the soi or along the canals, and the dogs root through the trash and the winds grabs the discarded bags and waft  them up into the trees where they blossom like some bizarre flower whose only fruit is ugliness.   I actually did have trash thrown at me from the kind and polite Thai driver in front of me on Petchkasem  in Petchaburi.  How inconsiderate of this beautiful land where every filling station has ample trash bins.  Behavior like that is like taking poison and hoping the farang you hate will die.  Kudos to the government for this effort. 

 

I agree with some of your sentiment. I hear over and over again, how much the Thais love their country. They talk about how beautiful Thailand is, and how they would never want to live anywhere else.

 

OK. All of that is good. A little bit of national pride can be a good thing. I have a weird and bizarre suggestion. How about taking care of the land you love so much? How about looking out the environment that is going to insure that your future, and the future of your children and grandchildren is intact and not spoiled beyond repair? How about acting now, to insure that the quality of life down the road is high? How about demonstrating some vision? I do applaud the government for this initiative. But, why such long timetables? Do something now. 

 

 

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A change in consciousness must start at the most basic level. Most Thais think plastic is the best thing ever invented, and the percentage of Thais that even consider the negative ramifications of plastic is incredibly small. This requires some education. I always do two things to avoid the consumption of plastic.

 

1. I bring re-usable bags with me every time I go shopping. I use the larger shopping bags I buy in the US, which are made of recycled materials. Most of the clerks have to be dealt with. Even when they see my bag, they still start putting the stuff in plastic. I always mai sai toom. No plastic! Then they start loading up my bag. Most look at me like I am from Mars. Do I care? Not one iota. About 1% thank me, and get it. Not many do. My Thai wife does not like bringing the bags to the store. I force her to. By now, she expects it, and sometimes even asks if I have any bags in the car, or on the motorbike. Same with the water bottles. It used to embarrass her. Now, it is second nature, as I have been doing this for so long, she expects it. So, if a Thai can be conditioned to follow these simple principals, then anyone can. 

 

2. I bring a bottle of water with me, every time I go to a restaurant. I refill my plastic bottles from the 20 liter bottles at home. It is easy. I never buy bottled water at a restaurant. This saves 300-600 bottles a year. I use a plastic bottle dozens of times. I never get any flack from the restaurants. Only once did someone say something to me. She said you cannot bring you own water. My response was if you serve the water in a glass bottle, and I do not have to consume a plastic bottle, I am happy to pay for that. She was lost. I told her to leave and get me my food. She went away. 

 

We simply cannot say we are concerned about the environment, and then do nothing about it. Action demonstrates commitment. Lack of action demonstrates nothing.

 

Lastly, restaurants can demonstrate their commitment, by serving drinking water from the 20 liter bottles. It saves alot of plastic. They lose a small amount of revenue, by not selling thousands of bottles of water. But, their operation is still profitable, and they are making a real difference. 

 

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On 4/19/2019 at 7:51 AM, justin case said:

a lot of talk and not much show, TIT

 

many small businesses run on the above plastics

Absolutely, and the styrofoam boxes, especially for FOOD. Street food vendors use them and when I am a customer I also get a small plastic spoon as well!

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In NZ all of the major supermarkets have ceased issuing plastic bags. Haven't heard a single complaint about it and people just go about their daily lives with only a minimal adjustment.

 

Here, I see Big C Extra has a sign up at the checkouts saying that on the 4th of each month it will not issue plastic bags. One solitary day each month. I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees the absurdity and futility of this. BTW, I recall this store once had a policy of no plastic bags every Wednesday - that didn't last long.

 

Why absurd and futile? First, it's merely a token gesture for PR purposes that will achieve nothing. Why one miserly day per month and not a total ban? Second, no Thai (and many foreigners) will be happy about losing face when refused a plastic bag. ("DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?") The checkout staff must dread that day. Third, who the hell is going to remember the one day per month?

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