The water is "thick with plastic": UK blogger advises against Thai beach visit for holiday weekend

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The water is "thick with plastic": UK blogger advises against Thai beach visit for holiday weekend

 

Picture: Manager online

 

Popular and influential Bangkok based blogger Richard Barrow pulled no punches when he reported on the state of Bang Saen beach in Chonburi before the start of the long holiday weekend. 

 

He advised anyone heading for the beach - particularly popular with Thai families - to head back home as sands were covered in litter and the water was "thick with plastic". 

 

He posted a video of the filthy shoreline on Friday. 

 

The local authorities swung into action with a six hour cleaning operation from 4 am to 10 am Saturday but two further clean-ups were needed as more trash blew in off the sea. 

 

If you’re heading to Bangsaen Beach this weekend you might want to turnaround now and go home. Unless your hotel has a nice swimming pool you won’t be able to swim in the sea due to all the plastic rubbish that has been washed up #Thailand pic.twitter.com/13YGWO1sCR

— Richard Barrow in Thailand ???????????????? (@RichardBarrow) July 3, 2020

 

Municipal workers are doing a beach clean up but really they are only scratching the surface. You need an army of people here to clean up Bangsaen Beach. But then, the next storm will just wash up even more. It will only stop when humans stop dumping rubbish in waterways pic.twitter.com/E63GQvu8x4

— Richard Barrow in Thailand ???????????????? (@RichardBarrow) July 3, 2020

 

Local Mayor Narongchai "Tui" Khunpluem went onto Facebook to say that Mr Barrow's observations were true. 

 

He said that since he was a child this had always happened at Bangsaen in the monsoon season especially from July to September. 

 

The trash came from the principal estuaries emptying into the gulf and from vessels at sea. 

 

He was resigned to clearing up the trash for the visitors to the beach - and waiting for the next inevitable wave of rubbish to wash up. 

 

Mayor Tui - who frequently posts online - has had some success making sure visitors and vendors don't make a mess of his beach but is powerless to stop the trash emanating from elsewhere, notes Thaivisa.

 

Mr Barrow is one of the most influential travel bloggers living in Thailand having been in the kingdom for 25 years and writing about travel in Thailand since 1998.

 

Source: Manager Online

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-07-06

 

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[Kerryd]

Well, at least it's not being blamed on the "vendors" anymore.
Seems certain people probably do read the forums and take note of some of what is written here, as various people on TV previously noted (many weeks ago) that most of the trash appeared to have come from the sea and not from "vendors" or beach goers.

And no doubt that it's worse in the monsoon seasons as all the trash people dump into the klongs, creeks, ditches and rivers ends up being flushed straight into the ocean. 

Not just a problem in Thailand, however it's not a problem you normally associate with places like Canada, the USA, Germany/UK/France/etc. 

Sad to see and even sadder to think that we are only seeing a portion of the total amount being flushed into the seas on a daily basis.

[George Bowman]

About 15 years ago, I was offered some beach front property down around the Bangsaen area. This property was owned by a well-known Thai family (I had taught two of their kids) and they had never even been there to view the land. A day trip was planned and we all went for a tour. I was so excited at the prospect of realizing one of my life dreams. It turned out to be a major disappointment.

 

This beach front land was located on the outskirts of a local fishing village and it should have been perfect. But it wasn't. Trash literally covered most of the beach. Why? The fishermen simply threw their trash overboard after fishing before returning home where it eventually made it to shore. My first thought was that I could clean up the area, but then reality hit me. It would be a constant daily chore and I would never win the battle. Sad really and a major disappointment...

 

[sungod]

Frequently go the quiet beaches, most trash always found around the local fishing fleet. These guys need to be educated as their actions have consequences on their living.

[chrisandsu]

They will collect the rubbish and then dump it back out to sea hoping for a different result .

[Denim]

Tourist promotion time. Unclean Thailand.

[KhunKenAP]

Garbage scows, still dumping their trash?

 

[SoilSpoil]

Same on the beaches of Chaiya in Surat Thani. Garbage everywhere.

[StayinThailand2much]

1 hour ago, chrisandsu said:

They will collect the rubbish and then dump it back out to sea hoping for a different result .

...or that it's been washed up on someone else's beach. A bit like the attitude people in the West had 50 years ago.

[Jai Dee]

An off-topic post about stray dogs and also a reply have been removed.

[Jane Dough]

The eastern seaboard has had this trash problem for yonks. We used to take school trips to Laem Mae Phim and do beach cleanups with the kids who determined that most of the trash came from people polluting the klongs rather than the sea directly. The clean up was educational but was always reversed next day when the fresh rubbish arrived. That whole area is a tip during the rainy season. 

 

Education begins at home, not out at sea.

 

Rooster

[Mavideol]

does anybody has richard borrows email contact, not fb, instagram twitter as I don't use any of the social networks, serious answers only, thks

[RichardColeman]

Remember folks, rich tourists LOVE trashy beaches

[vogie]

4 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

does anybody has richard borrows email contact, not fb, instagram twitter as I don't use any of the social networks, serious answers only, thks

Richard doesn't give his email address out, he can only be contacted by Facebook or Twitter.

 

This is from his website: RichardBarrows.com

 

I have purposely made it difficult for people to contact me. This is because I was getting so many requests and questions from people that I was unable to cope. PLEASE don’t use the following form to ask me to help plan your holiday or to answer a question about Thailand. Use this form only to contact me. No questions please. I have a day job, and believe it or not, I also have a life! If you have a question then please post it on my Facebook page or Twitter feed where I answer all questions that I receive. Thank you for your understanding.

[Mavideol]

1 minute ago, vogie said:

Richard doesn't give his email address out, he can only be contacted by Facebook or Twitter.

 

This is from his website: RichardBarrows.com

 

I have purposely made it difficult for people to contact me. This is because I was getting so many requests and questions from people that I was unable to cope. PLEASE don’t use the following form to ask me to help plan your holiday or to answer a question about Thailand. Use this form only to contact me. No questions please. I have a day job, and believe it or not, I also have a life! If you have a question then please post it on my Facebook page or Twitter feed where I answer all questions that I receive. Thank you for your understanding.

thanks, will try with fb friend acct

[trainman34014]

Visited Rayong two years ago; same thing, trash everywhere right in front of the Hotel and staff not in the least interested in cleaning anything although they referred to it as 'their' beach !

[PETERTHEEATER]

Most of this trash, as already acknowledged, enters the Gulf of Thailand via the river outflows at Samut Songkhran, Samut Sakhon and Bangkok. Trash was-up occurs on beaches on both sides of the Gulf. People inland use the rivers as a trash receptacle.

[smedly]

Holiday paradise 

[bodga]

Well  looky here, it  all  has Thai writing on it,  must be either foreigners or Burmese  throwing it away, everyone knows  foreigners are dirty and Ive never  seen a  Thai throwing their  rubbish on the ground or  off the back of their  bike or after eating from their polystyrene containers whilst sitting under a tree at the beach after theyve given the left overs to the mangy dogs  which hang around them and dumping more krap onto the beach ,  no siree nor  beer bottles etc etc etc

Filthy dirty lazy, nope  not any Thais.

[bodga]

4 hours ago, missoura said:

The fishermen simply threw their trash overboard after fishing before returning home

they  all  do  the  same.

[Kerryd]

Not just fishermen either.

Probably most every boat/ship out there does the same.

When I was on an Exercise with the US Marines/Navy back in the early 80s, we spent 6 weeks at sea re-enacting the Devil's Brigade landings in the Aleutian Islands, up in the Bering Sea between Russia and Alaska. 6 weeks at sea and barely 36 hours on the island. 

Most of the garbage from the ship, regardless of what it was, went off the rear of the ship into the ocean (once they were out of sight of land that is). The presumption was that it would never make it back to land. They were probably right about most of it. 
We had two separate fleets on that exercise, probably close to 3 dozen ships in total and thousands of sailors/marines/Canadian Infantry. Probably dumped enough garbage to fill a small city's landfill on that one exercise.

But as people have learned since then, stuff dumped at sea can end up floating a long, long way. Like that shipment of plastic ducks that have washed up on beaches thousands of miles from where the container when into the ocean. Or the shipment of Nike running shoes that floated for 6+ months on the ocean before some started washing up on beaches on the West Coast of North America.

Things like plastics, which seem to make up a large percentage of the trash these days, will float for years before finally disintegrating (or washing up on shore somewhere). 

[Colabamumbai]

Pattaya beach clean this weekend. 

[Matzzon]

Somehow, I think Mr Barrow will soon get called in for some attitude adjustment. 

[brewsterbudgen]

1 minute ago, Matzzon said:

Somehow, I think Mr Barrow will soon get called in for some attitude adjustment. 

And ironically his annual Extension of Stay is due in a week or so!

[Yinn]

6 hours ago, Kerryd said:

Not just a problem in Thailand, however it's not a problem you normally associate with places like Canada, the USA, Germany/UK/France/etc. 

I hate scum who not take there rubbish. Selfish. Throw rubbish in the klong, idiots.

 

Thailand and the world, all the ocean is the same. 

 

Today UK news. Hello Richard Barrow.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8381937/Disgusting-state-Britains-beaches-weekend-soaring-temperatures-revealed.html

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8470441/Mounds-rubbish-left-beauty-spots-beaches-UK.html

 

USA

http://outdoor-society.com/75-tons-of-trash-left-on-the-beach-at-ocean-shores-on-the-4th-of-july/

 

 

https://theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

 

[Isaan sailor]

Come to Thailand, spend 14 days in a high priced quarantine hotel. Then enjoy the pristine beaches.  Oh yes, and with a constantly rising Baht, your money won’t go too far.

[phantomfiddler]

Methinks Greta,s energy and convictions would be much more constructively directed at the war against this terrible waste problem. This is a directly addressable problem, unlike volcanoes, forest fires, and molten rivers of lava.

[Boedog]

The Thai Government during this Covid shutdown time of tourism has had the Perfect opportunity to clean Thailand up,  from its beaches, it's national parks, its streets everywhere you look , so many millions of people out of work and the culture of just dumping there rubbish anywhere, as much as people want hands out put them to work give them purpose and educate them and there kids, Politicians to worry about lining the own pockets rather than doing what us right for its people and it's land for the future, if the Thai Government was a company you would sack the lot of them and out source more qualified people, OH my God what am l saying sorry, welcome to  beautiful Thailand

YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW

[Burma Bill]

8 hours ago, chrisandsu said:

They will collect the rubbish and then dump it back out to sea hoping for a different result .

Not Thailand but could be happening!

 

[Traubert]

3 hours ago, Isaan sailor said:

Come to Thailand, spend 14 days in a high priced quarantine hotel. Then enjoy the pristine beaches.  Oh yes, and with a constantly rising Baht, your money won’t go too far.

Baht has been much the same for donkeys years.