Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand

[StevePIraq]

Go on get rid of your plastic mountain forever.

[buksida]

War set to be waged on plastic
Thailand is looking to ban the use of very thin single-use plastic bags in 2022, followed by single-use plastic glasses and straws three years later, according to plans drafted by the Pollution Control Department.

It is also looking to reduce the use of thicker plastic bags, such as those given out by department stores, by 70% over the next 20 years and ban plastic bottle tops and toxic chemicals found in plastics used for food containers.

The measures are part of efforts to curb the increasing use of throw-away plastic and hopefully reduce the dumping of plastic waste into the sea.

They also form part of an action plan drafted by a sub-committee on plastic waste management chaired by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's permanent secretary covering 2018- 2037.

Wijarn Simachaya, the permanent secretary, said the panel gives a clear direction on how to reduce plastic consumption in the country, especially single-use plastic bags.

It is estimated that the country produces 3.2 million tonnes of plastic waste per year.

"This plan is in line with the government's 20-year national strategy plan (2018-2037) for domestic plastic waste management. It is also in line with global Sustainable Development Goals set for 2030 to create a better environment," he said.

The action plan, approved by the sub-committee on Dec 25, will be forwarded to the National Environment Board before going before the cabinet.

According to the Pollution Control Department Thailand produces 4.4 billion plastic water bottles per year, 60% of which are sealed with plastic caps.

EU countries aim to introduce a total ban on throw away plastics in 2021, due to concern about critical damage to marine ecological systems caused by marine debris.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1601914/


Great news, but why the long wait? By 2022 Thailand would have produced another 13 million tonnes of the shit and 18 million bottles, most of which will end up in the sea.

[oakdale160]

I wonder why there is a three-year wait before banning the thin plastic bags. Is it with the hope that in three years the pressure to do so will diminish and the new reg can be forgotten--that would be very Thai.

[HHTel]

Great news, but why the long wait?

Well you waited more than a month to report the article........ lol. It's been well covered on other media with the same responses. Why not ban single use plastic NOW?

[handdrummer]

in Villa today, at the checkout counter, there was sign that said they would no longer give out plastic bags due to global warming, then the girl put our groceries into plastic bags. Not quite sure how plastic bags affect global warming.

[HHTel]

Plastics Contribute to Global Warming, Scientists Say

Source: https://www.voanews.com/a/plastics-cont ... 09787.html

[StevePIraq]

I wonder why there is a three-year wait before banning the thin plastic bags. Is it with the hope that in three years the pressure to do so will diminish and the new reg can be forgotten--that would be very Thai.

Businesses have to be given time to adapt and find new products and markets. If they banned bags today it would make many businesses close and many people lose their jobs. Remember most European countries have not banned bags they tax them.

Regardless the entire process should be expedited.

[handdrummer]

Bought my wife a hat in Bluport today and was given a "degradable plastic bag." Couldn't every store use them or are they not really degradable?

[Nereus]

I don't know where this should be posted, however it is just as relevant here as anywhere else:
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
The single biggest source of ocean trash - and it's not what you might think

https://au.news.yahoo.com/single-bigges ... 41614.html

We all know how harmful discarded plastic is to the world’s oceans, but it’s not actually the biggest pollutant.

According to data collected by the non-profit organisation Ocean Conservancy, which has been holding beach cleanups since 1986, cigarette butts are actually the worst culprit.

A total of more than 60 million cigarette butts have been collected over 32 years, NBC News states, citing the report.
Contrary to popular belief, cigarette filters are not biodegradable, meaning they can release nicotine, arsenic and lead into water, which is then consumed by sea creatures and eventually passed back into the human food chain.

While campaigns to ban or recycle plastic bags, bottles and straws have become more common, the discarded cigarette butt problem has not been given the same level of media exposure, but that may be about to change.

Environmentalists are now calling for “greener” solutions for the production of cigarette filters, but they are also calling on the public to be more mindful of where they discard their cigarette butts.

According to NBC News, industry focus groups have revealed most people prefer to “flick” their butts, thinking it was acceptable because of the mistaken belief that filters were biodegradable.

It has led for some to call for a ban on the use of cigarette filters altogether.
“The idea to get rid of the useless part of this product is finally gaining traction in the public,” Californian politician Mark Stone told NBC News.

Cigarette butts are the single greatest source of ocean trash, it has been revealed. Source: File/Getty

“I hope that the legislature soon follows the popular sentiment.”

[Big Boy]

Did I read that Hawaii have taken the lead by increasing the legal age for smoking to 100?

[Nereus]

Did I read that Hawaii have taken the lead by increasing the legal age for smoking to 100?

Hawaii may increase legal smoking age to 100

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47129503

Hawaii could raise the legal smoking age to 100, effectively banning cigarettes for the vast majority of people in the state.

In a new bill, proposed by Democrat Richard Creagan, the smoking age would increase rapidly between 2020 and 2024.
It will need to pass through the state legislature and weather a potentially strong backlash from tobacco companies in order to become state law.

E-cigarettes, chewing tobacco and cigars are not included in the bill.

Dr Creagan, who was an emergency room physician before he was elected as state representative in 2014, calls the cigarette "the deadliest artefact in human history" in the bill.

In January 2017, Hawaii became the first US state to raise its smoking age to 21. In other US states the legal age is usually 18 or 19.

[handdrummer]

Legal age is irrelevant. When did legal age ever stop anyone from doing anything, other than, maybe, driving?

Death to the filthy butt flickers! I hate to see people flicking their butts in public. Have they no shame? Next they'll be flogging their privates in the mall.

[HHTel]

When did legal age ever stop anyone from doing anything, other than, maybe, driving?

Doesn't apply to Thailand of course!!

[PeteC]

It happened again down the road with Thailand's neighbor. It may be time to ask the question should all present as waste on land simply be incinerated and get it over with before there is no life in the seas any longer. Which is worse?

Plastic bag causes death of whale shark in Sabah

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/ ... s/30363781

As a side note, whales and dolphins have been beaching themselves for decades. No known cause. Perhaps filled with micro-plastics not discovered during any autopsy, or perhaps a message to humans from species which undoubtedly are more intelligent than we are.

[handdrummer]

If we burn it that would affect more people than a few fish, so maybe that's a good idea. It would help increase the wages of the medical field and eliminate a few people so it's a win, win situation.