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[Edit] HHTel is not my son.
Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
Re: Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
My son has just come back from Koh Samet also. He took these:
[Edit] HHTel is not my son.
[Edit] HHTel is not my son.
Championship Plymouth Argyle 1 - 2 Leeds Utd 
Points 46; Position 23 RELEGATED
Points 46; Position 23 RELEGATED
Re: Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
THE ‘SABAI SABAI’ WAY TO GO ZERO WASTE IN THAILAND
http://www.khaosodenglish.com/life/2019 ... n-thailand
Battling frowny kao gaeng vendors. Adamantly refusing durian cellophane-wrapped to a styrofoam dish and double-bagged. These are just some of the unique hurdles for Thais starting out on zero-waste lifestyles.
Unlike doomsday, “all-or-nothing” approaches to reducing waste often seen in the West – not just going vegan, but swearing off flying on planes, taking holidays, or even having children – Thai go-greeners who gathered at a recent zero-waste lifestyle event seemed to approach sustainability with a sense of “sabai sabai.”
Some of the main hurdles they face are street food shops and markets where vendors oppose their green efforts.
At a recent discussion event on zero waste held at Refill Station, participants recalled vendors variously praising and scorning their requests for curry to be placed in tupperware rather than double-bagged. Many food vendors are reluctant to stray from plastic or styrofoam which are cheaper than to bagasse or other biodegradable materials, while governmental awareness efforts are often just publicity stunts.
Attendants also spoke of aunties charging more for green curry if you bring your own container, and of drink vendors who prepare beverages in a plastic cup before pouring it into the customer’s reusable one (and then promptly tossing the plastic cup in the bin).
Although she says vendors at vegetarian eateries are generally friendly, Maneechanate Sammanee, 29, an environmental blogger at Less Waste for Whales, still remembers the consequences of asking an auntie selling kanom krok [grilled coconut rice pudding] at Siriraj Hospital to forgo the styrofoam tray and just put it in her hand.
“She got very mad and said, ‘That’s too troublesome. I’m not selling it to you anymore,’” Maneechanate said. “I know that zero waste is a middle class thing. When we buy food from working-class vendors, while asking for extra work to be put in, that moment – combined with the stress in their lives – can make them lash out.”
Pattama Homrod, 20, still finds it perplexing that moo ping vendors line her tupperware with plastic bags. Nipapat Polsamak, 25, says her local joke congee shop tries to discourage her from bringing in a box.
“It’s hard to explain to the vendors sometimes. Education on this issue is sorely needed,” Nipapat said.
“Some vendors don’t seem too happy when we bring our own containers because they can’t as easily judge the portions they need to give us,” Wipawanee Nakcharoen, 23, said. “But others compliment me for bringing one. I asked her if a lot of people bring their own containers. She said out of the huge marketplace, I was only one of three people.”
“When I ask for no straw [lod or หลอด], the barista quickly tells me, ‘Don’t worry, we don’t use ice tubes, [naam kaeng lod or น้ำแข็งหลอด]’” Supatchaya “Ann” Techachoochart, co-owner of Refill Station shared. “A lot of them ask with grave concern, ‘How are you going to drink it without a straw?’ and give me one anyway.”
Family can also pose a barrier to using less waste. On the event posters, a prompt reads, “My family and everyone around me is saying that I’m yer” [too much, demanding].
Another event attendant spoke of her boyfriend who, despite previously saying she was “asking too much” for refusing a straw, finally stopped using single-use straws himself. Another success came in the form of her mother finally swapping to a tiffin carrier to transport food offerings for the dead, instead of dozens of individually-wrapped plastic food bags.
Papawee Pongthanavaron said she was once cyberbullied for pointing out that a foodie YouTuber wasted too much plastic – around 60 pieces for just one meal by her count – in buying 31 individually-wrapped sandwiches, using plastic cutlery and double-bagging.
“I was bombarded with comments saying I was too loke suay (naive). Others asked what the fuck was wrong with me,” Papawee said. “Another just wrote, ‘When you fuck, you don’t use bags?'” (Toong, or plastic bag, is also slang for a condom.)
In a 2018 Ted Talk, youth climate activist Greta Thunberg lamented, “No one is acting as if we are in a crisis. Most climate scientists and green politicians keep on flying around the world, eating meat and dairy.” However accurate this strain of environmentalism may be, its strictness risks alienating the vast majority of people who the green movement still needs to get on board.
“The trouble is, people think that you have to immediately stop producing all waste,” Maneechanate said. “And people can fall into the trap of judging others because they think they are greener, or do better.”
She’s part of a growing group of Thais trying to go zero waste without the extremism. In the open Facebook group Greenery Challenge, numbering more than 22,000 members, Thais are posting practical ways to cut back waste – asking Tops Supermarket’s salad bar to use lunchboxes, or putting their bua loi desserts in a steel cup, for example. Posts are lighthearted, with the feel of a fun, non-competitive game. It’s a good springboard for Thais looking to use less plastic.
So how does one start on this sabai sabai, zero waste path? Maneechanate recommends that a budding zero-waste lifestyler do a quick audit of all the trash they produce in a day or week, before trying out some easy switches. Instead of using several plastic bags to carry somtam from the cart to your house, a lunchbox or tiffin carrier (pinto) could do the trick. And don’t forget to pat yourself on the back for not using something that takes half a millennium to decompose, says Maneechanate. Soon, you’ll naturally cut back.
Even for people that don’t give a crap about the environment, a quick cost-benefit analysis shows that many zero-waste hacks save money. For example, buying a 14-baht bottle of water for 365 days a year could run you 5,110 baht, compared to paying 300 baht for a reusable bottle. In the long-run, a 1,000 baht menstrual cup will soon be cheaper than buying tampons or pads over and over.
“The only truly zero-waste thing is nature. What are you going to do, tell the doctor you don’t want to use a plastic syringe?” Maneechanate said. “It’s not a contest. Just do what you can. If you can’t stop eating meat, then cut out waste elsewhere in your life.”
http://www.khaosodenglish.com/life/2019 ... n-thailand
Battling frowny kao gaeng vendors. Adamantly refusing durian cellophane-wrapped to a styrofoam dish and double-bagged. These are just some of the unique hurdles for Thais starting out on zero-waste lifestyles.
Unlike doomsday, “all-or-nothing” approaches to reducing waste often seen in the West – not just going vegan, but swearing off flying on planes, taking holidays, or even having children – Thai go-greeners who gathered at a recent zero-waste lifestyle event seemed to approach sustainability with a sense of “sabai sabai.”
Some of the main hurdles they face are street food shops and markets where vendors oppose their green efforts.
At a recent discussion event on zero waste held at Refill Station, participants recalled vendors variously praising and scorning their requests for curry to be placed in tupperware rather than double-bagged. Many food vendors are reluctant to stray from plastic or styrofoam which are cheaper than to bagasse or other biodegradable materials, while governmental awareness efforts are often just publicity stunts.
Attendants also spoke of aunties charging more for green curry if you bring your own container, and of drink vendors who prepare beverages in a plastic cup before pouring it into the customer’s reusable one (and then promptly tossing the plastic cup in the bin).
Although she says vendors at vegetarian eateries are generally friendly, Maneechanate Sammanee, 29, an environmental blogger at Less Waste for Whales, still remembers the consequences of asking an auntie selling kanom krok [grilled coconut rice pudding] at Siriraj Hospital to forgo the styrofoam tray and just put it in her hand.
“She got very mad and said, ‘That’s too troublesome. I’m not selling it to you anymore,’” Maneechanate said. “I know that zero waste is a middle class thing. When we buy food from working-class vendors, while asking for extra work to be put in, that moment – combined with the stress in their lives – can make them lash out.”
Pattama Homrod, 20, still finds it perplexing that moo ping vendors line her tupperware with plastic bags. Nipapat Polsamak, 25, says her local joke congee shop tries to discourage her from bringing in a box.
“It’s hard to explain to the vendors sometimes. Education on this issue is sorely needed,” Nipapat said.
“Some vendors don’t seem too happy when we bring our own containers because they can’t as easily judge the portions they need to give us,” Wipawanee Nakcharoen, 23, said. “But others compliment me for bringing one. I asked her if a lot of people bring their own containers. She said out of the huge marketplace, I was only one of three people.”
“When I ask for no straw [lod or หลอด], the barista quickly tells me, ‘Don’t worry, we don’t use ice tubes, [naam kaeng lod or น้ำแข็งหลอด]’” Supatchaya “Ann” Techachoochart, co-owner of Refill Station shared. “A lot of them ask with grave concern, ‘How are you going to drink it without a straw?’ and give me one anyway.”
Family can also pose a barrier to using less waste. On the event posters, a prompt reads, “My family and everyone around me is saying that I’m yer” [too much, demanding].
Another event attendant spoke of her boyfriend who, despite previously saying she was “asking too much” for refusing a straw, finally stopped using single-use straws himself. Another success came in the form of her mother finally swapping to a tiffin carrier to transport food offerings for the dead, instead of dozens of individually-wrapped plastic food bags.
Papawee Pongthanavaron said she was once cyberbullied for pointing out that a foodie YouTuber wasted too much plastic – around 60 pieces for just one meal by her count – in buying 31 individually-wrapped sandwiches, using plastic cutlery and double-bagging.
“I was bombarded with comments saying I was too loke suay (naive). Others asked what the fuck was wrong with me,” Papawee said. “Another just wrote, ‘When you fuck, you don’t use bags?'” (Toong, or plastic bag, is also slang for a condom.)
In a 2018 Ted Talk, youth climate activist Greta Thunberg lamented, “No one is acting as if we are in a crisis. Most climate scientists and green politicians keep on flying around the world, eating meat and dairy.” However accurate this strain of environmentalism may be, its strictness risks alienating the vast majority of people who the green movement still needs to get on board.
“The trouble is, people think that you have to immediately stop producing all waste,” Maneechanate said. “And people can fall into the trap of judging others because they think they are greener, or do better.”
She’s part of a growing group of Thais trying to go zero waste without the extremism. In the open Facebook group Greenery Challenge, numbering more than 22,000 members, Thais are posting practical ways to cut back waste – asking Tops Supermarket’s salad bar to use lunchboxes, or putting their bua loi desserts in a steel cup, for example. Posts are lighthearted, with the feel of a fun, non-competitive game. It’s a good springboard for Thais looking to use less plastic.
So how does one start on this sabai sabai, zero waste path? Maneechanate recommends that a budding zero-waste lifestyler do a quick audit of all the trash they produce in a day or week, before trying out some easy switches. Instead of using several plastic bags to carry somtam from the cart to your house, a lunchbox or tiffin carrier (pinto) could do the trick. And don’t forget to pat yourself on the back for not using something that takes half a millennium to decompose, says Maneechanate. Soon, you’ll naturally cut back.
Even for people that don’t give a crap about the environment, a quick cost-benefit analysis shows that many zero-waste hacks save money. For example, buying a 14-baht bottle of water for 365 days a year could run you 5,110 baht, compared to paying 300 baht for a reusable bottle. In the long-run, a 1,000 baht menstrual cup will soon be cheaper than buying tampons or pads over and over.
“The only truly zero-waste thing is nature. What are you going to do, tell the doctor you don’t want to use a plastic syringe?” Maneechanate said. “It’s not a contest. Just do what you can. If you can’t stop eating meat, then cut out waste elsewhere in your life.”
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
No ban on plastic bags yet, says PM
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... m#cxrecs_s
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday pledged to protect marine life from sea waste but refused to respond to growing calls for an immediate ban on single-use plastic bags.
"I have ordered related agencies to protect these sea animals. It is this government's policy that no one will not be left behind and that does not only mean humans -- we include animals like dugongs," the prime minister told media in response to the fate of Marium, the popular young dugong which died last week after ingesting ocean plastic waste.
He said he has now ordered officials to do everything to protect another baby dugong, Yamil, a three-month-old that was rescued and placed under Department of Marine and Coastal Resources' veterinary supervision in July.
Yamil must not die," said the prime minister.
He insisted that the government will ban the use of some plastic, including single-use plastic bags, by 2022.
"Everyone has a duty to help reduce plastic waste. It is unfair and pointless to blame the government when sea animals die due to marine waste. This issue is everyone's responsibility," he said.
On Tuesday, a conservation plan dubbed the "Marium Project" was approved by the cabinet after being proposed by Varawut Silpa-archa, minister of natural resources and environment. Among similar proposals are the nomination of Aug 17 as "National Dugong Day" and the "1+11 Dugong Project".
The latter plan will create 12 dugong conservation areas modelled after Koh Libong in Trang province where Marium was cared for.
Areas to be included are Pattani, Satun, Trang, Phangnga, Krabi, Chumphon, Chanthaburi, Rayong and Chon Buri provinces, all of which have beaches rich in sea-grass -- dugongs' favourite food.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... m#cxrecs_s
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday pledged to protect marine life from sea waste but refused to respond to growing calls for an immediate ban on single-use plastic bags.
"I have ordered related agencies to protect these sea animals. It is this government's policy that no one will not be left behind and that does not only mean humans -- we include animals like dugongs," the prime minister told media in response to the fate of Marium, the popular young dugong which died last week after ingesting ocean plastic waste.
He said he has now ordered officials to do everything to protect another baby dugong, Yamil, a three-month-old that was rescued and placed under Department of Marine and Coastal Resources' veterinary supervision in July.
Yamil must not die," said the prime minister.
He insisted that the government will ban the use of some plastic, including single-use plastic bags, by 2022.
"Everyone has a duty to help reduce plastic waste. It is unfair and pointless to blame the government when sea animals die due to marine waste. This issue is everyone's responsibility," he said.
On Tuesday, a conservation plan dubbed the "Marium Project" was approved by the cabinet after being proposed by Varawut Silpa-archa, minister of natural resources and environment. Among similar proposals are the nomination of Aug 17 as "National Dugong Day" and the "1+11 Dugong Project".
The latter plan will create 12 dugong conservation areas modelled after Koh Libong in Trang province where Marium was cared for.
Areas to be included are Pattani, Satun, Trang, Phangnga, Krabi, Chumphon, Chanthaburi, Rayong and Chon Buri provinces, all of which have beaches rich in sea-grass -- dugongs' favourite food.
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
Re: Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
Retailers to stop handing out plastics
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/17 ... t-plastics
Giant retailers, plastic manufacturing titans, and department stores reached an agreement on Friday to stop handing out single-use plastic bags to customers starting early next year.
"This cooperation will help Thailand leave the list of major generators of waste and sea garbage," Varawut Silpa-archa, the environment minister told a press conference on Friday.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment had invited scores of partners yesterday to join the ministry's campaign to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags.
These partners represent giant retailers, major department stores, and titans in plastic manufacturing and trade associations.
Among the big names were Central Group, The Mall Group, CP All Plc, Robinson Plc, Bangchak Retail Co, Big C Supercenter Plc, Siam Makro Plc, Index Living Mall Plc, PTT Plc as well as trade associations such as Plastic Industry Club under the Federation of Thai Industries and Thai Retailers Association.
These partners have vowed to stop giving out single-use plastic bags to customers starting January.
"So, consumers must prepare to bring their own bags to carry things. This type of campaign should have been done long ago. We have spent so much time trying to negotiate. At last, we made it," he said.
A campaign like this shows that Thailand, which is ranked sixth in the world for generating sea waste, is attempting to reduce plastic waste.
It is estimated that Thais use 45 billion single-use plastic bags per year.
Of this number, 13.5 billion -- about 30% -- is generated from department stores and 24-hour convenience stores.
Meanwhile, another 30% of plastic waste comes from mom-and-pop shops and the rest from street vendors and traditional wet markets.
The environment minister said cooperation from these retail titans and department stores can help to reduce single-use plastic usage by 30%.
Meanwhile, by the start of 2022, a ban imposed on Styrofoam food packages and single-use plastic items, including lightweight plastic bags, straws and cups will also come in effect.
The ban is part of the government's roadmap on plastic waste management for the 2018-2030 period.
Apart from a ban on plastic food packages by 2022, the masterplan also sets a goal to have all plastic materials and waste in Thailand recycled by 2030.
In a related development, the environmental ministry said it is drafting a law that would govern the reduction, reuse and recycling of plastic materials and waste.
If adopted, this item of legislation will become the first law on waste reuse and recycling.
Part of the law will require garbage producers to bear responsibility in separating waste into different groups for recycling.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/17 ... t-plastics
Giant retailers, plastic manufacturing titans, and department stores reached an agreement on Friday to stop handing out single-use plastic bags to customers starting early next year.
"This cooperation will help Thailand leave the list of major generators of waste and sea garbage," Varawut Silpa-archa, the environment minister told a press conference on Friday.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment had invited scores of partners yesterday to join the ministry's campaign to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags.
These partners represent giant retailers, major department stores, and titans in plastic manufacturing and trade associations.
Among the big names were Central Group, The Mall Group, CP All Plc, Robinson Plc, Bangchak Retail Co, Big C Supercenter Plc, Siam Makro Plc, Index Living Mall Plc, PTT Plc as well as trade associations such as Plastic Industry Club under the Federation of Thai Industries and Thai Retailers Association.
These partners have vowed to stop giving out single-use plastic bags to customers starting January.
"So, consumers must prepare to bring their own bags to carry things. This type of campaign should have been done long ago. We have spent so much time trying to negotiate. At last, we made it," he said.
A campaign like this shows that Thailand, which is ranked sixth in the world for generating sea waste, is attempting to reduce plastic waste.
It is estimated that Thais use 45 billion single-use plastic bags per year.
Of this number, 13.5 billion -- about 30% -- is generated from department stores and 24-hour convenience stores.
Meanwhile, another 30% of plastic waste comes from mom-and-pop shops and the rest from street vendors and traditional wet markets.
The environment minister said cooperation from these retail titans and department stores can help to reduce single-use plastic usage by 30%.
Meanwhile, by the start of 2022, a ban imposed on Styrofoam food packages and single-use plastic items, including lightweight plastic bags, straws and cups will also come in effect.
The ban is part of the government's roadmap on plastic waste management for the 2018-2030 period.
Apart from a ban on plastic food packages by 2022, the masterplan also sets a goal to have all plastic materials and waste in Thailand recycled by 2030.
In a related development, the environmental ministry said it is drafting a law that would govern the reduction, reuse and recycling of plastic materials and waste.
If adopted, this item of legislation will become the first law on waste reuse and recycling.
Part of the law will require garbage producers to bear responsibility in separating waste into different groups for recycling.
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
Re: Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
So 7/11 have vowed not to issue single use plastic bags from January. I'll look forward to seeing that work!
Walking around Tesco yesterday (first time for ages), I was quite impressed to see many shoppers with their own bags. We're talking mostly Thais.
Walking around Tesco yesterday (first time for ages), I was quite impressed to see many shoppers with their own bags. We're talking mostly Thais.
-
laphanphon
- Guru
- Posts: 787
- Joined: Wed Jun 09, 2004 12:15 am
Re: Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
I don't see 7-11 doing, or being able to do, as a shop for convenience, especially tourist areas, and unless having a backpack with you, simply isn't practical for tourist.
Unless well publicized, and bags issued on arrival to tourist, for small shopping, such as 7-11. Actually a great idea, with option to purchase larger. 7-11 should offer free bags, w/logo, for purchase over 500 baht of so. Great marketing tool.
Thailand TAT, should do a similar program. I should be in their 'Think Tank'....free bags w/ Thailand logos / Save the Planet, distributed just after IMM at the arriving airports. Souvenir worthy and great marketing.
It's not rocket science.......well, shouldn't be.
Unless well publicized, and bags issued on arrival to tourist, for small shopping, such as 7-11. Actually a great idea, with option to purchase larger. 7-11 should offer free bags, w/logo, for purchase over 500 baht of so. Great marketing tool.
Thailand TAT, should do a similar program. I should be in their 'Think Tank'....free bags w/ Thailand logos / Save the Planet, distributed just after IMM at the arriving airports. Souvenir worthy and great marketing.
It's not rocket science.......well, shouldn't be.
Re: Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
Among the big names were Central Group, The Mall Group, CP All Plc, Robinson Plc, Bangchak Retail Co, Big C Supercenter Plc, Siam Makro Plc, Index Living Mall Plc, PTT Plc as well as trade associations such as Plastic Industry Club under the Federation of Thai Industries and Thai Retailers Association.
These partners have vowed to stop giving out single-use plastic bags to customers starting January.[/quote]
Well 7/11 have signed up for this agreement so we'll wait and see. As mentioned earlier, the 7/11's on Koh Samed can do it so there's no real excuse.
Re: Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
Tourists are not the problem, tourists do not throw trash all over the beaches and in the rivers - Thai people do. Thailand is one of the world's top ten polluters with regards to plastics and it is nothing to do with tourists, which are dwindling in numbers anyway. I know that may hurt the "I love Thailand" brigade, but it is the simple truth.laphanphon wrote: ↑Sun Sep 08, 2019 10:12 am Thailand TAT, should do a similar program. I should be in their 'Think Tank'....free bags w/ Thailand logos / Save the Planet, distributed just after IMM at the arriving airports. Souvenir worthy and great marketing.
It has to start at schools and yes, in Seven-11s, they're the biggest distributors of the shit in the kingdom ... and 99% of it goes to their own people, who proceed to disperse it wherever they want.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Re: Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
Wasting away
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/17 ... sting-away
A government ban on single-use plastics deals with a scourge in Thailand, but a pilot project in Rayong also shows promise
Plastic is omnipresent in Thailand. It's found everywhere, from luxury shopping malls to 7-Eleven convenience stores, on almost every street corner and beneath the skin of some individuals. It's even inside the stomachs of much marine life.
The unprecedented death rate of dugongs and microplastics found in mackerel have sparked alarm among happy-go-lucky Thais, with the government finally issuing an ultimatum to end single-use plastic by 2022.
At the start of 2022, a ban on styrofoam food packages and single-use plastic items, including lightweight plastic bags, straws and cups, will come into effect.
The ban is part of the government's roadmap on plastic waste management for 2018-30. Apart from a ban on plastic food packages by 2022, the master plan sets a goal to have all plastic materials and waste in Thailand recycled by 2030.
Giant retailers, plastic manufacturing titans and department stores have also agreed to stop handing out single-use plastic bags starting in early 2020.
While hopes for humanity may be restored, it remains to be seen whether such a move is a knee-jerk reaction to alleviate concerns over careless plastic use or a sensible, sustainable attempt to help the ecosystem.
CARROT AND STICK
It's estimated that Thais use 45 billion single-use plastic bags a year. Of this number, 13.5 billion -- about 30% -- are from department stores and convenience stores.
A further 30% of plastic waste comes from mom-and-pop shops, with the rest from street vendors and traditional wet markets.
Incentives offered by supermarkets, awarding extra shopping points for customers, seem to be inadequate in addressing the issue, according to the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).
Thailand should adopt a carrot-and-stick approach in tackling heavy plastic use, the TDRI said.
The stick aspect should be emphasised because Thais tend to lack the willingness for long-term commitment, the think tank said.
Banning or imposing mandatory payment for using plastic bags and styrofoam is needed for the country's environmental sustainability, the TDRI said.
The carrot portion could include promotional campaigns to use water bottles and waste separation.
There is no guarantee that the government's roadmap on plastic waste management will bring about change and the vision of a circular economy, said Tara Buakamsri, Thailand country director for Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
"Unless legally binding mechanisms are implemented to reduce the impact of single-use plastic products on the environment, the roadmap mostly raises public awareness and supports voluntary measures, but without significant progress," Mr Tara said.
BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
The roadmap is poised to create shockwaves in the industrial sector, especially for those involved in upstream to downstream production of plastic products.
Somsak Borrisuttanakul, chief executive of TPBI Plc, a maker and trader of plastic film, said the company is keen on complying with the ban on single-use plastics because it revamped its business operations over the past three years.
TPBI is the country's largest manufacturer of single-use plastic bags. The company is a downstream manufacturer of plastic products.
"TPBI projects purchase orders will significantly drop over the next few years, so we expanded our customer base to cover both domestic and overseas, and shifted production from shopping bags to rubbish bags," Mr Somsak said.
In late 2018, TPBI acquired overseas plastic companies in Britain and Australia to enhance its product portfolio, comprising both paper and reusable plastic packaging products.
"This move will improve the company's plastic production to attract new customers and maintain the base of existing buyers," Mr Somsak said. "It is in line with our business transformation plan because single-use plastic bags have been banned in many countries. But for garbage bags, TPBI has received massive orders from overseas customers since the second quarter of 2019."
Mr Somsak said single-use plastic bags accounted for 20% of TPBI's sales in the first half, compared with 60% four years ago.
The company's sales volume has dipped from 3,000 tonnes of single-use plastic per month to 1,000 tonnes in four years, though those 2,000 tonnes have been offset by monthly sales of 2,000 tonnes of garbage bags.
The ban on single-use plastic items in 2022 will have an outsized effect on food and drink vendors and hawkers, as well as grocery stores and fresh market vendors selling vegetables, fruit and meat.
"Before imposing a mandatory ban on plastic bags, the government should encourage Thais to change their behaviour, especially sorting waste because many Thais still discard all rubbish into one bin," Mr Somsak said.
RECYCLING PLANT
Patiphan Sukhonthaman, chief operating officer for downstream at PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC), said the company needs to improve its production of plastic raw materials as part of the new trend and the regulation banning single-use plastic.
PTTGC is the country's largest petrochemical maker, largely upstream plastic pellets.
"We will exit the [production] of single-use plastic polymers in five years," Mr Patiphan said. "At present, production capacity of this raw material stands at 150,000 tonnes per year."
The company plans to convert those single-use plastic pellets to reusable plastic with a longer life cycle, focusing on value-added plastic products to serve components of home appliances, automotive, building materials and engineering plastics.
Mr Patiphan said PTTGC is considering production of polylactic acid (PLA) in Rayong province starting this year.
PLA is a biodegradable plastic, used as a raw material for plates, bowls and cups. There is another raw material -- polybutylene succinate -- used for making plastic bags and films.
Mr Patiphan said PTTGC's US partner, Cargill, owns PLA patents, allowing PTTGC to develop Cargill's first PLA production facility outside the US with an annual capacity of 150,000 tonnes.
In addition, PTTGC has teamed up with Alpla Packaging, an Austrian recycling company, to build a recycling plant for plastic waste in Rayong with an initial budget of 1 billion baht.
The recycling plant is located in Rayong's Asia Industrial Estate. Construction has begun and is scheduled to be completed in 18 months.
The recycling plant will process single-use plastic waste, including polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene, which are materials used for plastic packaging for bottles, straws and bags.
RAYONG MODEL
Apiphop Phungchanchaikul, vice-chairman of the plastics industry club at the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said the private sector formed the Public-Private Partnership for Sustainable Plastic and Waste Management (PPP Plastic) together with 15 agencies and companies, including the FTI.
"PPP Plastic aims to manage and recycle all plastic waste in Thailand by teaming up with 18 subdistrict state agencies in Rayong," Mr Apiphop said. "We have a pilot model for a waste separation system in Rayong, expecting to recycle 100% of plastic waste within five years and reduce waste in landfills by many tonnes."
Communities, villages and students have also joined the project.
"They can bring single-use plastic bags and PET bottles to sell at community enterprises," Mr Apiphop said. "All waste will be circulated at the separation system in Rayong."
Rayong generates total waste of 1,200 tonnes a day, and the existing separation plant can recycle roughly 500 tonnes on a daily basis. The remaining 700 tonnes will be sent to other companies for further waste management.
Plastic waste accounts for 27% of total rubbish at the separation plant in Rayong.
"In addition, PPP Plastic plans to generate power from waste through a gasification technology, feeding it 200 tonnes of waste per day," Mr Apiphop said. "The project is expected to generate electricity of 10 megawatts. It will begin commercial operations in March 2021."
PPP Plastic also plans for non-recyclable plastic waste to be combined with asphalt for road construction.
"This project is being piloted in Amata City Rayong, RIL Industrial Estate and some 7-Eleven stores in Rayong," Mr Apiphop said. "PPP Plastic plans to bring this concept for road construction to state agencies in Rayong as well."
He said PPP Plastic is studying the feasibility for new waste separation and management plants in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), expecting to complete the project by this year.
"We are concerned the EEC will create new waste in the region, so we have to prepare the recycling system for the future," Mr Apiphop said.
PPP Plastic aims to reduce plastic waste both onshore and offshore by 50% in 2027.
The private sector is calling on the government to ramp up support with investment incentives and measures for companies in waste management and separation.
Nattapol Rangsitpol, director-general of the Office of Industrial Economics, said the Industry Ministry is working with other state agencies to create incentives to support new investment in the circular economy concept.
Companies or investors creating new waste or taking a stance that is not environmentally friendly will have to comply with the new law, Mr Nattapol said.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/17 ... sting-away
A government ban on single-use plastics deals with a scourge in Thailand, but a pilot project in Rayong also shows promise
Plastic is omnipresent in Thailand. It's found everywhere, from luxury shopping malls to 7-Eleven convenience stores, on almost every street corner and beneath the skin of some individuals. It's even inside the stomachs of much marine life.
The unprecedented death rate of dugongs and microplastics found in mackerel have sparked alarm among happy-go-lucky Thais, with the government finally issuing an ultimatum to end single-use plastic by 2022.
At the start of 2022, a ban on styrofoam food packages and single-use plastic items, including lightweight plastic bags, straws and cups, will come into effect.
The ban is part of the government's roadmap on plastic waste management for 2018-30. Apart from a ban on plastic food packages by 2022, the master plan sets a goal to have all plastic materials and waste in Thailand recycled by 2030.
Giant retailers, plastic manufacturing titans and department stores have also agreed to stop handing out single-use plastic bags starting in early 2020.
While hopes for humanity may be restored, it remains to be seen whether such a move is a knee-jerk reaction to alleviate concerns over careless plastic use or a sensible, sustainable attempt to help the ecosystem.
CARROT AND STICK
It's estimated that Thais use 45 billion single-use plastic bags a year. Of this number, 13.5 billion -- about 30% -- are from department stores and convenience stores.
A further 30% of plastic waste comes from mom-and-pop shops, with the rest from street vendors and traditional wet markets.
Incentives offered by supermarkets, awarding extra shopping points for customers, seem to be inadequate in addressing the issue, according to the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).
Thailand should adopt a carrot-and-stick approach in tackling heavy plastic use, the TDRI said.
The stick aspect should be emphasised because Thais tend to lack the willingness for long-term commitment, the think tank said.
Banning or imposing mandatory payment for using plastic bags and styrofoam is needed for the country's environmental sustainability, the TDRI said.
The carrot portion could include promotional campaigns to use water bottles and waste separation.
There is no guarantee that the government's roadmap on plastic waste management will bring about change and the vision of a circular economy, said Tara Buakamsri, Thailand country director for Greenpeace Southeast Asia.
"Unless legally binding mechanisms are implemented to reduce the impact of single-use plastic products on the environment, the roadmap mostly raises public awareness and supports voluntary measures, but without significant progress," Mr Tara said.
BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
The roadmap is poised to create shockwaves in the industrial sector, especially for those involved in upstream to downstream production of plastic products.
Somsak Borrisuttanakul, chief executive of TPBI Plc, a maker and trader of plastic film, said the company is keen on complying with the ban on single-use plastics because it revamped its business operations over the past three years.
TPBI is the country's largest manufacturer of single-use plastic bags. The company is a downstream manufacturer of plastic products.
"TPBI projects purchase orders will significantly drop over the next few years, so we expanded our customer base to cover both domestic and overseas, and shifted production from shopping bags to rubbish bags," Mr Somsak said.
In late 2018, TPBI acquired overseas plastic companies in Britain and Australia to enhance its product portfolio, comprising both paper and reusable plastic packaging products.
"This move will improve the company's plastic production to attract new customers and maintain the base of existing buyers," Mr Somsak said. "It is in line with our business transformation plan because single-use plastic bags have been banned in many countries. But for garbage bags, TPBI has received massive orders from overseas customers since the second quarter of 2019."
Mr Somsak said single-use plastic bags accounted for 20% of TPBI's sales in the first half, compared with 60% four years ago.
The company's sales volume has dipped from 3,000 tonnes of single-use plastic per month to 1,000 tonnes in four years, though those 2,000 tonnes have been offset by monthly sales of 2,000 tonnes of garbage bags.
The ban on single-use plastic items in 2022 will have an outsized effect on food and drink vendors and hawkers, as well as grocery stores and fresh market vendors selling vegetables, fruit and meat.
"Before imposing a mandatory ban on plastic bags, the government should encourage Thais to change their behaviour, especially sorting waste because many Thais still discard all rubbish into one bin," Mr Somsak said.
RECYCLING PLANT
Patiphan Sukhonthaman, chief operating officer for downstream at PTT Global Chemical Plc (PTTGC), said the company needs to improve its production of plastic raw materials as part of the new trend and the regulation banning single-use plastic.
PTTGC is the country's largest petrochemical maker, largely upstream plastic pellets.
"We will exit the [production] of single-use plastic polymers in five years," Mr Patiphan said. "At present, production capacity of this raw material stands at 150,000 tonnes per year."
The company plans to convert those single-use plastic pellets to reusable plastic with a longer life cycle, focusing on value-added plastic products to serve components of home appliances, automotive, building materials and engineering plastics.
Mr Patiphan said PTTGC is considering production of polylactic acid (PLA) in Rayong province starting this year.
PLA is a biodegradable plastic, used as a raw material for plates, bowls and cups. There is another raw material -- polybutylene succinate -- used for making plastic bags and films.
Mr Patiphan said PTTGC's US partner, Cargill, owns PLA patents, allowing PTTGC to develop Cargill's first PLA production facility outside the US with an annual capacity of 150,000 tonnes.
In addition, PTTGC has teamed up with Alpla Packaging, an Austrian recycling company, to build a recycling plant for plastic waste in Rayong with an initial budget of 1 billion baht.
The recycling plant is located in Rayong's Asia Industrial Estate. Construction has begun and is scheduled to be completed in 18 months.
The recycling plant will process single-use plastic waste, including polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene, which are materials used for plastic packaging for bottles, straws and bags.
RAYONG MODEL
Apiphop Phungchanchaikul, vice-chairman of the plastics industry club at the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said the private sector formed the Public-Private Partnership for Sustainable Plastic and Waste Management (PPP Plastic) together with 15 agencies and companies, including the FTI.
"PPP Plastic aims to manage and recycle all plastic waste in Thailand by teaming up with 18 subdistrict state agencies in Rayong," Mr Apiphop said. "We have a pilot model for a waste separation system in Rayong, expecting to recycle 100% of plastic waste within five years and reduce waste in landfills by many tonnes."
Communities, villages and students have also joined the project.
"They can bring single-use plastic bags and PET bottles to sell at community enterprises," Mr Apiphop said. "All waste will be circulated at the separation system in Rayong."
Rayong generates total waste of 1,200 tonnes a day, and the existing separation plant can recycle roughly 500 tonnes on a daily basis. The remaining 700 tonnes will be sent to other companies for further waste management.
Plastic waste accounts for 27% of total rubbish at the separation plant in Rayong.
"In addition, PPP Plastic plans to generate power from waste through a gasification technology, feeding it 200 tonnes of waste per day," Mr Apiphop said. "The project is expected to generate electricity of 10 megawatts. It will begin commercial operations in March 2021."
PPP Plastic also plans for non-recyclable plastic waste to be combined with asphalt for road construction.
"This project is being piloted in Amata City Rayong, RIL Industrial Estate and some 7-Eleven stores in Rayong," Mr Apiphop said. "PPP Plastic plans to bring this concept for road construction to state agencies in Rayong as well."
He said PPP Plastic is studying the feasibility for new waste separation and management plants in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), expecting to complete the project by this year.
"We are concerned the EEC will create new waste in the region, so we have to prepare the recycling system for the future," Mr Apiphop said.
PPP Plastic aims to reduce plastic waste both onshore and offshore by 50% in 2027.
The private sector is calling on the government to ramp up support with investment incentives and measures for companies in waste management and separation.
Nattapol Rangsitpol, director-general of the Office of Industrial Economics, said the Industry Ministry is working with other state agencies to create incentives to support new investment in the circular economy concept.
Companies or investors creating new waste or taking a stance that is not environmentally friendly will have to comply with the new law, Mr Nattapol said.
- Volunteers collect plastic waste on Koh Chang in Trat province as part of last month's Trash Hero initiative. (Bangkok Post file photo)
- php6PDmlzPM.jpg (72.12 KiB) Viewed 1406 times
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
Re: Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
Thai maths at it's best!
At the start of 2022, a ban on styrofoam food packages and single-use plastic items, including lightweight plastic bags, straws and cups, will come into effect.
"We will exit the [production] of single-use plastic polymers in five years," Mr Patiphan said.
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laphanphon
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Re: Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
Went to Tesco at Market Village yesterday (just for a change). 2 things struck me:
Yes, this happened in Tesco, but it was an example of what is happening everywhere. Why not just withdraw plastic wherever it is possible? I saw quite a discussion going on one day when a chap insisted his label was put directly onto the skin of his pumpkin. There were 3 assistants discussing the feasibility, and in the end he won (the assistant looked shocked when the adhesive actually worked on the skin of the pumpkin), but do we need that sort of hassle when shopping?
If any of these shops are serious, they need to educate their staff properly. Current initiatives are not initiatives at all, they are a joke. Of course, I could go on. We all know the problems, but there are just too many unwilling players in the game to make a significant difference.
- The entrance had a big box restricting access. Closer examination showed the box was for used drinking straw collection. This got my brain working overtime - what will they do with a box of used straws? Are they recyclable? Is anybody going to bother to bring straws to this box? Yes, there were a remarkable amount of straws already in the box - this was the first time I'd seen the box, so the cynic in me got me wondering about the origin of these straws - was it like the busker, putting a few coins in his hat to give the illusion others were rewarding him for his services. Surely, to stop selling plastic straws in the first place would be far more effective.
- We did our shopping, and went through the 'Green Lane'. First thing, we're greeted by a young girl telling us we can't use her till because it is the 'Green Lane' - no carrier bags. It seemed that she was disgusted that we produced our own bags and she would have to do some work. Then I looked at what we were putting through the till - 2 leeks, both individually wrapped in plastic bags telling the world they were organic, 1 plastic bottle of milk, 3 carrots the assistant had placed inside their own plastic bag, 1 white carrot placed inside it's own plastic bag, 2 chicken breasts in their own plastic bag. So here I was in the 'Green Lane', had received a bollocking for daring to use the lane and didn't feel one little bit Green.
The milk - glass used to work quite well when I was growing up, the vegetables, they are wrapped in an organic skin already that we take off and throw away - why not put a label onto the skin? What benefit does a layer of plastic offer? Chicken breasts - maybe use plastic, but paper would have done the job quite adequately.
Yes, this happened in Tesco, but it was an example of what is happening everywhere. Why not just withdraw plastic wherever it is possible? I saw quite a discussion going on one day when a chap insisted his label was put directly onto the skin of his pumpkin. There were 3 assistants discussing the feasibility, and in the end he won (the assistant looked shocked when the adhesive actually worked on the skin of the pumpkin), but do we need that sort of hassle when shopping?
If any of these shops are serious, they need to educate their staff properly. Current initiatives are not initiatives at all, they are a joke. Of course, I could go on. We all know the problems, but there are just too many unwilling players in the game to make a significant difference.
Championship Plymouth Argyle 1 - 2 Leeds Utd
Points 46; Position 23 RELEGATED
Points 46; Position 23 RELEGATED
Re: Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
^^ If only there was technology available so that produce could be weighed at the cashier reducing the need for plastic bags to stick price labels on.
Re: Tips for recycling and reducing plastic use in Thailand
THIS TEMPLE RECYCLES PLASTIC BOTTLES INTO MONK ROBES
Long article with many photos: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/ ... onk-robes/
SAMUT PRAKAN — A temple in central Thailand gives plastic bottles new, consecrated life in the form of new robes for monks.
“Don’t think that the waste problem can’t be solved. Buddha taught us that there is always a solution to every problem,” the deputy abbot of Wat Chak Daeng, Phra Maha Pranom Dhammalangkaro, said.
The temple manages a campaign calling for donations of plastic bottles, which are processed into synthetic fibres and used to make robes. The upcycling initiative has already saved 40 tons of plastic since its inception last year.
Visitors walking into the vast temple in Bang Krachao, dubbed “Bangkok’s green lung,” could easily mistake it for a waste processing plant. Volunteers sort waste in a large warehouse, while a monk pours food waste into a compost machine to make organic fertilizer and biogas. The clamor of plastic bottles being crushed drowns out the chant of afternoon prayers...............
Long article with many photos: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/ ... onk-robes/
SAMUT PRAKAN — A temple in central Thailand gives plastic bottles new, consecrated life in the form of new robes for monks.
“Don’t think that the waste problem can’t be solved. Buddha taught us that there is always a solution to every problem,” the deputy abbot of Wat Chak Daeng, Phra Maha Pranom Dhammalangkaro, said.
The temple manages a campaign calling for donations of plastic bottles, which are processed into synthetic fibres and used to make robes. The upcycling initiative has already saved 40 tons of plastic since its inception last year.
Visitors walking into the vast temple in Bang Krachao, dubbed “Bangkok’s green lung,” could easily mistake it for a waste processing plant. Volunteers sort waste in a large warehouse, while a monk pours food waste into a compost machine to make organic fertilizer and biogas. The clamor of plastic bottles being crushed drowns out the chant of afternoon prayers...............
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