Thailand 'trash crisis' looms

[buksida]

Thailand faces a looming "garbage crisis" if the government fails to allocate more funding to improve waste management, the Pollution Control Department has warned.

PCD chief Wichien Jungrungruang said the amount of household waste being generated nationwide had been increasing for years without any matching government investment, prompting many illegal dump sites to open

These illegal tips are often poorly managed and can cause significant environmental and health impacts, Mr Wichien said, adding his department was now attempting to survey the exact number of illegal dumps around the country.

The move follows a massive fire at Phraeksa rubbish dump in Samut Prakan last month, which forced the evacuation of thousands of residents due to health fears. Fires have also been reported recently at illegal tips in Surat Thani and Lampang.

Mr Wichien urged the government to set aside a larger budget for the installation of better waste management facilities to respond to the growing amount of household rubbish.

According to PCD figures, urban dwellers produce 1.89 kilogrammes of garbage per day per person, almost double the national average of 1kg per day.

Full Story: Bangkok Post

Thoughts: Its all very well blaming the government but rubbish management starts with an environmentally aware population which sadly Thailand doesn't have. People throwing trash out of cars or bikes onto the street happens all the time, the supermarkets give you more plastic bags than you need, fishing boats hurl all of their crap into the ocean without consequence, plastic bottles are more common than plants in some places, and nobody seems to give a shit. Thailand, like many others in Asia is a plastic obsessed nation, steps have been made in Malaysia to reduce this problem so why not here?

[Name Taken]

Thailand faces a looming "garbage crisis" if the government fails to allocate more funding to improve waste management, the Pollution Control Department has warned.

PCD chief Wichien Jungrungruang said the amount of household waste being generated nationwide had been increasing for years without any matching government investment, prompting many illegal dump sites to open

These illegal tips are often poorly managed and can cause significant environmental and health impacts, Mr Wichien said, adding his department was now attempting to survey the exact number of illegal dumps around the country.

The move follows a massive fire at Phraeksa rubbish dump in Samut Prakan last month, which forced the evacuation of thousands of residents due to health fears. Fires have also been reported recently at illegal tips in Surat Thani and Lampang.

Mr Wichien urged the government to set aside a larger budget for the installation of better waste management facilities to respond to the growing amount of household rubbish.

According to PCD figures, urban dwellers produce 1.89 kilogrammes of garbage per day per person, almost double the national average of 1kg per day.

Full Story: Bangkok Post

Thoughts: Its all very well blaming the government but rubbish management starts with an environmentally aware population which sadly Thailand doesn't have. People throwing trash out of cars or bikes onto the street happens all the time, the supermarkets give you more plastic bags than you need, fishing boats hurl all of their crap into the ocean without consequence, plastic bottles are more common than plants in some places, and nobody seems to give a shit. Thailand, like many others in Asia is a plastic obsessed nation, steps have been made in Malaysia to reduce this problem so why not here?

and the severe lack of trash bins everywhere.

[Takiap]

Well I very rarely rant or complain about things here, but since this subject has come up now, why shouldn't I speak my mind.


I agree Buksi, the overwhelming majority of Thais are worse than bloody animals when it comes to littering. They simply do not care, not even a little bit. It often seems to me that they just don't have the same concept of tidiness as most Farang have.

I have lived happily for years without insect screens on our windows, but that had to change when the inlaws arrived. Our screen are not there to keep insects out, they're their to keep rubbish in. Unfortunately, the place still looks like a tip most days, and despite my efforts, kids are quick to follow by example.


Sitting down at a local shop I often seen Thais (usually Isaan imports) actually walk about five to ten meters to throw their empty bottle or packet into the bush despite the fact that they were stand right next to a bin.

At another nearby shop which is actually kept spotless, I see Thais stopping on the scooters; they sit and eat their kanom, throw the packet on the floor, buy another kanom and then do the same thing. If it was my shop I'd smash a blood broom over their heads.

The problem is of course that parents don't teach their kids. The schools try, at least to an extent, but that's where it ends.

Then you get those Thai who really do care, but only if the litter is thrown in their home or shop. At one local shop the young boy (about 10) forgot to take his orange peels off the table....what a bloody smack he got from his mother who rules with an iron fist. However, he can of course go throw his rubbish in the bush a few meters away from the shop.

I don't know, swimming among empty bottles and floating plastic bags doesn't spark images of a tropical paradise.

RANT OFF

[Spitfire]

There is a massive garbage problem here and it is one of the few major stains on Thailand. To be honest, it's a bloody disgrace that so much ends up apathetically thrown on the floor everywhere from homes to the sides of the road.

This [garbage] situation attitude is completely inconsistent with their stance on many other things considering the pride that most Thais have about their country in many aspects.

The idea about protecting the environment just hasn't twigged here yet in most of it's forms.......'Out of sight is out of mind' still prevails as does the short-sighted businesses that pollute the environment at any opportunity to make a few extra baht.

They haven't figured it out that once it gets so bad, it will cost a whole lot more to sort it out later (if it can be sorted at all) than it does to prevent it in the present.

Sadly though, I think sometimes that it goes no further, or is no more complicated than, most of them just couldn't give a shit about it........period.

[Frank La Rue]

In my mind thai personal awareness of poluting, or rather not poluting their environment ,is part of a mindset which I have observed in many asian countries, Japan being a notable exeption.

I have noted with my previous inlaws in Singapore (my 1st wife is S'porian) as well as in Thai households, that they have no concept of personal structure around them. A utensil used is left were it was last used, either on the floor a book shelf, table or the stairs. Next time you need it you have to run around looking for it if you were not the user.

Next is the gathering - instinct. I have seen households in Singapore and Thailand with gathering of all sorts of things gone on overdrive.
The net result are households where I could never live.

This was one reason I broke up with my first wife, and on the ticklist when I searched for a Thai spouse - this mind set could not be part of the parental culture.

I have also seen this in a business context, I have visited suppliers in Asia where I would never believe they could manufacture anything with controlled quality due to the general mess and untidiness. In some cases I was proven wrong though, the production line was well taken care of but the front yard was a mess - this was Thaiwan. It took quite some soul searching for me to make the jump and actually place orders (which I in the end did) as it was counter intuitive.

I am still trying to figure out where this comes from.

- Is it that cold climate and christian work ethic forced us to get organized in the West?

- Is it that the Industrial revolution thaught us the benefit of mass production/mass concumtion and
the prerequisite was to get organized and structured?

I don't know - I just know that it is a part of asian mind set and one I don't enjoy.

[Gérard]

I remember that 50-60 years ago (I am 65), my own country, France, was not so clean and the farms were quite dirty and stinking...

The few more than average rich Thai houses that I have visited were very clean and tidy, and the less rich ones were not all dirty.

The Army grounds are generally well kept.

The "mai pen rai" philosophy is certainly one of the reasons.

[Frank La Rue]

I remember that 50-60 years ago (I am 65), my own country, France, was not so clean and the farms were quite dirty and stinking...

The few more than average rich Thai houses that I have visited were very clean and tidy, and the less rich ones were not all dirty.

The Army grounds are generally well kept.

The "mai pen rai" philosophy is certainly one of the reasons.

I have made the same observations. The tidiness seems to increase with education. Maybe it is a vicious struggle - the poorer you are the less energy you have to become organized and the less organized you are the less likely you are to rize out of powerty.

[centermid7]

It has always been my biggest surprise AND my biggest disappointment in coming to Thailand: The way these folks trash their country.

Of course they are not the only ones for it is this way in much of SE Asia. There is little in the way of garbage removal available to the public, homes, or businesses.

I guess it was the stories about Singapore and how clean it was but I just never expected the amount of trash that is seen here and how NO ONE seems to care even a little bit.

Does Hua Hin have a city landfill? Where does the garbage pick-up go?

[zeitgeist]

Off soi 112 there is a landfill, also a small recycling area.

[PeteC]

Many of what I would call lower class Thais, who indeed could be the majority, get quite a bit of pleasure and laughter sitting by the seaside watching conscientious Thais, international school students, and foreign tourists clean their beaches for them. Must really be a thrill for them to watch others clean up their shit given their life apparently affords few other pleasures. That is besides the money they get for voting and for demonstrating....and sex of course! Pete

EDIT: insert the word "and (having) sex of course!" I'm not beating up the bar girls.

[oakdale160]

I would be interested if those of you with Thai wives and in laws can give your opinion on the following.
It is a feature of countries where there is some attempt at equality of opportunity to believe that the country belongs to everybody. In countries in which the favored families own and control everything then there is a feeling that it belongs to THEM, we just live here.
Secondly, Thai people unlike Japanese,Koreans, S,porians and even Malaysians lack the obsessive-compulsive need for order, neatness and tiidiness in their lives.

[PeteC]

Just briefly.....I don't know if the term "obsessive-compulsive" is correct. I think by custom, tradition, education, even genetics...the countries you reference simply have a higher aesthetic mentality.

Aesthetics is part of any and all corporate aptitude/IQ tests for senior management and has been from at least the 80's. The test people told me at the time the trait can be acquired, but it's primarily in you and part of you when born.

Draw your own conclusions about Thai folks and how they feel about it, and how they would score. I think it's an alien concept for many of them.

How does something become "in you and part of you when born"? Genetics and heredity. Generation after generation practicing the trait and embracing the principle that it eventually becomes part of a person's evolution and personality.

It simply hasn't happened here with most IMO, in the context we're talking about. Pete

[oakdale160]

I am not so sure that it takes generations.
A story--- Dalian is a city on the Chinese coast facing Korea. It was as dirty and scruffy as any Chinese city. About 30 years ago a new mayor was appointed, from Beijing, not a local. The city wanted to attract Korean and esp Japanese companies to establish there. The mayor thought, what do Koreans and Japanese like--- answer, order, discipline and cleanliness. In less than six months he turned the city into the cleanest , most orderly city in China. Traffic, perfect. Not a single piece of trash on the streets, buildings all cleaned and many repainted. It was a huge success and the investment came. The remarkable thing is that after the first effort govt did not have to use a heavy hand. The people were so proud of their reputation as the cleanest city in China that it was self policing.

[usual suspect]

I believe the Thais have a saying ..'Ting'..which (I think) means 'over-the-shoulder' in rough terms..& it applies to anything they no longer have use for..& that of course includes wrappers etc..!
Let me take you to the wife's house in Issan..it's like a Pikey-camp!
(& it's school hols just now, & yes the 'outlaws' & kids are all here staying in our house..need I say more)..??

[Frank La Rue]

I am not so sure that it takes generations.
A story--- Dalian is a city on the Chinese coast facing Korea. It was as dirty and scruffy as any Chinese city. About 30 years ago a new mayor was appointed, from Beijing, not a local. The city wanted to attract Korean and esp Japanese companies to establish there. The mayor thought, what do Koreans and Japanese like--- answer, order, discipline and cleanliness. In less than six months he turned the city into the cleanest , most orderly city in China. Traffic, perfect. Not a single piece of trash on the streets, buildings all cleaned and many repainted. It was a huge success and the investment came. The remarkable thing is that after the first effort govt did not have to use a heavy hand. The people were so proud of their reputation as the cleanest city in China that it was self policing.

I was just going to comment on oakdale's post regarding Singaporeans when I saw yours. During my years married to a Singaporean I saw some households with unbelievable mess and disorder.

However, this stayed in the house. Singapore itself as we know, is possible the best run civil administration in the world. Well, I would not really know that, but its very well run.

This indicates to me that lack of order is lack of awareness is lack of education.
Said the other way around, education leads to awareness leads to order. So, in your case of Dalian City same as Singapore - what does it is good Management.