Clean Hua Hin's beaches movement - Trash Hero

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buksida
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's Beaches Movement

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Asian nations make plastic oceans promise
Nations responsible for much of the world's ocean plastic pollution have promised to start cleaning up their act.

At a UN oceans summit, delegates from China, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines said they would work to keep plastics out of the seas.

Some of the promises are not yet formalised and environmentalists say the measures proposed are not nearly urgent enough.

But UN officials praised the statement.

Meeting in New York, they said it was part of a clear international shift against ocean pollution.

Eric Solheim, the UN's environment director, told BBC News: "There are quite encouraging signs, with nations taking the ocean much more seriously. Of course, there is a very long way to go because the problems are huge."

'Worst' products for recycling named
Seabirds 'blighted by plastic waste'
Plastic heading for oceans quantified

It is estimated that 5-13 million tonnes of plastics flow into the world's oceans annually. Much of it is ingested by birds and fish – and fragments of plastic have even been found in organisms at the bottom of the ocean.

A recent paper said much of the marine plastic often originates far from the sea – especially in countries which have developed consumer economies faster than their ability to manage waste.

The Helmholtz Centre in Leipzig, Germany, estimated that 75% of land-borne marine pollution comes from just 10 rivers, predominantly in Asia.
Reducing the plastic loads in these rivers by 50% would reduce global plastic inputs by 37%, it said.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40195664
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's Beaches Movement

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Let's see if within the next year stores here stop loading bags with plastic cutlery, bags of condiments, drinking straws and other plastic junk most don't want or use. Much of it ends up in the sea eventually. I don't even want to mention plastic bags as I think that idea is beyond the thinking of most people here. But.....if store clerks could be trained to ASK it would be a big help and increase awareness by a huge amount :( Pete
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's Beaches Movement

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Time to ditch plastic excuses and save the seas
For years now it has been a habit of mine to pocket a few used (but clean) plastic bags before heading to the supermarket.

I remember at first I would often get a funny look as I handed one of these to the person at the register. They couldn't fathom why I was handing them a bag (surely it should be other way round?) before it dawned on them I wanted to save plastic -- and maybe the world.

"Fighting global warming, eh?" they would remark. "That's nice."

I would mumble something in agreement before telling them my real goal was not to create more garbage.

These episodes tell me that most people are aware of, or at least have heard about, global warming. They know it is not a good thing. However, I wonder if they realise the role they play in it, or understand how plastic bags contribute to the heating-up of the planet.

At least I hope they know they have contributed to the rising mountains of waste.

Waste is a problem of global scale. In every country, waste management is a constant challenge. Only a few countries are able to claim success in this area.

Countries use various strategies to tackle the problem. A handful respond aggressively as the situation becomes critical, either by imposing levies on plastic bags or even by banning them outright. Some take the more amenable route of recycling, reusing, and recovering waste.

Thailand is one of a large number of countries that talk the talk but never walk the walk.

Unfortunately, you cannot simply wish the problem to go away. The longer you ignore it, the more critical it becomes.

We all know that garbage is accumulating at a concerning rate in our seas. Plastic bags are a major cause, inflicting suffering and death among marine life that mistakes the bags for food.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opin ... e-the-seas
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's Beaches Movement

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Talk the talk but dont walk the walk-- That could be the national motto of Thailand.
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's Beaches Movement

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22773385_391811534570566_2085083468_n.jpg
22773385_391811534570566_2085083468_n.jpg (49.92 KiB) Viewed 1046 times

Just a reminder that you can join Trash Hero Hua Hin if you care about reducing plastic and keeping the beaches clean, find out when and where they meet up here:
https://www.facebook.com/trashherohuahin/


:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's Beaches Movement

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For me Trash Hero is tackling the problem from the wrong end. Deal with the problem at it's root not at it's result. You will clean your little patch of sand for 100 years and the next day it will be just as bad as the cause is not addressed.
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's Beaches Movement

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StevePIraq wrote: Tue Oct 24, 2017 1:26 pm For me Trash Hero is tackling the problem from the wrong end. Deal with the problem at it's root not at it's result. You will clean your little patch of sand for 100 years and the next day it will be just as bad as the cause is not addressed.
I agree with this. Let the beach fill up with trash and it will be on the news/Social media. The authority's will be embarrassed and the general public might even start to think about how throwing waste away is damaging the environment.
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's Beaches Movement

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Dealing at it's roots means EVERYONE using less 'single use' plastic, saying no to that 7-Eleven plastic bag and third straw and using fewer plastic bottles. This is one of the primary goals of Trash Hero, to educate people about the problem as well as cleaning up.

It affects all of us (google microbeads in the food chain) so we should all be making an effort to use less plastic and pickup the odd bottle now and then. Movements are not started by governments, they're started by people, one step at a time.
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's Beaches Movement

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buksida wrote: Tue Oct 24, 2017 2:19 pm Dealing at its root means EVERYONE using less single use plastic. This is one of the primary goals of Trash Hero, to educate people about it as well as cleaning up. It is all of our problem so all of us should make an effort to use less plastic and pickup the odd bottle now and then.

Movements are not started by governments, they're started by people, one step at a time.
I've already started a recycle bin for plastic bottles and aluminium cans in our compound, the workers collected them from people's general waste in the past (to recycle for a few Baht per kilo), I hope the new clearly labelled bin might help the recycling effort (the workers will still take them away, but hopefully their harvest will increase). I haven't drilled down into PET numbers as I think this would just be ignored or not understood by most; I thought let's just get a general effort rolling first.

But can I ask, how do people (consumers) decide to use less single use plastic? Single use plastic is usually used by drinks manufacturers for small water/soda bottles etc., and should be recycled anyway. Aluminium (correct spelling) cans the same. Products with the PET numbers suitable for multiple use are usually sold as such (large refillable water bottles, lidded coffee mugs for mobile use, and so on).

Can you give some more info on how people can still buy the products they want but avoid cans and single use plastic?

Cheers.
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's Beaches Movement

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nil wrote: Tue Oct 24, 2017 2:16 pm
StevePIraq wrote: Tue Oct 24, 2017 1:26 pm For me Trash Hero is tackling the problem from the wrong end. Deal with the problem at it's root not at it's result. You will clean your little patch of sand for 100 years and the next day it will be just as bad as the cause is not addressed.
I agree with this. Let the beach fill up with trash and it will be on the news/Social media. The authority's will be embarrassed and the general public might even start to think about how throwing waste away is damaging the environment.
I understand what you say but disagree with it. You must educate but also show a social conscience. Trash Hero is definitely 50 percent of the answer. By highlighting the holes in government action, the project's efforts are already embarrassing them, given enough media coverage.

But I hope they are not thrown in jail for doing the work that municipal workers are supposed to; I wonder if refuse collection is a protected job.... :P
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's Beaches Movement

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404cameljockey wrote: Tue Oct 24, 2017 2:33 pm But can I ask, how do people (consumers) decide to use less single use plastic? Single use plastic is usually used by drinks manufacturers for small water/soda bottles etc., and should be recycled anyway. Aluminium (correct spelling) cans the same. Products with the PET numbers suitable for multiple use are usually sold as such (large refillable water bottles, lidded coffee mugs for mobile use, and so on).

Can you give some more info on how people can still buy the products they want but avoid cans and single use plastic?
Cheers.

Trash Hero have a bottle project whereby you buy a stainless bottle that can be refilled for free all across Thailand in participating venues: https://trashhero.org/what-we-do/#bottles-and-bags

Free water refill station locator: https://trashhero.org/refill

This way you're not buying plastic bottles from the shops every day. It is a start, but a journey of a thousands steps has to start with one.

Not sure if this is in place in Hua Hin yet, it would be nice if someone from TH Hua Hin posted here to update us.

Edit: hopefully there will be more ideas posted in the new recycling thread.
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's beaches movement - Trash Hero

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29th Oct, Hua Hin's Trash Heroes will be at Naebkehardt Soi 1/Hua Hin Soi 53 at 4pm.

Everybody is welcome to come along to help.
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's beaches movement - Trash Hero

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More than 50 local and international volunteers showed up for today's clean up. Many were responding to the photos on social media depicting the exceptional amount of rubbish given back from the sea over the last couple of days.

More than 800 Kg was removed (organic as well as garbage and trash)

Great effort guys.
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's beaches movement - Trash Hero

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The real heroes are the same people I see day in day out collecting and sorting the trash from them blue plastic bins they put out everywhere and stacking it in very ingenious ways on their old bikes w/ side cars...God bless them
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Re: Clean Hua Hin's beaches movement - Trash Hero

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Yesterday's Trash Heroes, Hua Hin haul
Credit: Patrick Jacobs
Credit: Patrick Jacobs
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