PM asks general public to preserve environment

[buksida]

The government urges the people of Thailand to recognize the importance of natural resources on the occasion of Thai Environment Day.

Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd disclosed that on the occasion of Thai Environment Day, December 4th 2016, Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha asked people to recognize the importance of natural resources, the environment, and to cooperate with the government on environmental preservation.

The government had laid clear policies to preserve and restore natural resources from the start such as the reclamation of areas of National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuary and National from the capitalists and influential figures, reforestation and the allocation of land to the needy in the form of community forests, the revised management of national parks and the promotion of volunteers to assist state directives, he said.

He added that the government has placed guidelines of the 20-Year National Strategy with a great focus on long-term environment preservation and restoration.

Source: http://thainews.prd.go.th/website_en/ne ... 2040010022

Thought: Really? He should start in the schools then, teaching kids that the floor isn't one giant trash dump.

[brianks]

If they would just start a campaign to attempt to persuade the populous to not throw their trash anywhere would be a huge plus. I can remember in 50's in school when we were bombarded with the message "Keep America Beautiful". Eventually the campaign mostly worked. Could work here too but doubt how committed the establishment is towards enforcing it.

[crazy88]

I have always recycled which, once a month, pays for a meal and drinks for the 2 of us.

A few months back bags of rubbish started appearing at the end of the road and are being torn apart and spread all over the roads. It was being dumped on private land in an area where several of us rent and sell houses. Not a nice introduction to the area with rubbish strewn all over the road and The Thai owner of the land it was being dumped on was not happy either. First we put up a sign to no avail. Turns out it was farangs dumping it instead of driving 200m to some public bins

Crazy 88

[Big Boy]

it was farangs dumping it instead of driving 200m to some public bins

Could just as easily have been Thais.

Actually, that was my first thought. We've had discussions on here about this before. Yes, for bags of household waste it's pure laziness/ignorance. However, for larger items there is no real solution.

Before anything can be seriously done about this problem, the very man who is spouting this good guy propaganda needs to provide public tips. Yes, every discussion talks about tips here, and tips there, but I can't find them, and those that make the claims are always so vague, its either their own personal tip and knowledge makes them all powerful, or they've never used them either.

[crazy88]

BB wrote

"Could just as easily have been Thais"

Well it wasn't. Possibly laziness,lack of respect, or simply they did not know where the public bins are and that they can use them. They are blue and all over the place. As for larger items such as broken fridges, printers, old furniture there are places that will buy it off you. I know only one close to me near the Hin Lek Fai supermarket on the same side of the road. I am sure there are plenty more around.

Crazy 88

[buksida]

Farangs trashing and littering the place here is definitely a rarity.

[Big Boy]

Well it wasn't. Possibly laziness,lack of respect, or simply they did not know where the public bins are and that they can use them. They are blue and all over the place. As for larger items such as broken fridges, printers, old furniture there are places that will buy it off you. I know only one close to me near the Hin Lek Fai supermarket on the same side of the road. I am sure there are plenty more around.

But there is still plenty of rubbish that can not be sold, and is too much for a bin. OK, a few bags of household waste are one thing, but what about building waste?

I know you're in the trade, and I'm not suggesting you would be guilty. What is the correct way for disposing of building waste that we see scattered all over the countryside please? Is this facility available to everybody?

[crazy88]

BB you are quite correct as is Buksi on the fact that it a rarity. I worked on dive boats for 10 years and the amount of farangs I have seen flick cig butts over the side or tread them into the beach, leave plastic and glass all over the beach during parties would shock you however. As for building refuse it is certainly, in many cases, that they will fly tip what cannot be sold. I smacked up a portion of my terrace recently creating a couple of cubic metres of rubble which I had broken down and filled in a load of potholes on the road nearby at my expense. Not for the first time. Wood, if not able to reuse in any way, I just have it burned. Plastic , glass and metal can be sold even in small pieces by weight. The correct way is to make it clear to the builders that you will not tolerate them dumping waste materials other than in areas where it is allowed to do so. You will often get ignored and lied to when you ask. Also a lot of developers simply do not care if it is not on their doorstep. I do care both for the environment and that I do not want someone banging on my door telling me one of our trucks has dumped a load of refuse somewhere that it should not have done.

Crazy 88

[Big Boy]

So, I think you are confirming there are no public tips that we can use. If there is no such beast, I think fly tipping is inevitable.

I was in Cambodia earlier this year, and they had only started bin collection in the town 12 months earlier. Certainly the dirtiest place I've visited on this planet, and made Thailand look spotless.

BTW, we also re-cycle vigorously, and sell broken units for scrap. My granddaughters enjoy the proceeds If we can burn anything else, we will. Some things we leave by the bin, and somebody (not the bin men) seems to take it away.

[crazy88]

Here is a link on general rubbish collection. [Admin edit: links to competing websites forbidden as explained in forum T&Cs]

We have all seen the people on motorbike and side car collecting it. I have seen a lot of landfill made up of building refuse mixed with soil over the years. Half the price but not as nice once it has settled and you need to dig foundations, pools, fishponds etc and also full of lime which makes the garden a disaster.

Good on you for recycling Let us hope the people take notice.

Crazy 88

[PeteC]

If they would just start a campaign to attempt to persuade the populous to not throw their trash anywhere would be a huge plus. I can remember in 50's in school when we were bombarded with the message "Keep America Beautiful". Eventually the campaign mostly worked. Could work here too but doubt how committed the establishment is towards enforcing it.

I've been thinking about this since posted, and most definitely I remember the campaign and that it worked well in the US. The Thais without a doubt need things hammered into their heads for it to become habit, at least the uneducated masses who are probably responsible for most of the litter.

It wouldn't hurt for us, our Thai families and friends to begin to make the statement when and where we can on social media and our other internet traffic. Perhaps if the newspapers pick it up it could get a larger boost. You never know until you try.

"Keep Thailand Beautiful" in Thai per Google is ให้ไทยที่สวยงาม Pete

[Big Boy]

................ but it still comes down to the same problem - somewhere to throw it.

We had great public tips in the UK, and the message got through to most people. Of course, Thailand or wherever, you'll always get the lazy gits.

[Nereus]

A bit off topic, but relevant:

and also full of lime which makes the garden a disaster.

Not sure where you get this idea from Crazy88? It depends on the pH of the soil, especially needed on acidic clay types of soil. Agree the that building rubble may be a problem, but not because of the lime.

[Nereus]

Here you go, if you can find one:

Life can be trying when you live near a dump

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opin ... ear-a-dump

Few people care what happens afterward to the leftovers from items they consume. Once they drop the rubbish in their hands into a bin or whatever, that's the end of it as far as they are concerned.

But a lot of people do care, particularly those responsible for waste disposal and those who are unfortunate enough to live close to dump sites where the leftovers usually end up.........................>>>>>

[PeteC]

Thinking about this problem more, I've come to some sad conclusions. Throwing trash out of your car window and similar is the most basic form of pollution and should be the easiest to solve and educate about.

Next up are things like keeping your 10 year old diesel pick-up in tune so it doesn't belch black smoke...costs money and many don't care. Go the central and northeast regions and you'll be amazed at how many of these smokers you see.

We then advance to factories and what they're emitting and spilling. Rarely have I seen a news story about penalties, or even inspections being conducted. The air here is dirty whether it be dust or factory particulates. I live a mile from the south facing sea with predominate breeze off the ocean daily, and I dig enough out of my nose in a year to fill a planter of petunias. Nowhere else in the world have I experienced that.

Then we advance to municipalities with inadequate sewage disposal. Very few places outside of Bangkok have adequate systems, and I would think Bangkok itself is a question mark.

The pollution problem is endemic, top to bottom in this society with no organized solutions except perhaps a yearly speech urging people to be clean.

Cleaning beaches is fine if it's a beach you use and you don't want to walk or swim in filth. Any Thai participants are already the level of society who care, and not the level of society doing the damage. It's a futile exercise except to achieve your own level of comfort with your immediate environment.

Per above, I still think a very aggressive "Keep Thailand Beautiful" campaign will reap benefits, but it will be long term and that doesn't fit the model of how Thailand does things.

Goodbye 2016 and hello 2017. Cause to be optimistic here about these issues? Doubtful. Pete