Thailand dumps 1 million tons of waste into the sea and is one of the largest polluters in the world
The Ministry of the Environment wants to work on the estimated 1 million tons that disappear into the sea every year. The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources has been commissioned to make an inventory and study the consequences of small plastic particles on the ecological system, the so-called plastic soup.
The 23 coastal provinces account for 10 million tons of waste per day, half of which is processed by poorly functioning waste management systems and 1 million tons are dumped at sea.
The best way to combat this is to reduce the waste stream on land, so that less waste ends up in the sea, says permanent secretary Wijarn of the ministry.
Thailand is globally regarded as one of the largest polluters in the world, after China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. The waste consists of 15 percent plastic, 7 percent straws and 5 percent cigarette butts.
Marine debris is the second leading cause of fish kills. Every year, 150 sea turtles, 100 whales and dolphins and 12 dugongs die, mainly from eating plastic.
Source: Bangkok Post
Think there will be a whole culture shock if the Thai no longer get a straw to drink. Even in restaurants you get a straw in your glass. Couldn't wash off the Thai properly 🙂
Regardless of the scope of the article, but is it a million tons per day or per year? Title and text contradict each other in 364 million tons.
Yes, the article is a bit unclear. I think it should be every year. But later it seems that it is about numbers per day.
Here the source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1318643/ministry-plans-road-map-for-marine-waste-control
10 million tons is more than 140 kilos per Thai. Because it only concerns the inhabitants of the coastal provinces, that number is even higher. That's why it seems to me on a daily basis. But even if it is per year, it is of course way too much.
And what is it then per tourist and the farang who also live here permanently?
23 coastal provinces account for 10 million (10^7) tons of waste per day. That's 10 billion (10^10) kilograms, 10 trillion (10^13) grams
5% of that consists of cigarette butts, so 10 trillion / 20 = 500 billion grams.
Let me estimate the weight of 1 cigarette butt high and equate it to 1 gram.
That's 500 billion butts per day.
500 billion shared by the entire Thai population of 66 million (so not just the coastal provinces) is already more than 8000 cigarettes per day per person.
Conclusion: Something is wrong here.
Presumably, anywhere that says "per day" should say "per year." Also in the title.
Bangkok Post does not always excel in clarity, and it often contains errors. Especially with numbers. I think it will be every year.
Math is not Thailand's strong suit.
It is really unbelievable how Thais deal with their waste… Along the side of the road you see masses of empty packaging… also there where there is a waste bin every 50 meters, but no, just drop it! The Gold Coast near Koh Samet, that's also a disaster when you see what washes up there. There would be a contract to land the waste from Koh Samet by boat. Everything is neatly taken on board but also dumped in the sea before reaching the mainland. It is sad to see how the Thai ruin their own beautiful country like this. I have been coming to Thailand for a long time and have been living in the same village for the last 2 years…What did you think?…Every day I sweep the street, much further than my particle…cups…pampers…food waste…Now some Thais are starting to follow my example , unfortunately not all ... There are still houses where you would not even want to enter the front garden for hygienic reasons.
Hopefully I will be able to experience a decent village one day, but I fear that it will remain a vain hope…
they just burn their garbage on the street.
i know myself in Krabi, nice beach and massage huts.
take a look behind those huts or go and do your needs.
everything just on a pile of that filth;
Thais are not clean people, especially on the outside
I must say that my girlfriend, not far from Khon Buri (Korat), does not have a garbage truck in their village.
so people just stoke everything up, or just throw it next to their (house) or in the (garden?)
A golden opportunity for the waste management industry, isn't it?
Because little to no tax is levied in Thailand, the waste processing industry also remains an illusion.
Who will pay for it, apart from the high energy costs associated with it.
An Asian who cares SOMETHING about the environment… has yet to be conceived… Anything that falls 1 mm beyond arm's length no longer interests anyone there. Just look at the somewhat quiet roads: one big rubbish dump.
It is actually not surprising, if you look at Big C, Tesco and all other supermarkets, you will see that almost every second product is provided with a plastic bag. Also in the food stalls, you can almost see that every meal and even drink are packaged in plastic. If, like in many countries in Europe, they would start asking for money for every plastic bag, many people would already be able to change their minds.
My experience is that many Thais are very proud of their country, so I don't understand why many people make such a rubbish dump out of it.
Yes yes, there is a lot of work to sensitize the people here about waste!
They just throw everything away where they are! They simply don't care!
And I come from the best sorting municipality in Flanders.
Man man man, no garbage truck passes by in our municipality (countryside)! They just burn everything here!
And we……. we just do illegal dumping, we throw our garbage bag somewhere in a public garbage can! Well, what else should a person do?
They just don't look at the environment! Must be the 'je m'en fou' mentality!
you're right, and then all those vermin that come to that filth.
Understand who will understand
I think the waste processing here in the Isaan is a godsend
I take a plastic bag to Nang Rong every day because there are garbage cans there
Here in my village, as several have said, stir up
Taking the garbage to the bins has a lot of benefits not that nasty smoke in my grandson's face and as a firefighter I know what a mess it makes and it's much better
2 weeks ago I took my plastic bag with rubbish back with me in the morning after 15 km by motorcycle the bag in the bleu bin suddenly an agent appears and asks if I pay for the waste bin, I say no I am not from here Well now the waste bin costs in Nang Rong 20 bath per month
Because I don't live in Nang Rong and throw the garbage there, Mr. Agent allows me to pay 200 bath
Shame if you try to stop that big gang, they will treat you to a ticket
You just dump your waste a little further, after which it will also be spruced up!
Years ago in Diemen there was also waste processing in the district that took place with cisterns installed in the ground, which were emptied every week. In the beginning, the bins were only in one part of that neighborhood and the other part had to wait for this, but found it necessary to also provide the bins with their waste. There was commotion among residents who insisted that fines be issued for the abusers. It is and remains a small world. That mentality of that agent also lived among that group of residents. Incidentally, there is also legislation in the Netherlands that provides for this. This is apparently also the case for Thailand, which surprised me, but is correct as a basis. 200 bath is 10 (tax) months and for a good cause you can get over it anyway. But I agree with you a warning could have sufficed and certainly more understanding.
Yes, yesterday I had a bad day with the litter. Here too they create a rubbish dump along the road, which in my opinion is 90% the fault of the municipality. There are no designated dumps where you can take your waste.
After a few weeks of rain everything was too wet so yesterday it was quite dry because it hasn't rained for a longer period, so we went there in good spirits with a firelighter and a lighter.
At 500 meters the thick plumes of smoke could be seen from the car and moped tires and the rest of the muck.
So I'm happy again that it would be cleaned up. What is my surprise :: within 10 minutes 3 fire engines that will extinguish my carefully lit dump with water !!!
IT SHOULD NOT GET CRAZIER!! I have to wait for everything to dry again.
Burning is polluting, a Thai thinks. They also think that plastic dissolves in nature like cow dung. Hence no attention is paid to cleaning up. After all, it passes with time….but we don't know how long it will take.
The problem with plastic is that it does NOT decay, it just becomes microscopic. This is called microplastic.
In any case, microplastic has already been found in bottled water, beer, honey and sea salt.
I blame it on people's ignorance and the millennia-old habit of randomly dumping garbage anywhere, because it became food for nature anyway.
In the absence of proper processing of plastic waste, I don't even think burning it is such a bad solution. Then it will in any case not end up in the environment and therefore not in the food cycle.