We've talked about it before on this blog, the pollution of the sea around Thailand is mainly caused by plastic waste. It is an absolute necessity that measures are taken to combat this horrendous environmental pollution.
Until now, the public has been asked to use fewer plastic bags and there are some (supermarket) shops that have set a plastic bag-free day per month. Of course that hardly works. There is only one way to tackle the problem thoroughly and that is through a complete ban on plastic bags, imposed by the government. Isn't that possible, you might say, well, mind you, it is possible.
Prohibition
The problem of plastic waste is not limited to Thailand of course, it is a global problem. It was good to read today in the Algemeen Dagblad that Chile was the first country in Latin America to ban the distribution of plastic bags by shops. At supermarket chains, plastic bags must be gone within six months, for smaller shops a two-year transitional arrangement applies.
Only the plastic bags that are used to store food hygienically or longer are still allowed. Companies that do not comply with the new law risk a fine of about 290 euros per plastic bag that is handed over to the customer.
call
You see, it is certainly possible, if we take the problem seriously enough. Can someone with connections at the Ministry of the Environment (or whatever that ministry is called) suggest this Chilean solution?
Do you agree with the statement: 'The Thai government should ban the use of plastic bags and bags!' or not? Then respond.
About this blogger
-
Bert Gringhuis (1945), born and raised in Almelo in the beautiful Twente. Later lived for many years in Amsterdam and Alkmaar, working in export for various companies. I first came to Thailand in 1980 and immediately fell in love with the country. Been back many times since then and moved to Thailand after my (early) retirement as a widower. I have been living there for 22 years now with my somewhat younger Thai lady Poopae.
My first experiences in Thailand as a kind of newsletter sent to family, friends and acquaintances, which later appeared under the name Gringo on Thailandblog. Many, many articles followed those first stories and that has grown into an almost daily hobby.
In the Netherlands still an avid footballer and football referee, but the years are starting to tell and in Thailand still avid, but the pool billiards is really of inferior quality, ha ha!
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Totally agree It should be banned everywhere, but Asia is by far the biggest polluter when it comes to plastic.
I also completely agree with this. If I'm going to buy from macro, it can also be done without plastic bags. In the meantime, I have installed a drinking water filter to limit my waste. I take bags everywhere.
I have to say that I also do something that is less good…I burn wood and leaves once every two months. The other day I had thrown a dirty 6-litre bottle at the fire. It was burnt and gone in no time. Almost nothing was left of it. Why is that not used with the many plastic waste? Almost nothing is left behind!
macro or macro?
Must be macro.. 😉
I don't know if banning is the solution.
Apart from plastic bags, there is still a huge amount of plastic packaging material left over, which also ends up in the environment.
How about the huge mountain of plastic bottles and other packaging material, for example?
The biggest problem is good waste management, and education of the population not to let all their waste fall where it stands.
The most important task for the government, however, is proper waste processing, and everything stands and falls with that.
This does not only apply to Thailand, by the way.
I recently read an article that China no longer wants any waste from Europe.
That is what happened to the neatly separated (plastic) waste in the Netherlands.
That went to China in a large boat, and they dumped it – if I'm right, the largest polluter in the world with plastic waste – into the sea for us.
In some stores they already know that this "farang" has its own bag with it (no plastic!)
Drastic measures such as “banning something” are not capitalized on by the Thai government
mention!
-See banning agricultural poison : HERBIZID PARAQUAT POISON.
- tackling road safety.
– performing in front of the “Bühne” when especially Thai local residents complain about certain “entertainment shops” due to the nuisance of traffic and noise!
-denying a number of demonstrable facts, including prostitution. “tea money”, fraud, ertc.
So now we have to take drastic action against the environmentally polluting nuisance of plastic.
Hopefully I can still do that!
Think that the problem lies much deeper, the person who throws it away, but also the person who makes and buys it.
In my opinion, there is a gigantic lobby of the plastics industry behind it, which is perhaps even more powerful than the tobacco lobby, alcohol lobby or gun lobby. Plastic is made from petroleum, among other things, which is a gigantic lobby behind it.
A total ban on all “consumable plastic” would be the solution, or a very heavy burden.
even all those gadgets that are available at Action and Lidl or the 20-60 Thb store, because they often disappear in the drawer after a few uses and then end up in the environment.
Or what about a deposit on everything made of plastic.
Recently, a top man from Samsung even suggested putting deposits on mobile phones, because they also contain a huge amount of new raw materials.
In my opinion the only solution to relieve the environment is to simply introduce a deposit on everything.
It will take some getting used to in the beginning, but eventually the environment and our wallet will be bathed
Your suspicion is correct. There is a gigantic lobby on behalf of the petrochemical companies that manufacture plastic.
A small example, I used to buy a pack of 500 sheets of printing paper that was wrapped in paper, but in recent years such a pack has been wrapped in plastic. This compensates for the ban on plastic bags in shops and the mandatory replacement by paper bags. And so there are countless examples.
I agree that the plastic carrier bags like the bigC bv are insane.
Instead of a decent big bag, they use a poor quality small bag for everything.
Packaging of cardboard boxes can also be reused. They just don't want to give it. Reason: cardboard brings in money.
However, it is not a problem in Thailand alone.
We use and reuse the heavier quality plastic bags.
But to immediately ban all plastic articles is also a step that goes too far.
At a certain point nothing is possible anymore.
And taxing everything is only for the benefit of the state treasury.
And the plastic water bottles are already widely collected, although there is still room for improvement.
However, a levy on this would not be out of place.
you can still just refuse them and take your own bag to the store.
at foodmarket they even want to give one Bangkok mail in one plastic bag
Hi
Yes, prohibition is the best solution.
Adri
But it will never happen: we know who is the main shareholder in the Thai oil industry, right? In addition, Thais are raised as if Thailand only exists and there is no foreign country. They don't care if their waste causes problems elsewhere: after all, there is no such place anywhere else! Finally: Thais don't learn to think, only to obey. So if it's not required...
Totally agree and every school should spend half a day a month clearing litter along the roads with all pupils and students so that the young generation does something about it and builds up the country with a different mentality.
I suggest that all retired farang long-stayers spend half a day cleaning up litter in their neighborhood every month. Then they also indirectly help with that change of mentality.
Improve the world, start with yourself. And don't come up with a lame excuse like: “I'm not allowed to work”, because this activity will not easily be seen as robbery.
You don't have to teach them how to clean up litter, you have to teach them not to cause litter.
And how do you teach the people in your neighborhood not to cause litter?
Among other things, by setting a good example by ostentatiously cleaning up the litter in your neighbourhood.
Every bit helps. It has also taken decades in the Low Countries to reach the current level of consciousness.
Or did you think more about doing nothing and just complaining (on this blog)?
By initially depositing the waste where it belongs, because that's where everything starts when it comes to litter.
And you can set an example yourself, and that should be done ostentatiously.
For this, of course, there must also be sufficient options in your neighborhood to get rid of the waste, such as waste bins and waste containers, and which are therefore regularly emptied by the government.
Half a day a month, behind their ass, cleaning up their filth leads to nothing.
What are you going to do with it when the tap is still open.
Show them first that you have to turn off the tap and that mopping is only then useful.
You have to work every second, every hour, every day, every week, etc. on a change of mentality. Not by doing some patch work half a day a month.
The government must provide information, daily, on TV and other social media for months, years, ... schools must teach their students, there must be sufficient places where people can dispose of their rubbish, such as sufficient rubbish bins or waste containers in the streets and those regularly emptied as it should be, opening container parks where larger household waste can be disposed of, etc…
And indeed, to stop the supply, the production of plastic packaging, among other things, must also be reduced and replaced by other, reusable and more environmentally friendly packaging.
That is a fight that a country must dare to enter into with the various producers of plastic packaging, among other things.
Not only forbidding supermarkets to use plastic packaging, but also
already starting to ban the use of plastic packaging in schools and all government institutions.
All those food stalls that are located in or around schools, companies and government institutions, and that provide students and employees with food in the morning, afternoon and evening, may only be given a permit to stand there if they use reusable and environmentally friendly packaging. Students and employees can ensure that they have their own bag, bottle, bowl, container, stick, fork, etc. to receive their food. Can be easily stored in the school or at the workplace. Optionally, an environmentally friendly and reusable basic package can be put together and distributed to students and employees by schools, companies or institutions. Should be provided with their logo or advertising, so that the cost price is earned back by advertising on bottle, bowl, cutlery, plate or whatever may be in that basic package.
And those who do not follow must be punished. Through community service (cleaning up litter) and/or financial fines, which are effectively applied to everyone. If a farang then gets a justified fine of 2000 Baht because he throws a butt on the street, the Thai next to him must also get that fine because he throws his bowl or plastic bag on the ground.
But the consistent application of the laws also requires a major change of mentality. Instead of making additional laws, one should first and foremost apply the existing laws as they should be…. but well. That is also a problem that does not only exist in Thailand.
But don't let me stop you from cleaning up the mess of the Thai for half a day every month.
That is certainly better than complaining here that others complain on this blog, or passing the problem on by putting the solution in the hands of the retired long-stayers.
Good luck.
Does not only apply to Thailand, ban plastic bags, bags or other plastic packaging material as soon as possible.
In Holland we also walk with a shopping bag, why do we accept this plastic rubbish
When I walk to Tesco in the morning and shop, I also hand over a shopping bag while being looked at as an idiot
But then the question who is the real idiot who is polluting the world, In Thailand they really do everything in Plastic, refuse this and see how you are viewed - Start with yourself and many will follow
Every sane person should have realized this a long time ago. The occurrence in TL starts with the government and that goes for many more things. But by waiting you get people used to it and it will take years before it wears out. There are only few people with vision and that also applies to the European countries.
Last week I was surprised to see that Tops, the AH of the Central Plaza in my hometown, did not use plastic bags. However, the fabric bags were also gone. Of course I totally agree that we should use less plastic. The fabric bags should be a lot bigger, and widely available.
The large fabric AH shopping bag that I had brought with me from the Netherlands was soon used by my girlfriend as a mat to wipe her feet dry in the bathroom. My questionable face quickly answered: “I can wash darling!”
Should you ban or reward? I think with the latter you could help a lot of poor people. They are already collecting plastic bottles. With a deposit, that becomes even more attractive. In conclusion, I am therefore against prohibition.
Banning often doesn't help, asking for money does. Since we have to pay for a plastic bag in the Netherlands, they are hardly sold anymore. Moreover: what you have had to pay for is less likely to be thrown away.
In Thailand I always emphatically use my large cotton bag and say emphatically that I don't want plastic, but I also find that a bit colonial sometimes. Have you ever suggested to the cashier to move the rack with cotton bags closer to the cash register?
The government should start with the large supermarkets and small businesses that encourage the use of plastic with their system.
In the long run, people would also have to look for other options for drinking water in plastic bottles.
Moreover, I am almost certain that drinking water and other drinks from a glass bottle, apart from the enormous pollution, also taste much better than from the well-known plastic bottles, which I think give the drinking water an unpleasant aftertaste.
And although I like to drink coffee myself, I think the worsening "coffee to go" fashion is the next problem of a huge pollution that is already present.
A rethinking in this, or even a ban is therefore, in my opinion, already unavoidable.
I once read that there was a developed process in Thailand to make plastic bags from cassava that digested …. so why didn't that ever get off the ground….. or didn't that suit the plastic manufacturers?
Agree.
I am currently on koh tao.
Here, people are already actively working to reduce plastic waste.
In a number of cases, no plastic straws are given.
More and more supermarkets stop issuing plastic bags.
Dive schools hold clean-up days for both the beach and the dive sites in the sea.
But yes, in our small village in the countryside there is still a long way to go.
The bottles are kept separately because they are bought up.
There has been a garbage collection service for 2 years and there are bins along the road that are always full.
At school, the children learn to throw the rubbish in the bins.
Unfortunately, outside school hours, the weather is a mess on the street, following the example of parents.
They sweep their own street clean, but that ends up on the public road.
So I start small and say, for example, at the 7-11 or at the market that I don't need a plastic bag.
Every little bit helps and maybe others will see it and start thinking.
following the example, which is already a successful trial in the Netherlands, using all plastic as a road instead of asphalt
When I say at the supermarket and show that I have a large bag with me, they nod nicely yes and yet they put everything separately in those plastic bags, sometimes I give those bags back while I put them in my bag. The plastic bags are then taken back and then still thrown in the trash. That's a double shame because if I take the bags with me I can use them for waste or something.
The Chilean way is a good start in my opinion, but good waste processing is also important for Thailand. It stands and falls of course how the government, residents and tourists deal with the environment.
Ban those plastic bags, of course. And instead introduce paper / cardboard bags.
Seems a lot more environmentally friendly to me.
The point is that at shops like TOPS supermarket, the cashier has to put all products in a bag to show that this product has passed the checkout.
Then rather paper / cardboard than plastic.
I would advise all those people who claim that paper bags are better for the environment than plastic bags to inform themselves better. Read this and you will be better informed.
The problem is not whether or not to use a plastic carrier bag. It belongs to those people who, for one reason or another, think it would be a good idea to dump it in the sea. Never understood this.
But what about all those antibiotics that come into the Gulf of Siam because of the shrimp farms off the coast of Bangkok? Tons and tons of pure poison every year.
I agree with you that preventing litter is best, but dare to say that plastic litter is much more harmful than paper litter.
When paper ends up in the environment, it is eaten and digested. It has nutritional value for various organisms.
If plastic made from oil ends up in the environment, it will also be eaten, but there is no organism that is able to digest plastic. The consumption of plastic has already cost many animals their lives. Moreover, plastic has no nutritional value whatsoever.
Plastic objects made from oil, plasticizers and flame retardants eventually disintegrate into nanometer (10-9m) sized pieces under the influence of UV light. It is included in the food chain and eventually we get the nanoplastic – hidden in our food – literally served on our plate.
Plastic has already been found in bottled water, beer, honey, mussels, shrimps, oysters and sea salt.
And I also agree with you that the unnecessary use of antibiotics should also be stopped, but that is not the subject of discussion now.
In Bangladesh they stopped using plastic bags years ago. You now get thin cotton bags with your groceries. They are of course not 100% sustainable either, but they will at least pollute things for less time.
If I'm not mistaken, Lake Aral has almost dried up, because the river water is used for cotton cultivation.
I don't think it's very good for the environment either.
I have been taking my own shopping bags with me in the Netherlands for years. But on vacation, that's a bit tricky. If I bought water or other drinks at the supermarket, I shouldn't have to carry it in my arms. If they do the same as in the Netherlands by charging for a large "plastic" bag that you take with you next time. Saves a lot on worthless plastic bags.
Thirty years ago we, Belgians, witnessed the following discussion on the market in Axel NL. At a fabric stand, the exhibitor offered a plastic bag (we Belgians say bag) to a customer and the customer said "thank you, I don't need a bag "the exhibitor again" just take a bag. The customer again "no, I don't need a bag" Like 3x. We thought that was such a ridiculous discussion and then thought, give us that bag because we could do that for everything and more use some and never had enough of it. Until a few years ago a ban on plastic bags came into supermarkets here in Belgium and we thought that would never work. But on the contrary, soon everyone had their own bags and now everyone is in favor of bringing their own bag in order to reduce the waste mountain. Now we often think of that lady and instead of laughing about it, we praise her for her environmentally conscious choice in a period when no one was concerned about it. Since We follow her for a few years in the 7eleven in Thailand. When we return from the beach, the purchases go loose in the backpack and do not need their “purse”. A ban could work just as well in Thailand as here with us.
a long time ago you got brown paper bags at the GB in Belgium.
Don't understand why they switched to plastic either
If you've ever walked in the rain with big brown paper bags full of groceries, you'll understand why it's not so convenient.
By the way, the forests had to be spared if I remember correctly from the past.
They quickly became smaller, because we made paper from the trees.
We simply exchanged the Devil for Be-elzebub with plastic.
If we now exchange the plastic for paper again, we simply get the Devil back.
Incidentally, plastic should not be such a problem, if we can think of a good way to process the used plastic bags, when they have become waste.
You would expect that to be a solvable problem.
The real problem will probably be that there is a price tag attached to the solution.
All actions to reduce plastic are welcome, but it is more important to make consumers AWARENESS what this means for the environment. That is also a task for the government.
Take Tesco or Big C how many bags do you get and how many of your purchased items could just fit together in a bag? When I'm at the cash register I take items from the cashier out of her hands several times and put it in with other items (yes I can also bring my own bag) and then they look at you, like what a strange man. People just don't realize it. So a ban? YES!
Most of the food sold comes packaged in a plastic bag with a string, you choose what you want and they give it to you in a plastic bag.
And that will always be the case in Thailand.
I've never seen anyone carry Tupperware.
Do you???
Yes, yes.
When I go to get my food around here I often take a tupperware container with me and no one looks strange. There are also those who simply have a “henkelmenneke” with them.
In fact, a plastic bag should cost 5 or 10 baht, be sure that more than half have their own container with them.
Burning plastic in your garden is a very bad idea. The substances that are released are toxic. Definitely not healthy for humans and animals.
Indeed, poor people would like to have your plastic bottles because they can get money for them. I don't know what will happen to it then. When I left the Netherlands ten years ago, the Netherlands was much further along in terms of waste processing. It's a world problem. But the countries in this world find it difficult to devise and implement solutions together. Not wanting to see or even deny environmental problems is the easiest.
Just going to Big C and Tesco Lotus with a big bag is a first step and helps a lot. Just do it!
Agree with the statement.
We will collect plastic and glass bottles twice a year
someone comes along and buys it for a few baht
to recycle.
Also old iron and broken things such as a refrigerator
we become loose that way, someone deserves something more
and we also get a little money and everyone is happy.
That will take several decades. Don't forget that in countries like Thailand everything is just beginning what started with us 40 years ago. Try to convince a Thai that a small economical car is better for the environment. Try telling a Thai that burning down the field doesn't help much and is a disaster for the environment.
I now see exactly the same in Thailand as what I experienced in the 60s and 70s in our region. How are you going to tell people who are buying their first car that they would be better off with an economical city car? You shouldn't have tried to tell my grandfather that.
Recently I saw a statement "but it's only 1 straw, that's what a billion others said".
I am strongly in favor of banning all single-use items, whether plastic bags, straws, cups, it doesn't matter.
It is estimated that 200 million plastic bags and about 50 million ruetje and cups are used in Thailand every day. And then I don't even mention the water bottles, milk, coke, etc etc.
In total, I think that 1 billion plastic disposable items are thrown away every day in Thailand. That cannot continue. If this waste were completely separated from other waste in an energy incinerator, the problem would not be so serious. Unfortunately, most of it ends up on huge piles of other waste, then pollutes the soil, or ends up somewhere in the sea.
I myself have been taking the same cotton bags to the market or supermarket for years. Since a year we also have washable cups with straws for coffee or other drinks. We throw away 5-10 less plastic per day.
Just ban it or have it paid, just like in the Netherlands, but with good information that plastic does not belong in the environment.
I completely agree, but when I go to the local market and see all those people, peasants, who come from the rice fields to buy food, I would like to know from someone how to prepare the soup and other Thai dishes. are taken with you, I do agree that 1 bag less would also fit??
Indeed, we can do a lot about it ourselves.
Does anyone have a solution for those market stalls and where to put their food?
You can't come by with a deep plate, can you?
Dear Andre, I can answer your concern that those people cannot take their soup or food with them with 2 counter questions.
How did people used to take their food with them when there was no plastic yet?
Didn't they have alternative packaging in the past, just like in many other countries, which could be reused every day after cleaning?
Exactly these same products could perhaps be imported and produced again in a modern version, with a little good will.
They sometimes use customized bamboo to bring food with them
and that works very well. Just like before,
when there was still no plastic!
And you can also drink from a cup without a straw.
With a rucksack to the supermarket
and then driving the scooter is also easier
then with 4 full plastic bags on the steering wheel.
There is a partial solution to avoid those small plastic bags, insofar as large garbage bags are still tolerated.
Put your groceries in a "Dirkit" bag, this is a normal looking carrier bag that later expands into a large black garbage bag.
Still non-existent in Thailand and the rest of the world!
But the machine to make that bag has been tested. And now that people in Europe and the US have to pay for a cash bag, then preferably for a double use carrier bag.
Understand from my wife that Tops supermarket no longer uses plastic bags and packs groceries in paper bags. If you bring and use your own shopping bag, you will receive coupons for a discount on your purchases.
For years I have refused a plastic bag in shops. Last week I went to the pharmacist to get a new toothbrush, you know that, wrapped in heavy plastic that can only be broken with heavy scissors. Then the pharmacist put the toothbrush in a plastic bag. I pointed out to her that the toothbrush was already packed, she looked at me uncomprehendingly. In thaliand I went diving near Pattaya. . . . everywhere you see plastic bags floating around, few fish, little vegetation. It is very clear to me: our planet is dying and so are we, our children and certainly grandchildren. And then the plastic farmers say that it is not they who pollute or the consumer. That's what the gun lobby in the US says too. And we can rightly continue writing for another hour here.. . . . Grtjs
To date, the plastic is “carried to the sea”
I don't think this ban is feasible in Thailand since symbol politics is mainly done. So it becomes more like “carrying plastic and water to the sea”.
Yes, they had recently brought a pilot whale or the Asian whale here by fishermen who had died by eating plastic and consuming those little ilistics that he saw as fish, turtles and other creatures in the sea, that also happens. Especially in the Asian seas.
Yes, it is a world problem by the way. Closing plastic factories and starting with the American companies that started it. Force.
It has long been known that you can make bioplastic from potato peel
or hemp fibres. But apparently this is too cheap for the industry
and that's why they continue with plastic because money is more important ,
than the future of our children and this planet!
Long ago, after the football match, my grandfather went to rid the entire stadium of Coke bottles.
They then yielded 1 franc deposit. That yielded between 25 and 50 francs every week
Once a year, he bought a nice present for my grandmother.
When I shop in Pattaya I take my tote bag with me and don't want a plastic bag.
At the airport in Bkk someone had thrown away a cloth blue carrier bag. I took it to Belgium and use it for shopping here.. take it back to Thailand as well.
before 6 o'clock in the morning, the street sweepers are already there
busy on second road and many places more, but especially on 2nd road
(Jomtien) is really nothing to sweep.
So skipping a day is easy and then all together into the bushes along the way
because there is tons to score.
just, whoever takes out the most kilos that day, gets 200 baht extra.
then they will come somewhere and it will be something to see again
Wholeheartedly agree. It is absurd how pre-packaged products in supermarkets are unnecessarily collapsed again when they are weighed. Makro doesn't give bags at the checkout and people are standing in line. Live boxes are available for reuse. It could therefore be painlessly lost in my opinion, even without an official ban.
It is clear to me that a ban on plastic bags will not help in Thailand. If only because Thailand is now not well known as a country where measures are effectively enforced. It must therefore come from a voluntary deal between the business community (particularly large and small retail) and the government whereby the retail sector receives clear and financial benefits if they avoid plastic. Don't punish but reward. This should be reinforced by an awareness campaign to the general public. In that case, I am not thinking of a daily commercial on TV, but of the processing of the theme 'get rid of plastic' in a Thai soap opera or entertainment programme.
Disagree with the statement, therefore, because a ban does not work and is therefore only for the (international) stage.
"Can't" "will not work" is the view that everything really makes no sense anyway.
Of course it is possible, also in Thailand. If there is a will, there is a way. Government and large retailers simply have to decide not to provide free plastic bags, nor to replace them with other single-use bags (e.g. paper). During the first month, many customers will start complaining, but after that, people will get used to it and life will go on as usual.
Retail already benefits by not having to provide free bags. And the customer? He buys a better quality bag/bag once.
Even succeeds in Africa, India, South America
I argue that a BAN will not work. It also has nothing to do with the fact that everything makes no sense. I do believe that very often it makes no sense for the government to enforce something that a majority of the population does not need. The government (and that's us ourselves) overestimates its own abilities, especially when things are decided top-down. You need to explain better what is and isn't better. Convince instead of ban.
As a former employee of the embassy, I don't have to tell you that the political will of the Thai government to really do something about the problems of this country is extremely limited.
I'm talking about the major retailers. Tesco, Big C, Tops, 7-11, Family market etc. It is precisely there that a ban on plastic bags makes sense, and as large retailers they should set a good example.
The government also prohibits the sale of alcohol at certain times, and this group strictly adheres to it.
The number of major retailers is limited, so it is easy to check.
It will be much more difficult to control the small shops and street vendors. Just like with the helmet, which, despite an obligation and a lot of information, is still not worn by half. The numbers are too large and the micro-corruption of the enforcers too widespread.
It is striking that the large retailers with Western shareholders do adhere to the “no plastic bags legislation” in other countries “in the context of CSR”. Why is this not a global CSR policy at Tesco, for example, or is creating mess less bad in Asia than in the UK? In Thailand only the Makro.
No, Chris, the problem lies in the fact that the plastic bags, straws and other disposable rubbish are manufactured by the same network of companies that monopolize retail. A BAN would therefore lead to less business elsewhere in the family. And it is precisely this group that also has the government and bureaucracy in its pocket.
So we see that True daily makes beautiful CSR advertisements on its own TV channels about what they are not doing to reduce those hundreds of millions of pieces of plastic waste every day, while sister CP-All provides another 10,000 million bags a day through the 20 shops. .
That persuasion (how do you actually see that) that doesn't work.
banning those plastic bags or making them pay can also help.
Also a heavy fine for driving through a red light can stop that now they just drive through a red light!!!!
I am in favor of any measure that promotes that no plastic ends up in the environment.
This can be done by (a combination of) prohibition, excise duty, reward, replacement by a digestible material, recycling, information (have I forgotten something?).
In any case, we need to move to an economy where the price of a product is determined by the cost of making it, plus the cost of decontaminating the product and transporting it, plus the cost of returning it to its original raw materials. that product after its useful life. The resilience of nature, and the natural resources on earth are nml. not unlimited.
That pricing will encourage manufacturers to make products that can be completely and cheaply recycled, otherwise they will price themselves out of the market.