Thailand in pictures (5): Waste
A picture paints a thousand words. This certainly applies to Thailand, a special country with an interesting culture and many cheerful people, but also a dark side of coups, poverty, exploitation, animal suffering, violence and road deaths. Today a photo series about waste, a major problem in Thailand.
Thailand question: waste management in Isaan?
Recently I was back in my girlfriend's village in Isaan. I was annoyed by the mess around her parents' house. She told me that the household waste is not collected and they cannot take it anywhere (small waste such as packaging material is burned behind the house. They cannot dispose of large waste and that is why you see waste dumps everywhere on the roadside).
Thailand photo of the day: Waste separation and the plastic problem
Thais are addicted to disposable plastic. Every year alone, 70 billion plastic bags are consumed. Along with China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, Thailand is one of five Asian countries responsible for more than half of the eight million tons of plastic waste that ends up in the oceans each year, according to the Ocean Conservancy organization.
Climate summit in Europe (readers' entry)
Our garden, or rather the piece of land behind our house, is infested with dirt. When we came to live there it was a barren place with a lot of bare, dry soil, a few shrubs, one tree and some banana plants.
Deposit in Thailand
There is no real deposit in Thailand, but there is "a lively trade" in empty bottles and cans. The production of all that empty good is not insignificant, just think of the countless beer bars, discos and restaurants that produce a veritable mountain of empty bottles and empty cans every day.
The Thai 'Department of Marine and Coastal Resources' has concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dutch environmental NGO 'The Ocean Cleanup' about a pilot project in Samut Prakan. The Dutch organization will intercept waste in the Chao Phraya before it flows into the sea. Director General Sopon and OC director Boyan Slot signed the agreement on Wednesday.
Reader question: “Thai national park sends tourists its own mess”
Visitors to Khao National Park last weekend could have a package of abandoned rubbish delivered to their homes and a fine for violating the National Park Act.
Thailand faces many environmental problems. Water, land and air pollution are serious in many places in Thailand. I give a short description of the state of the environment, something about the causes and backgrounds and the current approach. Finally, a more detailed explanation of the environmental problems around the large industrial area Map Ta Phut in Rayong. I also describe the protests of environmental activists.
Bangkok's canals become clogged with tons of garbage
The City of Bangkok (BMA) has fished 400.000 tons of waste from the capital's 948 canals over the past five years, the Department of Drainage and Sewerage reports. Chief Sansern of the Hydrology Division says it comes from two sources: bulging bins from which waste falls into the water and from factories and residents throwing their waste into the water.
Creative land use in Thailand
It has been several years since I posted the following. As a local resident, I often passed this place and it was easy to follow the further course. However, history began like this.
Waste and pollution in Thailand
It is incomprehensible that a country like Thailand, which is struggling with major pollution, still imports waste from Singapore and Hong Kong, among others. It would then concern recyclable products from electronic and plastic waste.
The garbage problem in Pattaya
The “Black Petes” has begun. After the heavy rainfall of recent weeks and the flooding in large parts of the city, the problem of the mountain of waste has come to the fore. Now there is fierce debate as to who is responsible for this.
From advertising to waste
The way in which waste is dealt with in Thailand certainly does not deserve a beauty prize in 'our' eyes. The article about the polluted beach in Pattaya and the reactions to it on June 19 speak volumes.
Reader Submission: Environmental Morals of Thai
In Thailand and in particular in “my” Hua Hin you will find mountains of waste in many places. I think homeowners or tenants are too miserable to pay the contribution to the blue waste tons, construction waste, tiles scrap wood, roofing material whether or not containing asbestos, and so on and so forth.
Illegal dumping of medical waste in Pattaya
The Pattaya city government has ordered a company to remove 100 tons of medical waste from a depot at Khao Maikaew, which had been deposited there without permission.
A large pile of rubbish on the beach of Jomtien
Last Monday it was literally a complete mess on the Jomtien beach at Soi 10.
Volunteers collect mountains of rubbish from Chao Phraya River
Volunteers had quite a job, in barely an hour they collected 2.000 plastic bags, 700 plastic bottles, 600 plastic cups and 1.300 pieces of foam plastic from the water of the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok on Saturday, a total of 132 kilograms of waste.
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.
Thailand is one of the top five marine polluters, responsible for 60 percent of plastic in the sea. The others are China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia. Not only do they pollute, they are also responsible for the death of ocean inhabitants such as fish and turtles that mistake the plastic for food.
Water bottle seal disappears in Thailand
Do you also hate that extra seal by a piece of plastic from the cap of a water bottle? Sometimes it's difficult to peel it off, but the worst part is that many people drop that piece of plastic without even noticing, wherever they are.
Saturday morning, just like earlier this week, it was again quite a hit in the capital. At 37 locations, roads were under water (5 to 20 cm) of water. Shops near Siam Square were also flooded but Pathumwan district was worst hit with 72mm. The municipality has now installed 1.400 water pumps in the city.
Islands full of plastic in the Gulf of Thailand
They are becoming more and more common: the so-called waste islands. This time discovered off the coast of Koh Talu in the Gulf of Thailand. The island is about a kilometer long and consists of plastic bags, bottles and Styrofoam. Snorkelers saw the pile of rubbish floating and alerted the Siam Marine Rehabilitation Foundation.