News Forum - Island of rubbish: Koh Samui’s pollution problem remains unsolved

[Thaiger]

No one can argue with the appeal of visiting Thailand’s exotic, tropical islands. With their glistening palm trees, crystal-clear waters, and powdery, white sands, a trip down south is what many yearn to cross off their bucket lists. One of Thailand’s most iconic islands is that of Koh Samui. As the largest and most developed island in the Gulf of Thailand, it is known for its upscale spas, yoga retreats and unparalleled beaches. However, upon arriving, many visitors say they are unenviably shocked by the amount of rubbish that has gone rogue throughout the island’s shores and roads. And, on […]

The post Island of rubbish: Koh Samui’s pollution problem remains unsolved appeared first on Thaiger News.

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[DoUKnowWhoIAm]

16 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

No one can argue with the appeal of visiting Thailand’s exotic, tropical islands. With their glistening palm trees, crystal-clear waters, and powdery, white sands, a trip down south is what many yearn to cross off their bucket lists. One of Thailand’s most iconic islands is that of Koh Samui. As the largest and most developed island in the Gulf of Thailand, it is known for its upscale spas, yoga retreats and unparalleled beaches. However, upon arriving, many visitors say they are unenviably shocked by the amount of rubbish that has gone rogue throughout the island’s shores and roads. And, on […]

The post Island of rubbish: Koh Samui’s pollution problem remains unsolved appeared first on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

Isn't that what made the island in the first place? A huge dump of garbage then a little sand on top?

[HolyCowCm]

Brilliance.

1. Hey get rid of that garbage.

2. Ok, we can take it out on a boat and dump it where no one see's it. Problem solved.

1. So why do we have garbage all over the beaches again?

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

24 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

Koh Samui. As the largest and most developed island in the Gulf of Thailand, it is known for its upscale spas, yoga retreats and unparalleled beaches.

Largest No (Koh Chang is). Most developed I give you that, as you stipulated Gulf of Thailand. 

[Paco]

Pattaya the same, some one dumps somewhere 1 bag of garbage and 1 week later there are 50 of them, where I lived before on the way to a pile of rubbish like that  they passed 3 garbage cans but never placed it in there , sorry to say thailand did a bad job in educating people to respect their beautiful green country.. people hold a plastic cup for 40 minutes because they drinking out of it once it is empty they throw it in the field or trees saw it many times ( and while they driving)

Edited September 10, 2021 by Paco

[DrPhibes]

It's a gulf, depending on the currents, think of it as the swirling water in your toilet flush, it's just going to most likely deposit it on the other side of the bowl. 

[DWiener]

I spent a morning cleaning Karon beach in front of our resort when I first got to the Phuket Sandbox. Just before I left a storm bought more rubbish onto the beach. No-one, either Thai or Farang, made any attempt to clean it. 

I'm now staying at Crystal Bay on Koh Samui. Behind all those picturesque rocks at either end? Piles of plastic and polystyrene waste. Clearly been there for a good while.

And there is your problem right there; Thai ppl who just want to milk the Farangs for their tourist $$$ without actually doing anything other than throwing up some badly build unregulated sh*tboxes near the beach, and the low-rent tourists who rent them and just want to sunbathe and drink Chang and fall off scooters for two weeks without giving a toss about where all those empties go. 

This whole place is an absolute mess - from the rubbish to the shoddy construction everywhere. It's pretty much doomed to become an ecological disaster like...Koh Phi Phi Le. Avoid.

[dmacarelli]

And it would require so little to keep the island clean. Of course local pride would help. But, I calculated that for a mere 60,000 baht a month, you could employ a small crew who cleaned a few beaches and a town a day. Around and around they go. The island would be nearly spotless and the beaches alot better. 

However, the mayor would have to stop buying hotels at his current rate to make this happen. 

[Paulw]

3 hours ago, AdvocatusDiaboli said:

Largest No (Koh Chang is). Most developed I give you that, as you stipulated Gulf of Thailand. 

Firstly just to set the record straight Samui is greater in area than Koh Chang!! I have lived here for 2 years and whilst I am not on the roads every day I do walk the Bophut & Mae Nam beach's nearly every day and it is defintely not covered in rubbish. Since Covid it really has been very rubbish free. Occasionally I see some bags of garbage road side but nothing like these pictures shown here so when were these pictures taken?? 

Koh Samui 229 sq km

Koh Chang 217sq km

[Paulw]

 

Firstly just to set the record straight Samui is greater in area than Koh Chang!! I have lived here for 2 years and whilst I am not on the roads every day I do walk the Bophut & Mae Nam beach's nearly every day and it is defintely not covered in rubbish. Since Covid it really has been very rubbish free. Occasionally I see some bags of garbage road side but nothing like these pictures shown here so when were these pictures taken?? 

Koh Samui 229 sq km

Koh Chang 217sq km

 

 

[DWiener]

1 minute ago, Paulw said:

Since Covid it really has been very rubbish free. Occasionally I see some bags of garbage road side but nothing like these pictures shown here

Koh Samui 229 sq km

Koh Chang 217sq km

Dude, do you wear sunglasses and use a white cane on these walks?? Look closer. The beaches might look clean, but when you look at the rocks along the coastline there is plastic rubbish jammed in amongst them. 

I did a 3 hour trail bike ride up all over the island recently. Rubbish all around. I see it when I'm mountain biking. I see it whenever I look in any river or waterway. 

Add in all the crumbling derelict buildings that are full of rubbish and there isn't anywhere on the island that doesn't have an eyesore of rubbish ruining the view. 

The only thing that can save the island is a massive earthquake to pull all those god-awful 'pool villa's off the hills and break down all the crappy construction on the island, then a giant team of bulldozers followed by a lot of replanting. 

[Paulw]

9 minutes ago, DWiener said:

Dude, do you wear sunglasses and use a white cane on these walks?? Look closer. The beaches might look clean, but when you look at the rocks along the coastline there is plastic rubbish jammed in amongst them. 

I did a 3 hour trail bike ride up all over the island recently. Rubbish all around. I see it when I'm mountain biking. I see it whenever I look in any river or waterway. 

Add in all the crumbling derelict buildings that are full of rubbish and there isn't anywhere on the island that doesn't have an eyesore of rubbish ruining the view. 

The only thing that can save the island is a massive earthquake to pull all those god-awful 'pool villa's off the hills and break down all the crappy construction on the island, then a giant team of bulldozers followed by a lot of replanting. 

I walk from Bophut beach around the rocks to the W and then on to Mae Nam and have to say the rocks have very little rubbish, the odd bottle but more glass than plastic!! I haven't seen plastic bags for months!!

[Paulw]

Just now, Paulw said:

I walk from Bophut beach around the rocks to the W and then on to Mae Nam and have to say the rocks have very little rubbish, the odd bottle but more glass than plastic!! I haven't seen plastic bags for months!!

I am really sad to hear that the water ways are full of rubbish, the problem is as Farangs we have no voice here and sadly most Thais don't really care. Any suggestions ??? 

[ConsoleCowboy]

4 hours ago, Paulw said:

I am really sad to hear that the water ways are full of rubbish, the problem is as Farangs we have no voice here and sadly most Thais don't really care. Any suggestions ??? 

Just pick it up when you see it. If everyone does that then problem solved.

[Cathat]

It does not seem to bother the thais so long as their immediate living space is clean.

I made a cycle trip from Chiang Mai to Singapore about 10 years ago.

Even in completely rural areas if I stopped andI looked in the irrigation channels plastic bags and plastic water bottles were always to be seen.

It is my strongest lasting memory of the entire trip.

If you cycle or walk you really tend to notice this sort of thing but out of the window of a car it generally looks clean and tidy .

 

[PapayaBokBok]

12 hours ago, HolyCowCm said:

Brilliance.

1. Hey get rid of that garbage.

2. Ok, we can take it out on a boat and dump it where no one see's it. Problem solved.

1. So why do we have garbage all over the beaches again?

Confirmed! I volunteered in a pristine beach GH in Bai Xep Vietnam...a small GH on beach next to a 5 star resort..white sand--blue water....and every morning on the water line...yep..wait for it................trash!!!

We would pick it up as the local laughed at us and they too would trash beach...i recall the temp was 116 and burned the hell out of my feet...more laughing......the trash of course coming from the fishermen and tides

The GH owners tried to buy big blue cans to chain on beach to inspire locals to use them....they got stolen...

 

[PapayaBokBok]

3 hours ago, ConsoleCowboy said:

Just pick it up when you see it. If everyone does that then problem solved.

See my post....wishful thinking indeed

[DWiener]

8 hours ago, ConsoleCowboy said:

Just pick it up when you see it. If everyone does that then problem solved.

Sure. A few Farangs picking up bits of rubbish here and there is really going to solve the problem

If I stopped to pick up all the rubbish I see every day I'd need my own rubbish truck. Oh and somewhere to actually put all the rubbish.

[TiT]

Farangs cleaning up your country for you through volunteer efforts... something is wrong with this picture.

[Soiboy]

A good article and well informed. The 'rubbish' problem has been around a long, long time on Samui. I understand that there is, in fact, an incinerator located somewhere in Lipa Noi, but it broke down some years ago and spares were not purchased for its repair. The new fashion is the environment and now would seem to be a good time for Samui Tessabaan to show its Green Credentials. Assuming that the incinerator is beyond repair and that no new incinerator is built, the problem remains what to do with collected rubbish? There was a landfill site near the Airport, but that has been closed, thankfully, as the run off during the rainy season was beyond belief. Samui is a relatively small island with limited capacity for land fill, so an incinerator would appear to be the only environmental solution. Local land taxes are now in the process of being collected, with the revenue being retained by the island. Maybe an incinerator with proper refuse collection service could be a useful for this new revenue stream?

[Paulw]

9 hours ago, ConsoleCowboy said:

Just pick it up when you see it. If everyone does that then problem solved.

If that is all you have to contribute I suggest keeping it to yourself or is this meant to be a joke?

[Osmo]

On 7/15/2021 at 3:55 AM, Martin said:

It's staggering really. Apart from the blatant discrimination of some of the most vulnerable in society, an infected person will still be infected even if you don't test them. Only no-one will know until they become visibly ill. By which time they may have infected many others. And so on and so on. 

You can't help but worry that Thailand is in for a really rough time of it the next few months. I hope not, but that's the way it's heading. 

unfortunately the rubbish is not the only problem on this island , the biggest problem is the lack of law enforcement on this island !

lots of modified black fuming out pick up trucks , super loud motorbikes , no lights on motorbikes at night time etc ... and nothing , absolutely nothing has been done against it in the last years .... and it keeps getting worse , month by month 

very sad but true 

[KaptainRob]

There are so many simple options available for refuse collection and disposal or re-purposing that I'm surprised no enterprising Thai's have cottoned on to the potential for selling systems to regional government.

Separate collection bins for waste and recyclables is a start and Thai's are generally excellent at recycling.

Green waste should only be accommodated in designated dumping sites where it may be put through a shredder and turned into compost. 

Household garbage is sorted & processed at a receiving station - plenty of cheap labour for that.  All perishable matter including some plastic then feeds into a macerator and turns everything into 'mince', some of which can be mixed in with compost, the rest going to a suitably contained landfill and mixed daily with fill soil to cover and compact.  Apart from an expensive maceration machine and conveyor belts, other equipment is readily available.

The above is a simple overview of one system I saw many years ago and I'm sure it's more advanced nowadays. 

Incineration is a poor option used extensively in Indonesia anywhere that's too far from the sea.  The rampant dumping of waste directly into the ocean by Indo's is appalling.

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

1 hour ago, Soiboy said:

Samui is a relatively small island with limited capacity for land fill, so an incinerator would appear to be the only environmental solution.

Looks like they truck it off now ….

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1969743/divers-find-last-two-bodies-from-samui-ferry-sinking

three 10-wheel lorries loaded with compressed garbage and electronic waste,

Is this a now daily occurrence, truck it to the mainland?

[Cathy]

One of the biggest problems I see is a lack of trash bins which are frequently emptied. I believe more people would be careful with their trash if there were places to put it.