News Forum - Phuket’s Khai Islands overwhelmed by rubbish

[TukTuk]

51 minutes ago, JamesR said:

I have a house in Phuket , I do not see any garbage.

Examples of my trips there, in 2020 I was there for seven months, in 2018 to 2019 I was there for one year.

I went to many areas in Thailand, I did not see the sort of garbage you are talking about.

It might be bad where you live but Phuket is not like that and I have not seen anywhere else like that.

I have met some people who have lived in Thailand for decades and think the rest of Thailand is the same as where they live as they never go anywhere and do not really know Thailand, many just seem to know what it is like living in a third world area in the middle of nowhere up-country in a wooden house.

If you don't see any garbage in Phuket, exactly what is this group doing?

 

[JamesR]

2 minutes ago, Stonker said:

Agreed, @JamesR. The rubbish is there and many places could do with a clean but it's nothing like what's described by a few here apart from in a very few places.

Nothing wrong with "living in a third world area in the middle of nowhere up-country", though, although it's not for everyone. There's nowhere else I'd rather be.

I was interpreting the various comments re garbage where they seemed to be saying garbage is everywhere you look, everywhere you turn.

I am sure there are some plastic bottles etc on the rocks on Karon beach as one commentator said but will apply to every beach in the world. They can't be monitored 24 hrs a day.

As far as I can see and I drive around the island a lot going to different restaurants in different parts of the island Phuket is generally as clean and tidy as any European country.

Some people search for the negatives for some reason and ignore the positives which normally vastly outweighs the negatives.

Last year I was buying food from one of three mobile stainless steel noodle 'restaurants' in a street near a beach, nearby there sat three rubbish bins used by the 'restaurants' which were overflowing with rubbish, a farang was taking very details photos of the rubbish bins at angles which I assume would make the situation look worse than it was, but opposite there was a beautiful pristine beach which he ignored.

Re where you live, each to their own. (A positive comment not negative as things can be misinterpreted on such blogs).

I do visit a sort of middle of nowhere when I go to an area near Surat Thani, the village is about three miles from the main road and the 'crop' is mostly shrimp farming but the people I know there have 12 rie of other land and hundreds of commercial coconut trees.

There is one local farang hotel on the beach and apart from having a beer in the hotel's bar with the owner and a few locals and walking on the completely empty beach just across the road from the land where I stay there is nothing much to do and not much going on. 99% of customers are Thais in groups.

Three days is normally enough and then I am off like a rat up a drainpipe back to Phuket. 

[Stonker]

10 minutes ago, Stardust said:

And by the way we had big problems in the years and month with less rain when this garbage fields were burning and couldn't stop the fires and burnt for many month. And sorry to tell you my guessing was right because everybody who living long time enough in Thailand would remember that and everybody born and grow up in south east asia knows about the garbage problems or the burning of the garbage and the pollution of it. To tell something else is really not the reality or means not be aware or not know a lot about south east asia. And you seams also not knowing something about the countryside because there is mostly no waste management only to burn it in field or garden! 

I thought you lived near Pattaya, but not by the sound of this.

Garbage fields burning for months??? You must live on the refuse tip, the other side of Huay Yai.

"... the countryside there is mostly no waste management only to burn it in field or garden!"

I just can't imagine what sort of slum you live in, but wherever you live it's far from typical of Thailand's countryside.

Sure, it's not Switzerland or Singapore, and there's no mains sewage / drainage in many villages up-country, but "mostly no waste management only to burn it in field or garden" ???

We pay 20 baht a month, like every other house around here, and the garbage truck comes round every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8am to empty the bins they provide.

[DWiener]

Oh and let's not forget that Australia (and God only knows what other countries) dumps it's most toxic undesirable waste here

[JamesR]

1 hour ago, Stardust said:

Sorry I guess everybody who is living long time enough in Thailand is aware about the waste and wastewater management. And you cannot be around a lot otherwise you had seen huge garbagemountains in the outskirts or even on some Islands. Sorry but knowing is not same like believing and people who saw it know it.

I have not seen any garbage mountains in the streets or wherever in Phuket and Phuket is also an island.

Maybe there is a place where garbaged is processed like everywhere else in the world but I do not go to visit those sites out of choice.

 

[JamesR]

32 minutes ago, Stonker said:

I thought you lived near Pattaya, but not by the sound of this.

Garbage fields burning for months??? You must live on the refuse tip, the other side of Huay Yai.

"... the countryside there is mostly no waste management only to burn it in field or garden!"

I just can't imagine what sort of slum you live in, but wherever you live it's far from typical of Thailand's countryside.

Sure, it's not Switzerland or Singapore, and there's no mains sewage / drainage in many villages up-country, but "mostly no waste management only to burn it in field or garden" ???

We pay 20 baht a month, like every other house around here, and the garbage truck comes round every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8am to empty the bins they provide.

I am also failing to see what these people are talking about re the garbage in fields and gardens.

We pay 4000 baht a year and that covers the security guards at the barrier to the main road from the compound, road and light maintenance, the garbage is picked up a few times a week, a bloke comes around once every few weeks to collect the plastic bottles etc which he recycles.

The road drainage system really works, it rains like mad and the water drains off the roads in the compound with no flooding, it goes somewhere down the drains and gets processed I suppose.

I have seen piles of plastic bottles in recycling areas in massive metal containers but they are in industrial sites and not piled up in the street or gardens where people live.

 

[JamesR]

1 hour ago, DWiener said:

Try going for a walk at say, the rocks at the left of Karon Beach. Notice all the plastic bottles and fishing net bits jammed in all the rocks. You can't miss it. Or go to Layan Beach and see all the rubbish by the island. I could name several other places I saw full of rubbish in Phuket and I was only there for two weeks. You'd have to be blind not to see it!

I am sure you will see some plastic bottles in such areas anywhere in the world, but I am talking of the piles of rubbish some people are commenting about on this blog where they are massive piles of it in the street and in gardens, where are they? In some up country place in the middle of nowhere, they are not in Phuket. 

[JamesR]

1 hour ago, Bob20 said:

Unless you're blind and just bought the new eyes @gummy is referring to

I missed the comment re new eyes ?

[DWiener]

2 minutes ago, JamesR said:

I am sure you will see some plastic bottles in such areas anywhere in the world, but I am talking of the piles of rubbish some people are commenting about on this blog where they are massive piles of it in the street and in gardens, where are they? In some up country place in the middle of nowhere, they are not in Phuket. 

No, you don't see plastic rubbish jammed into rocks, piles of rubbish dumped on the side of the road, and plastic rubbish all around houses, shops, and building sites in New Zealand. Or Australia. The only place I've seen worse for rubbish is India and parts of Java/Bali/Indonesia. Phuket, Krabi, Samui, and now Hua Hin - I bike a lot and I see rubbish everywhere. It's all very 3rd World.

[JamesR]

1 hour ago, Stardust said:

And by the way we had big problems in the years and month with less rain when this garbage fields were burning and couldn't stop the fires and burnt for many month. And sorry to tell you my guessing was right because everybody who living long time enough in Thailand would remember that and everybody born and grow up in south east asia knows about the garbage problems or the burning of the garbage and the pollution of it. To tell something else is really not the reality or means not be aware or not know a lot about south east asia. And you seams also not knowing something about the countryside because there is mostly no waste management only to burn it in field or garden! 

In the case, move to Phuket as there are no fires burning in fields or massive piles of garbage in the street or gardens, move from where you are.

A friend has a house in Chiang Mai, every year around January they have to move to their house in Hua Hin as the farmers in the surrounding area and surrounding countries burn their old crops and the pollution is terrible, it goes on for about three or four months,  it is not garbage but the remains of the crops they have harvested. 

[Stonker]

46 minutes ago, TukTuk said:

If you don't see any garbage in Phuket, exactly what is this group doing?

Not very much apart from a lot of mutual back-slapping if you look at the numbers .

16 tonnes of trash collected over 113 "cleans" is 140kgs per clean (7 big bags of dog food a time) and if the number of people in the picture is typical that's 2.5 kgs per person per clean.

With 2,675 volunteers, that's an average of 6 kilos of rubbish per person during their time as a "Trash Hero".

I'm not knocking their motivation or the temporary results, but if they just had a few bins, as someone suggested, one paid part-time garbage cleaner would collect more trash.

[Bob20]

8 minutes ago, JamesR said:

I missed the comment re new eyes ?

https://thethaiger.com/talk/topic/6738-news-forum-family-attempts-to-sell-eyes-and-kidneys-to-save-home-and-farm/?do=findComment&comment=83904

 

[JamesR]

3 minutes ago, DWiener said:

No, you don't see plastic rubbish jammed into rocks, piles of rubbish dumped on the side of the road, and plastic rubbish all around houses, shops, and building sites in New Zealand. Or Australia. The only place I've seen worse for rubbish is India and parts of Java/Bali/Indonesia. Phuket, Krabi, Samui, and now Hua Hin - I bike a lot and I see rubbish everywhere. It's all very 3rd World.

It is best for you to live in NZ then if Thailand is so terrible, I think you are overdoing things with your descriptions of rubbish in the street. 

My daughter in law is from NZ, she is an architect in London, the reason NZ is so clean is everyone has left due to the lack of opportunity there plus it is so far away from civilisation. 

 

[JamesR]

5 minutes ago, Stonker said:

Not very much apart from a lot of mutual back-slapping if you look at the numbers .

16 tonnes of trash collected over 113 "cleans" is 140kgs per clean (7 big bags of dog food a time) and if the number of people in the picture is typical that's 2.5 kgs per person per clean.

With 2,675 volunteers, that's an average of 6 kilos of rubbish per person during their time as a "Trash Hero".

I'm not knocking their motivation or the temporary results, but if they just had a few bins, as someone suggested, one paid part-time garbage cleaner would collect more trash.

I just put my recycled bags out of the front door for it to be collected as I do every week, I think a few million households in the city do that too,  can we all have a medal now please?

[mickkotlarski]

9 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

i though the Russians just resumed flights to Thailand. 

Probably left over from the pre covid Chinese.

 

[mickkotlarski]

1 hour ago, Stonker said:

I thought you lived near Pattaya, but not by the sound of this.

Garbage fields burning for months??? You must live on the refuse tip, the other side of Huay Yai.

"... the countryside there is mostly no waste management only to burn it in field or garden!"

I just can't imagine what sort of slum you live in, but wherever you live it's far from typical of Thailand's countryside.

Sure, it's not Switzerland or Singapore, and there's no mains sewage / drainage in many villages up-country, but "mostly no waste management only to burn it in field or garden" ???

We pay 20 baht a month, like every other house around here, and the garbage truck comes round every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8am to empty the bins they provide.

I've become quite envious of Rural Thai townships. In many Bangkok suburbs the garbage collection went from Mon,Wed,Fri as with yourself to every 8 to 10 days and the noisy garbos leave a trail. 

Yet once up bush night becomes day.

[vlad]

There have been times iv'e walked along the new Pedestrian walkway on Patong beach the bins were overflowing and rubbish strewn all along it plus the locals riding along it on there bikes then sitting watching the beach vendors just throwing there food cartons and poly foods bags behind there lean twos. Not once have i seen them picking up there litter and putting it in the bins, and that's just at Patong Beach. iv'e witnessed young thai's tossing empty beer bottles on the beach too some broke hitting other bottles they tossed away.

[JamesR]

1 hour ago, Stardust said:

By the way I live in a city in a good area but I have relatives on the country side, too and I have land a house there, too. You really doesn't know Thailand and anything about reality of the Thais or in Thailand , this you show with your comment. You experienced Thailand as a tourist and knowing when traveling maybe the life in a hotel thats it. Because it is absolutly absurd what you write and not the reality of south east asia or the people who living here.

I could go around in circle with you again, I do not live in a hotel, I have a house and I go around many places in Thailand, admittedly I do not go to Isaan, is that the area where all the fires in fields are burning?

But you keep on mentioning South East Asia, yes I know in Cambodia etc there is a massive problem with garbage and sea pollution with plastic but I stay in Thailand and I have not seen it here unless as I have said maybe the problems you talk about are 1000 kms away in Issan. 

But not in Phuket. 

[mickkotlarski]

I think Khai Island is suffering the same fate as Bat Island in the Northern gulf. For 10 years I've canoed from Sri Chang to a lovely pristine beach with just a few fisherman's quarters. Over the years the garbage has been piling up. Its good to see trash hero folk making a difference but it takes everybody to cooperate so sad subjects such as this one can be avoided. 

[Stonker]

14 minutes ago, JamesR said:

 the piles of rubbish ... In some up country place in the middle of nowhere, they are not in Phuket. 

No, the "piles of rubbish" and "burning fields of garbage" aren't in "some up country place in the middle of nowhere" either.

I'm not pretending it's pristine, but this is an absurd over-exaggeration.

Yes, people burn crop waste and up here they even burn to keep warm in winter, but nobody burns "piles of rubbish" or "fields of garbage" except at the district tip which is about one rai in size, and about 3 kms from any villages.

You pay 4,000 baht a year - we pay 240 baht a year, get the bin emptied three times a week, and the verges on the roads are trimmed back every month or so by a team with strimmers / brush cutters, who also clean out the canals and streams.

I'm not pretending it couldn't be better or that there's no fly-tipping in places, but there aren't any "piles of rubbish dumped at the side of the road" and "plastic rubbish everywhere".

[Stonker]

38 minutes ago, DWiener said:

It's all very 3rd World.

Thailand is "3rd World" by any definition - geographical, economic or military.

How could it be otherwise?  

[TukTuk]

39 minutes ago, Stonker said:

Not very much apart from a lot of mutual back-slapping if you look at the numbers .

16 tonnes of trash collected over 113 "cleans" is 140kgs per clean (7 big bags of dog food a time) and if the number of people in the picture is typical that's 2.5 kgs per person per clean.

With 2,675 volunteers, that's an average of 6 kilos of rubbish per person during their time as a "Trash Hero".

I'm not knocking their motivation or the temporary results, but if they just had a few bins, as someone suggested, one paid part-time garbage cleaner would collect more trash.

Maybe you should volunteer and help add to the totals?

[Stonker]

13 minutes ago, JamesR said:

...maybe the problems you talk about are 1000 kms away in Issan. 

But not in Phuket. 

No, not "1,000 kms away in Issan either"!

[DWiener]

34 minutes ago, JamesR said:

It is best for you to live in NZ then if Thailand is so terrible, I think you are overdoing things with your descriptions of rubbish in the street. 

My daughter in law is from NZ, she is an architect in London, the reason NZ is so clean is everyone has left due to the lack of opportunity there plus it is so far away from civilisation. 

Now you're just being silly - NZ has over 5 million people. We just clean up after ourselves. 

Also I didn't say Thailand was terrible - just sharing my experience/opinion about how much rubbish there is everywhere. 

Try not to get hysterical when you see a post that you don't personally agree with.

[DWiener]

6 minutes ago, Stonker said:

Thailand is "3rd World" by any definition - geographical, economic or military.

How could it be otherwise?  

Well indeed. But for a 3rd world nation with such a huge reliance on tourism, you'd still hope they could be a bit less 3rd worldy with their rubbish