Post-Paris, plastic-bag use is the low-hanging fruit for Thais

Last September, 15 major retailers joined hands to launch the no-plastic bag campaign, urging consumers to bring their own when shopping on the 15th of each month. Those who do so receive discounts at some shopping centres. The retailers now plan to increase the number of no-bag shopping days.
Television channel Thai PBS has been running an anti-plastic bag campaign for the past few weeks, featuring celebrities delivering sad stories about the impact on wildlife. Each year thousands of fish and turtles die from ingesting discarded plastic bags after mistaking them for jellyfish. The message of the campaign is clear: Thais should cut the habit of taking plastic bags that are freely available in many shops.
If that isn’t motivation enough to kick the addiction, consider that the manufacture of plastic and the elimination of plastic waste is a major source of global warming.
The carbon footprint of plastic is about 6kg of carbon dioxide per kilogram, according to environmentalist group www.timeforchange.org. Most plastic bags weigh between 8 and 60 grams, depending on the size and thickness, while the common shopping variety is 25-40g.
Bear in mind that since plastic was introduced in the early 20th century, use of the bags use has proliferated in every country. The latest figures show that some 299 million tonnes of plastic was produced in 2013, much of it destined for landfills and the oceans.
The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the United States each year. Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal reports that US retailers spend $4 billion each year on 100 billion plastic shopping bags.
Citizens all around the world will need to alter their lifestyles if the goals agreed under the Paris Agreement are to be achieved.
Perhaps the lowest of the low-hanging fruit for Thais is reducing our use of plastic bags by carrying our own totes.
The “new diet” won’t come without headaches, though. As a so-called Kitchen of the World, Thailand overflows with places to eat. Yet most Thais rely more on street food and home cooking than restaurants, and those come with plenty of plastic packaging, which is still the most hygienic and convenient way of wrapping food items like fresh meat and seafood.
Yet if Thailand is serious about cutting down plastic consumption, a lot can be done.
Consumer product companies can lend a hand by using less of the stuff in product containers. Coca-Cola has demonstrated the possibilities with its drinking-water eco-crush bottle, which uses 35 per cent less PET plastic. That technology should also be applicable in containers in other industries.
A national campaign could be launched to promote recycling of the ubiquitous plastic bottles, with a token deposit fee paid by retailers to encourage consumers to take p art.
This encouragement could be extended with tax incentives for research on ways to cut down plastic consumption. Action to combat deforestation, either for agriculture or tourist development, must also be toughened.
As the impact of man-made and natural disasters intensifies, we need to focus more effort and finances on both disaster preparedness and response measures.
Next year, Thailand could face its worst-ever drought, which could hit hundreds of thousands of households in the pocket. Government measures to mitigate the impacts, including debt extension and irrigation activities, will not remedy the situation.
Over 75,000 residents of the central Philippines were evacuated yesterday as a typhoon threatened the country with flooding and landslides.
It’s heartening that all 195 countries represented at the Paris talks last week have realised that climate change is causing hardship the world over. Last week, they voted for a universal agreement whose main aim is to keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels, targeting a ceiling of 1.5C.
To date, 188 countries have contributed their climate action plans, which should dramatically slow the pace of greenhouse gas emissions. Under the Paris agreement, all 195 countries will submit updated plans – called nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – every five years, thereby steadily increasing their ambition in the long-term.
Yet while the agreement is a historic piece of good for the climate, the bad news is that it was struck in the immediate wake of new research that suggests 2015 will be the hottest year on record.
The time is running out for action. But given the stakes, Paris was better late than never.