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| Tom Vater, Journalist and Publisher |
The three Rs are: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. My husband and I recycle like crazy. We also donate our old clothes, etc. to charity. I buy and use products made from recycled materials and carpool when I can, but what else can we do?
I asked Tom Vater, a German born journalist and author who lives in Thailand. He said, "To my mind, lobbying the government to enforce environmental regulations and to pass legislation that eliminates harmful toxins from our lives should be our top priority. of course, we do our bit, to varying levels, ourselves but without effective political efforts, industry will make sure that we air we breathe and the rubbish we sit on will just get worse and bigger. So the main fight is to bring companies to book and for that we need governments not owned by companies but pressured and directed by voters. Easier said than done, I know."
I have some questions for Tom:
1.In the United States, we have had tougher standards for the Environmental Protection Agency. The trouble is, people blow the whistle on these companies and all they do is pay the stiff fine then keep on polluting. Further, some administrations look the other way more than others. Your comments?
I am not an expert of the EPA, but like other American institutions, the Environmental Protection Agency appears to be in an ever deeper crisis since Trump became president. The EPA’s head, a climate change denier and radical conservative, has since left because of corruption issues. A lot has been written to support this…https://abcnews.go.com/
3.What kind of recycling do you do at home?
At home we use bio degradable rubbish bags. When shopping, we take our own bags. We cook regularly and use fresh ingredients, some of which require no prior packaging. I generally wear my clothes until they fall off my back. In Thailand, waste is not really separated in the home. Local people take all the glass, but the rest sadly goes into one bin.
4. What kind of recycling programs do you have in Thailand? If they are insufficient, how do you get around them?
Thailand has a crazy plastic problem. The country imports plastic waste (this is to be phased out by 2012) and generates enormous amounts of plastic waste. Thais use 200 billion plastic bags a year and the country is the world’s sixth worst offender for dumping plastics into the sea. Whales and turtles regularly wash up on Thai shores, dead and full of plastic. In supermarkets everything is wrapped and wrapped again. In convenience stores singles use plastic bags are the norm. In hotels plastic water bottles are the norm. The tourist islands are all badly polluted and under strain from far too many visitors. To its credit, the government has closed some beaches altogether to let nature regenerate.
In general, the Thai government does little to tackle the consumption of plastic, though there are now some campaigns to generate more awareness. Sometimes this takes rather absurd proportions. Last year, 7-Eleven, Tesco, Central, Big C, Robinson, B2S and PowerBuy stopped handing out plastic bags. For one day. Then they all went back to dispensing millions of plastic bags again. Here and there, individual actors such as hotels reform or find other solutions, so recycling has increased, but on the whole, the situation is disturbing.
For further information, read this:
5. What advice do you have for my readers?
Saving the planet, reducing greenhouse gasses, preserving the natural world – none of this will work
through citizens’ changes in behaviour alone. As long as Coca-Cola sells its products in plastic bottles,
people will buy them. It’s for governments that, at least in the West, are elected, to pass laws and
enforce them, to force industry to reduce toxic waste and single use plastic. But as governments are
generally in the pay of industrial lobbies, laws also need to be passed to make lobbying illegal. CEOs
of companies convicted for serious crimes against the environment should be personally liable and go
to jail. In a nutshell, take the issues to government. Campaign for changes in the law and enforcement
of the law. And if the government is not interested in the environment and does nothing to turn the tide
of pollution and climate change, then campaign to get rid of that government and everyone associated
with it. The solution lies in taking your representatives to book, to force them to do what they are
supposed to do, which is to protect the people who voted for them. Of course, in the US, neither of the
big parties have any real concerns for people’s well-being or the state of the environment when
pressured by industry. The country desperately needs a third force that promotes more egalitarian
values. Otherwise all the recycling in the world won’t keep the trash at bay.
This goes for other countries, too.
I did a little research to find a link for you to get started AND I made sure the website wasn't full of
spammy ads.
A "starter kit" for saving the Environment:
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