Usually my blog posts are about fun things to do and see around Samui, but this post won't fit into that mould. It's addressing a problem that I see happening all over Thailand; illegal waste and garbage dumping.
The pictures in this post were taken on the short cut road from Plai Laem to Choengmon, the very north eastern part of Samui, near Bongoes Restaurant (they're got nothing to do with this garbage dump, afaik!).
Part of the problem is that there's no educational base, in schools for instance, that address environmental issues. It's very common to drive behind Thai people on a motorbike or a car and you see that their finished soda cans, empty plastic junk food bags and you name it are just straight thrown into mother nature without blinking an eyelid!
Coming from Europe, where there's a fairly big environmental awareness, it's shocking to see how the Thais seem to have a total disrespect for their own nature and soil, their own country which fills them with so much pride!
A simple example is that you'll be hard pressed to find any garbage can in Chaweng or any other location on Samui, something that could be drastically improved upon.
In my daily work as a PADI Course Director I'm actively involved in Beach Clean Ups and other related events and I teach about environmental issues during my IDC's but as already mentioned, the Thai school system doesn't cater to these issues and the majority of Thai people probable don't know better, although this doesn't justify their behaviour.
The garbage dumped at this site, where the pictures are taken, are clearly used by somebody who wanted to get rid of his construction garbage, even without environmental knowledge, common sense and the persons knowledge of local law should tell him that what he did is wrong!
It was good to see Greenpeace in Tesco Lotus yesterday, getting attention for a project they're conducting in Lamai, there's light at the end of the tunnel after all!
Camille
2 comments:
Had de rotzooi de vorige keer ook al gezien. Een smet op Samui. Helaas. Maar het is vlakbij jou, achter jou geloof ik. ;-)
Hoi Richard,
Het is wel dicht in de buurt bij mij, helaas!
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