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As Thailand Is Banning Plastic Bags, These 30 People Have Come Up With Awesome And Unusual Alternatives
Pollution sucks. And while you might not think that buying a plastic bag contributes to it that much, it gets out of hand if all 7.5 billion of us do the same.
Thailand kicked off 2020 with a bang. Only it wasn't fireworks that caused it. The country started actively fighting its environmental problems, banning single-use plastic bags at some of the major stores. According to Reuters, it's a continuation of a campaign by the local government and retailers that brings Thailand closer towards a complete ban in 2021 in an attempt to reduce waste and debris in the surrounding areas. And it's brilliant.
What's really cool about it is the way shoppers are adapting to it. They're not whining on social media or anything. On the contrary, they're embracing the changes. Photos of Thais carrying their groceries in T-shirts, suitcases, buckets, and even ceramic pots have been going viral, and they perfectly capture how creative people get when it comes to something they're really passionate about.
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#1
Jenn Unicorn Popping 6 years ago
looks like fun... *scans item* *flings over shoulder* "2 points!!!" :P
Belinda Matson 6 years ago
Skinny straps aside he's solved my shopping dilemma of how not to get home with squished bread or bruised produce.
chi-wei shen 6 years ago
The thin straps look uncomfortable, especially for heavy loads. It also might be problematic while walking because it goes down below the knees.
Rissie 6 years ago
Hey, he's only carrying plastic bags filled with mostly air. He'll be perfectly fine...
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Christina Uhlir 6 years ago
The pre-plastic bags era: people brought their own, reusable canvas bags: it's not brilliant, it is responsible. Who came up with the idea of one-time-use, disposable items is a criminal. I don't know how to say it differently.
Joycez Zhuang 6 years ago
LET'S celebrate a BIG step for a better Mother Earth .....with an unexpected fashion YO :P
rhyan lumilay 6 years ago
If I walk like that outside the convenient store and out in the streets people will mistake me as a street vendor here in my country. Glad there are re-useable bags sold in every store here.
In part, public support for the campaign has been rising due to the increased risk to animals and the environment from such waste. For example, there were several incidents where animals including a deer and a baby dugong were found dead with plastic in their digestive systems last year."
Thailand was ranked sixth among the world’s top countries that dump waste into the sea,” Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-Archa told the media on Wednesday. “During the past five months, we were down to 10th ... thanks to the cooperation of the Thai people."
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#2
Christina Uhlir 6 years ago
The dumping waste - any waste into the sea, should be branded as the International crime. Period!
The ministry stated that the country reduced the use of plastic bags by 2 billion (about 5,765 tonnes) during the first phase of the campaign last year. Reportedly, it really encouraged consumers to refuse plastic bags voluntarily.
Varawut said the biggest challenge is to get rid of the remaining 40% of plastic bags used at fresh markets and in rural areas, "It’s not going to be easy to change the way of thinking and behavior of those people."
#3
TheCakeIsAPie 6 years ago
Honestly the best part of this picture is the cashier like dude you gonna check out or...
Sarah Schmidt 6 years ago
Oh nice now he can bring home his completely in plastic wrapped groceries without using a plastic bag! Honestly, I'm terrified how politics make the smallest changes to show themselves as the saviors of the world while completely ignoring the big picture
Christina Uhlir 6 years ago
I agree Sarah; at the end, corrupt politicians will side with the companies which manufacture one-use, disposable wrappings and containers.
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Non-New-Toni-An 6 years ago
Banning plastic bags is good in one way but at the same time it makes life harder for all the poor ppl when it's the rich and powerful who are really to blame for harming the planet.
Christina Uhlir 6 years ago
We all are guilty of harming the planet by not paying attention, being irresponsible consumers and thus supporting the rich and powerful businesses who put their profits ahead of anything.
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Tami Bridges 6 years ago
my favorite thing in addition to the huge amount of paper products and chips...those pink flops though
#4
#5
Sam Petter 6 years ago
If you think about it, it's really not that different from those pushcarts you see people using to take home their groceries in the city
#6
Luis Milian 6 years ago
for those not afraid of showing their rolls....I would do this, proud of my rolls...lol
Kimberley Thom 6 years ago
Thought it was the baby carrier at first. Almost like a Baby Bjorn. Now I’m curious if someone will as I continue to scroll.
#7
TheCakeIsAPie 6 years ago
I love it. Sure it is plastic, but it is very sturdy and can last for many years. That vs over a thousand bags, its a no brainer.
Aurora Hill 6 years ago
Love your user name! Hoping the pie is rhubarb, and includes rhubarb...on fire. 😊
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#8
Yugan Talovich 6 years ago
If he fills it, he won't be running. Staggering is more like it.
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Marlene Ricker 6 years ago
How is he going to carry it home if he fills it with groceries? You would have to be pretty strog!
#9
#10
Cheryl Fontaine 6 years ago
If plastic bags are banned what's that bunch of stuff next to checkout?
#11
Donna Leske 6 years ago
Akkkkkkk! you're NOT gonna believe this, a big rice bag just like this I used to take my recyclable plastics to WalMart today - they have a bin to throw it in.
Marlene Ricker 6 years ago
It's great to reuse but Wow! That is a big bag. How would you get it home if you filled it up?
#12
Layla Corman 6 years ago
A whole lot of people on this list are buying chips!
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#13
Kris “ADHD_Carrier” Dudoich 6 years ago
Now THAT is clever! Hope you have a basket or saddlebags on that bike or you're going to lose all that stuff when you put your helmet on!
#14
Bored Fox 6 years ago (edited)
Here in Finland we stopped using glass bottles over a decade ago because washing and transporting glass bottles was not envinronmentally friendly and also the broken glass bottles were a huge problem especially to the children and animals. It was much better idea to recycle plastic bottles. Over 90 % of the plastic bottles here in Finland are recycled because if you return the plastic bottles to a shop you will get some money back from them. Also the modern plastic bottles here are very thin plastic compared to the many imported plastic bottles. Nowadays only some alcohol bottles are glass here.
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Suzanne Haigh 4 years ago
Oh gosh, a brilliant invention, just like a basket my Grandma had, where di they all go?
okpkpkp 6 years ago
I bought a six-pack of beer years ago and they looked like those Coke bottles with about 20% of the liquid missing. Later I told the clerk and he didn't believe it until I went to the cooler and grabbed a bottle of the same beer and it was "light" as well. THEN he believed me.
ilikeplants 6 years ago
I used to use a handled basket like this to do all my produce shopping. I still have it. I should start using it again!!
#15
Francis 6 years ago
this is not that strange. i live close to the border between switzerland and germany and a lot swiss are shopping that way in germany
Nicola Roberts 6 years ago
Back in the 70s I remember my mother using a shopping trolley. Same thing as suitcase but picture it on it's wheels with the opening at the top. I see them very occasionally now, in the UK, used by the older generation. Maybe they'll get a resurgence? - Am I missing an opportunity here?
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glorytherainwing 6 years ago
packing in case my mom runs into a friend of hers and i'll be there for hours
#16
#17
Kris “ADHD_Carrier” Dudoich 6 years ago
I really like this one because I actually have a hamper that is tall and has wheels on it so it would be like a vertical buggy!
#18
M O'Connell 6 years ago
@glorytherainwing, it's probably for large bulky items which are light in weight. There's no point in using more reed than you really need to.
Belinda Matson 6 years ago
Have you ever tried to look for positives? or are you just trolling for negs cause you get zero attention elsewhere? Seriously want to know as I know someone who does the same.
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TheCakeIsAPie 6 years ago
Thats actually for cooking rice (among other things). It may be small but it is durable. (Good if you are a local and pick up a few items every day)
M O'Connell 6 years ago
I love the cooler. It looks like a knockoff of a Skotch cooler m471578878...ae3e9b.jpg 
#20
rhyan lumilay 6 years ago
This is common here especially when you we're going to the wet market you just throw in all the items inside also vendors put their stuffs in there.
#21
#22
Matchie T. 6 years ago
Thai whiskey, strong and give you a headache the other day.
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#23
#24
M O'Connell 6 years ago
I used to have one the same material and shape, but it was white and branded for Tyson chicken. It's conveniently the same size as a folded-up blanket.
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#26
#27
AQUINNAH POLOZOLA 6 years ago (edited)
im sry u made the mistake of looking in the mirror, glorytherainwing
Marlene Ricker 6 years ago
The bag is obviously really heavy by the look on her face. The problem with huge bags personified.
#28
#29
Dolicious 6 years ago
"take-away coke" in a rural areas in thailand: fill plastic bag with ice, pour coke, add straw
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Leslea Freeman 6 years ago
I need this for when I am out of coffee and go up to the coffee shop on my bike. I always will always buy 2 cups and it is hard as hell to get home. This would solve my problems, infact I bet I could make that on my own!
#30
Sterrinatu 6 years ago
It's a little less plastic right? You can't change the world all at once.
Load More Replies... JeffC 6 years ago
LMAO even trying to think well it has handles, um, nope! I don't get this one either lol
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#40
Bmo 6 years ago
There's a good chance those are for purchase. I stopped in a 7 Eleven in Taipei and the clerk asked me if I wanted a bag. I told him yes and he scanned a bar code on the bag and I was charged for it. It was a pretty heavy duty plastic bag though.
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What do you think ?
lailyfnoor 6 years ago
Why don't use shopping bag? Reusable and can be carried everywhere, even sometimes fashionable
Dippin Dot 6 years ago
I think this post was meant to highlight the more unique solutions to the ban... not just a bunch of people with normal cloth bags that are commonly used everywhere.
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Sterrinatu 6 years ago (edited)
I'll never understand the negativity that comes from articles like this. While I agree this won't change the world but it's a step in the right direction. It surprises me how many people think they can't survive with out a plastic bag for their groceries. This pretty much proves if you take them away entirely people are capable of being creative and finding a way to make it work. I guess you just have to force them to learn to live without.
Helen Haley 6 years ago
Because most of us buy more than a suitcase of food at a time. Stocking up so you don't have to go to the grocery store constantly. Been that way since the advent of the refrigerator. We just can't conceive of a practical way to continue grocery shopping that doesn't make it so odious that we all DREAD grocery shopping. It wasn't a fun chore to begin with.
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Florencia Renedo 6 years ago
I am wondering how the street food vendors are handling this, since all carry-out food in Thailand is placed in little plastic bags...
Helen Haley 6 years ago
How do you conveniently carry around that many cloth bags? How big is your purse?
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Steve Cruz 6 years ago
When I walk to the store, I take a 3-wheel stroller I bought at a garage sale for $5. Pulled out all the pads and threw them away, I get smiles and waves from drivers who think I'm a good daddy (or granddaddy). When I'm at a crosswalk, cars frequently stop to let me cross.
Leo H 6 years ago
Funny ban plastic bags but plastic disposible diapers now loaded w human waste are okay for our landfills. Why not include plastic diapers
Whatshername 6 years ago
In our country these get recycled too. Even small villages have a diaper dumpster.
Load More Replies... lailyfnoor 6 years ago
Why don't use shopping bag? Reusable and can be carried everywhere, even sometimes fashionable
Dippin Dot 6 years ago
I think this post was meant to highlight the more unique solutions to the ban... not just a bunch of people with normal cloth bags that are commonly used everywhere.
Load More Replies... Sterrinatu 6 years ago (edited)
I'll never understand the negativity that comes from articles like this. While I agree this won't change the world but it's a step in the right direction. It surprises me how many people think they can't survive with out a plastic bag for their groceries. This pretty much proves if you take them away entirely people are capable of being creative and finding a way to make it work. I guess you just have to force them to learn to live without.
Helen Haley 6 years ago
Because most of us buy more than a suitcase of food at a time. Stocking up so you don't have to go to the grocery store constantly. Been that way since the advent of the refrigerator. We just can't conceive of a practical way to continue grocery shopping that doesn't make it so odious that we all DREAD grocery shopping. It wasn't a fun chore to begin with.
Load More Replies... Florencia Renedo 6 years ago
I am wondering how the street food vendors are handling this, since all carry-out food in Thailand is placed in little plastic bags...
Helen Haley 6 years ago
How do you conveniently carry around that many cloth bags? How big is your purse?
Load More Replies... Steve Cruz 6 years ago
When I walk to the store, I take a 3-wheel stroller I bought at a garage sale for $5. Pulled out all the pads and threw them away, I get smiles and waves from drivers who think I'm a good daddy (or granddaddy). When I'm at a crosswalk, cars frequently stop to let me cross.
Leo H 6 years ago
Funny ban plastic bags but plastic disposible diapers now loaded w human waste are okay for our landfills. Why not include plastic diapers
Whatshername 6 years ago
In our country these get recycled too. Even small villages have a diaper dumpster.
Load More Replies... 
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