Dumping Rubbish in the Canal

Something really needs to be done to educate people not to just dump rubbish wherever they like. After all the floods that we have had in recent years, you would think that the last place that people will dump rubbish is in the canals. Surely they know that doing this will block drains which will then cause flooding. And these are the first people to complain when it floods, demanding compensation from the government.

I spotted this girl dumping rubbish into Saen Saeb Canal in Bangkok. She was coming and going from her house nearby and was helping her parents do a spring clean. The father came out too and dumped an umbrella and a box of junk. Someone on Twitter told me that they had also seen refrigerators and a mattress in this canal. It wasn’t just this one household dumping rubbish in the canal. A bit further down I passed an old guy dumping the contents of his garbage bin into the canal.

I don’t know if they really have an excuse. Even if they live on the canal with no direct access to roads, the BMA still provides a rubbish disposal service by boat. I passed a couple of these boats on the canal. I presume they go up and down every day much like they do on land. Educating people on not dumping rubbish in the canal should start at schools. But the BMA should also put up signs along the canal telling people of the consequence of doing this. All they need to do is put up a pictorial sign that says “rubbish + canal = flood”. What do you think?

7 thoughts on “Dumping Rubbish in the Canal

  • October 9, 2012 at 6:32 am
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    The soi, leading up to my house, is lined with trash bins. The street leading up to my house, is strewn with litter.

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  • October 9, 2012 at 6:31 am
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    No excuse, just sloppiness of some Thai people. Yes agree to educate them, they (we) should have good lessons from last year floods!

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  • October 8, 2012 at 10:15 pm
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    yes, unfortunately in these matters there is still a looong way to go to make people really think green. reminds me of some “green shopping” event in The Mall where they stuffed my purchased cotton shopping bag in… you can guess… 2 pieces of plastic bag 😛

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  • October 8, 2012 at 9:50 pm
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    I have a love hate relationship with this country. I’m just a normal family guy with no plans of leaving. However, I often feel as if I am living among cavemen. Need your car fixed? Beat on it with a piece of pipe. Need your AC fixed? Beat on it with a piece of wood. The Maid tried to beat the hood of our stove back into place the other day instead of sliding it into the slot. If beating on it doesn’t work, throw it into the canal because it is garbage. Sure I have lost some of my morals and ethics after living here, but I just cant bring it upon myself to take this old house fan that quit working and go throw it in the canal. I used to try to explain this to people, how you can not dump chemicals into the ground water, you can not dump garbage into the waterways. Its always the same old thing, “Farang no understand thai-ness” (or Thai-mess actually). Sometimes you think you have helped someone after explaining that dumping causing more flooding and poisoning the waters and possibly contributing to the illness that will inflict those stuck in and around those waters. They smile and nod and grin and go to the kitchen to beat on some food until its done. I really think there is nothing you can do. If there was a committee to educate people about these earthly hazards, some jerk would just pocket all the money.

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  • October 8, 2012 at 8:45 pm
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    Fly tipping or the illegal dumping of trash is not peculiar to Thailand, it occurs all over the world. Pattaya, where i live, has the blue bins and an excellent and daily collection system and so we are told in the local press 1000 people employed in the cleansing department. despite this and as recently as two days ago whole swathes of the town was flooded, mainly due to blocked and inadequate drains and uncontrolled building. i don’t claim to have an answer, but education and a sense of pride in ones environment must be a way forward, however it is hard to enduce pride in Pattaya as it is such a human sewer in itself, in so many ways.

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  • October 8, 2012 at 8:44 pm
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    Some people develope the sense of right and wrong, moral people and sense of shame whilst others don’t. Plus other factors which can influence this which are the adults around them eg parents, guardians, teachers..ie how they are taught and brought up.
    Then there is the government/local councils who probably do some dumping themselves!

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  • October 8, 2012 at 8:43 pm
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    Not just into the canals….. the Thai tradition of just dropping trash is difficult to become adjusted to. Last year’s flooding in Bangkok showed the sheer bulk of it all as the waters rose and then receded. Out here in the country, it bothers me even more against the natural beauty. Bags of trash floating down rivers. Piles of garbage around nice houses. But, few seem to care.

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