Pick-up the Trash

[PK]

The beauty of Thailand is undeniable. But what you don't see in the postcards and travel guides is a MASSIVE trash problem. It's one of the first things foreigners notice when they arrive. Whether you're at the beaches in the south or the farm lands of Nong Khai, trash is everywhere. And it's only getting worse.

Clean-up Nong Khai's goal is to simply educate about the environmental impacts of discarding trash and to also teach the youth that they can do something about it. This will be done by 1) teaching them to see the problem and 2) empowering them to clean it up and keep it that way.

The Clean-up Nong Khai project will involve more than 20 schools and 500 students. It will happen each weekend, in a different location of Nong Khai, from June 23rd until July 22nd. If the project is a success we will attempt similar programs in other areas of the world.

-pk

[Soulessaint]

Clean-up Nong Khai is a great way to provide a new way of thinking towards disposing trash and keeping the environment healthy, Wonderful News, PK!!!! Gbya

[Ming]

New Project Clean-up Nongkhai come out, very good idea,PK.
Thank you for remind Thai people to care about the country. God job design! 

[Ginafish]

Wonderful Idea! With that much help, this project is sure to be successful! It's great how many things people can take care of themselves, sometimes they just need someone to light the fire of inspiration under them.
Tada! Isara!

Will you be going to the city developer's next to talk about all the power lines?

[Stasven]

Great idea, I hope you can pull it off.

[thartley]

Great project!  I remember, as a child, when the "Keep America Beautiful" and "Put Litter in its Place" ads came out.  I've never forgotten this one:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/cTpbRw2FiU4&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/cTpbRw2FiU4&rel=1</a>

[wendygirl]

I remember that commercial.  I often think of it when I see litter.  I do think it affected me and made me very conscious of putting trash in its rightful place.
Thanks for finding it.
I think any time you can remind people to appreciate the beauty of nature and respect it is a good thing.
Good luck in Thailand.

[thartley]

Here's a little inspiration to get you guys going!  These people climb Mt Everest to pick up trash!  And LOTS of it, too!

http://www.news4jax.com/t...ways/13400580/detail.html

[PK]

Cleaning Mt. Everest? Wow! Ok, we'll leave projects like that to the experts.

UPDATE: Last week Jen and I spoke with one of the schools where she volunteers. We asked if they could provide us with some students to help clean-up the trash in Nong Khai and they agreed. They said they could provide us with 60-100 students for the weekend of June 30th. We were going to start this weekend (the 23rd) but Isara will be in Bangkok until Monday and won't be available.

Today Jen and I drove around Nong Khai looking for an area that had a lot of trash. We found a strip of highway that leads to the Friendship Bridge. It's the last thing (and first thing) people see when leaving (or entering) Thailand. And it has A LOT of trash!

Here are some photos taken less than 30 minutes ago:


Next week Isara will go buy trash bags, gloves, water, and arrange for signs to be made. The fun stuff!
-pk

[Soulessaint]

They will provide, 60-100 students for Clean-up Nong Khai, that is GREAT!!!!
  Go Isara Go  

Isara will be in Bangkok until Monday, you guys travel safely, ok. Take care. Gbya

[Ming]

Awesom project, Thank you for having all the good projects
to developing Thailand by Thai and changing the world !   

[thartley]

I plan to spend as much time as possible at the beach during my vacation.  I learned something from a dear friend of mine a long time ago.  She always took two bags whenever she went to the beach...one for keeping the pretty things she picked up, and the other one for collecting trash along the way.  So, I'll just consider it a generalized time zone difference and start collecting trash locally here to participate.

Can anyone else put together a crew of one and clean up their neighborhood a bit for a local Pick-up the Trash project?   

[Ginafish]

My f-i-l made a couple of these for my son and him to pick up trash. He used old handles, long nails, and somehow attached the nail to the end...duct tape maybe??

If we ever go professional, this would be cool:
http://www.colonialmedica...oduct.php?productid=19157

[KitKat]

PK will the volunteers be wearing rubber gloves? You can buy them really cheap where  beauty supplies or hair salon supplies are sold.  Box of 100 really cheap, (here in the states about $2/box of 100), their disposable.
Maybe in Bangkok you'll see some. If not, there's always soap and water clean up!  

[thartley]

The company I work for has a regular litter patrol made up of volunteer employees who walk a stretch of the off-campus access road and pick up trash all along the way.  I did this once when it wasnt so hot outside.     They give you a prison orange safety vest to wear, bag, gloves, and a pokey stick. 

I usually head to the beach for the post July 4th clean-up event.  But I will be out of town this year during that week.  So, I will do my part while I am here now. 

[thartley]

Hey, while I was picking up shells and trash today off the beach, I noticed something kinda neat.  There are these bits and pieces of broken glass that wash up here and there from wherever, I dont know.  But the cool thing is, the ocean has taken every bit of the sharp edges off the glass.  They are pretty!  I've got clear, green, brown, and the off-green coca-cola bottle color.  I kept those along with my shells.

The trash went into recycle bins that are at the park's exit.   

If I find enough of the glass, I'd like to take a special photo of it all.   

[KitKat]

  thartley, I think you found some sea glass, it'll be great to put into your collage.

[JMB13]

Hey everybody, good news, today we went to buy supplies for the "Clean Up Nongkhai" project! We've got gloves, trash bags, water, and snacks for the 50 students that will be helping us. We'll begin at 8:00am tomorrow by having the students make signs about keeping Nongkhai clean, and then we'll all go work our little butts off!

Wish us luck!

[KitKat]

choke dee, na ka !! 

[Ginafish]

Yep, what KitKat said.

Or

[JMB13]

Thanks!

[thartley]

Stay hydrated...  Its hot about now, isnt it?

And be safe! 

[PK]

We just got back from the 1st day of Project: Pick-up the Trash! And WOW! The students did a GREAT job. They cleaned for 2 hours and in that amount of time they were able to cover an area of about 2 miles.

We met at a market, near the freeway we'd be cleaning. After a short briefing the four groups started designing their signs.


Afterwards everyone got right to work.



Two hours later the trash bags were picked-up and we celebrated a job well done.


The 50+ students were from Nong Khai Witayakarn School. (Jen volunteers there every Friday.)

A different group of students will help us tomorrow, at the same market. We'll have more photos of Part II tomorrow. Stay tuned...

[JMB13]

Sweet we did it!

That was a lot of trash we all cleaned up, day one went great! The students did a really good job, it's nice that we all were able to provide them with supplies and the opportunity to spend a few hours making an impact in Nongkhai.
 

[KitKat]

Better yet! Great Job!  That was a lot of trash! Please tell all your volunteers how much we APPRECIATE all their hard work!

Again,  Choke dee, na ka,  - Good Luck in Thai!