Regular features from August 2006 128th Issue

Pub Quiz

The morning after the night before. Last night (Sunday 16 th July) saw the resumption of the quiz at Dick's Office after the World Cup break. 20 plus quizzers turned up to pit their wits against each other and call the quizmasters to task on a few discrepancies. With the weather very inclement and motor racing on the T.V. it was still a very good turn out.

The rounds were General Knowledge, United Nations, Distances, Celebrations, Greetings in different languages and War. When the questions were researched and set they seemed reasonably difficult. When they were read out it was a different story. Lots of groans as some were called out. Out of a possible 71 the top score was 53, which is around 74%. There were only a few points between the top four teams so chances for almost everyone.

Picture round had a new slant to it. Here are some of the photos used: Frederick the Great, Great White Shark, Great Britain. Get the common link? Most of the teams worked it out and then the points increased but no one guessed all eleven. More fiendish shots coming up in the next few weeks.

The Team Name made a come back as well. After the numbers were down for the last quiz the Team Name went without any mention. But a good effort was made by all the competitors this time. Football was the main theme this time. The winning name was “Free the I TI 3” after the three clubs just relegated in Italy over match fixing. So that may give you an idea of the content needed to impress the judges. One footnote, Zidane's nickname is ZiZou not ZiZi.

Now things have returned to normal the quiz will take place every two weeks, regardless of football or motor racing on the T.V. The dates for August are 13th and 27th.

Here are a few sample questions from last night.

A) Who is the Secretary of the United Nations?

B) What do the French celebrate on 14th July?

C) What is quicksilver?

So if you like taxing your brain and out smarting the quizmasters then join us at Dick's Office on the above dates, 7.30 pm (Thai time).

Hua Hin Rotary

Congratulations to the new President of the Hua Hin Rotary Club, Rotarian Wassana Srikanchana, and also to the new management for 2006 – 2007 who were appointed to their positions recently.

Rotary Clubs originated in Chicago in 1905, formed by Paul P. Harris, an attorney who wished to recapture the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth in a professional club. The name ‘Rotary' comes from the original practice of rotating meetings among members' offices. By 1921 Rotary Clubs existed on six continents, and a year later the name Rotary International was adopted.

Modern day Rotary clubs are much more than the original idea – their principal motto is ‘Service Above Self', and the clubs aim to help communities in need, promote international understanding and addressing worldwide issues such as the environment, hunger and children at risk. Rotary works actively with, and participates in United Nations conferences, and The Rotary Foundation is a non –profit organisation originally set up as a fund in 1917 ‘for doing good in the world' – contributions to the Foundation total more than US$80 million annually, and support a wide range of humanitarian grants and educational programmes worldwide. Today, 1.2 million people belong to 32,000 clubs in more than 200 countries, including 145,000 women, who had only been admitted as Rotarians worldwide since 1989.

Agent Double-O-Soul

By Dr. Dave Soul Monsta

Edwin Starr (January 21, 1942 - April 2, 2003) was a soul music singer. He was born with the name Charles Edwin Hatcher in Nashville , Tennessee . Starr died of a heart attack at the age of 61 in his home near Nottingham and fortunately that's as bad as this gets.

“Edwin Starr, not only an international soul superstar, and a soul legend in the UK more than any other place, but also known by many scooterists and soul boys as MR SOUL, and was one of the lads, It broke my heart to hear of his death especially after having the privilege of being his support DJ many years ago in Manchester ” Dr dave soul monsta

Edwin Quote

” I knew that I had a following here in England , and if I came over here maybe I could cultivate it, but I never dreamt it would be as great as it has been.”

Following being an understatement!

His career started in1957 with a group called “The Future Tones”. Starr was drafted into the military in 1960, stalling the group's momentum. When he returned in 1962, he tried to get things going again, but to no avail; Two years later, Starr wrote what he felt was a sure-fire hit in the spy-themed "Agent Double-O-Soul", the song which began his solo career in 1965, a take-off on the James Bond films which were popular at the time. Mr. Soul capitalized on the song's novelty appeal by appearing on-stage in a spy costume complete with toy gun, and the track hit the R&B Top Ten later in 1965. This today is still an anthem on the European scooter scene and the many soul nights every weekend up and down the breadth of the UK , Europe and the rest of the world.

Living around Michigan and Detroit areas in the 60's, he cut his first tracks for the RIC TIC label and later Motown who swallowed up RIC TIC in Berry Gordy's quest for the Motown sound. When his contract was transferred to Motown, he instantly became one of the roughest, toughest vocalists on the crossover-friendly label, without much great success in the mainstream charts, but had many minor chart successes with tracks such as “SOS Stop Her On Sight”, “My Weakness Is You” and “Headline News”. A big change came about in 1968 when he made it big time with “25 Miles” which stormed the international charts; however Mr. Soul was something of a forgotten man for several months after that. When he returned to the studio, it was with producer Norman Whitfield, who was reinventing the Temptations as a psychedelic soul act. Whitfield had co-written "War," for the Temptations' “Psychedelic Shack” LP, and in spite of growing demand for a single release, Motown didn't want the group to take such an aggressive stance. Whitfield recut "War" with Mr. Soul, and the resulting version was arguably the most incendiary song Motown ever released. It zoomed to the top of the charts in 1970, and with it's chorus -- powered by Mr. Soul's guttural delivery, became the biggest hit of his career. It was an anti-Vietnam War protest song that still has a very valid point for all world leaders. The #1 hit became an anthem for the antiwar movement, and is now commonly used in many movie soundtracks and samples in rap music. Rightly revered for the storming protest classic "War," Edwin Starr didn't really need another hit to achieve legendary status in soul circles, so electrifying was that single performance.

Mr. Soul continued to record music into the 1970s, most notably recording the song “Hell Up In Harlem” for the 1974 movie of the same name. This was the sequel to “Black Caesar”, an earlier hit with a soundtrack by James Brown.

In 1979 Mr. Soul moved to England, and had already been a UK resident for some time when he reappeared on the charts with a pair of disco hits, titled :(Eye-To-Eye) Contact”, “Happy Radio” and a fantastic rarity called “Love The Lonely Peoples Prayer”, after many years touring the club scene around the UK where his following and respect was stronger than he knew. He appeared at a RIC TIC review in Manchester with Lou Ragland, JJ Barnes, Laura Lee, Pat Lewis and Al Kent and a host of the UK's top soul DJs in the early eighties at a nightclub called the Ritz on Whitworth Street, on a Bank Holiday Sunday night to a packed house of delighted fans along with a queue around the block, which was just one of the UK stop offs for this more than successful tour. He also recorded a Marvin Gaye tribute album for Streetwave, and a handful of singles for Hippodrome during 1985-1986. His participation in the Ferry Aid charity project led to a deal with Virgin and a session with the hot production team of Stock, Aitkin & Waterman, but he didn't take to their high-tech dance-pop style and instead moved to Ian Levine's Motown revival label Motor City from 1989-1991. Later he guested on dance remakes of his past hits by the Utah Saints ("Funky Music") and Three Amigos ("25 Miles"), although he was still very much a live artist appearing at UK scooter rallies on a regular basis as well as the all-nighter scene, and always being more than appreciated and loved for just being MR SOUL, but otherwise recorded little until his untimely death in 2003. Just before that he played to a packed house in Stuttgart, and showed one more time that Edwin Starr was a fantastic live performer …………

An interview with Edwin a few weeks before his passing

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall - March 15th 2003 (with thanks to Peter Wallace)

ES=Edwin, PW=Peter Wallace, EG=Elysium Greene

PW: So, how's it to be back in Liverpool ?

ES: Great! We don't play here that often but every time we do play here it's really good. Someone just reminded me that we played this theatre on the ‘Dancing in the Street' show. Which was very good.

PW: Yeah! I was just reading about that.

ES: Yeah.

PW: How do you find Britain ?

ES: Well, for the last 20 years it's been my life stay. I do more work in Britain than I do anywhere else in the world.

PW: I'm from a mod site and they voted you their all time favourite star.

ES: Yeah?

PW: How's that feel?

ES: GREAT! It's an honour, especially when you look at the list of people they had to choose from.

PW: You beat everyone! You beat Otis, you beat Marvin…

ES: I think it might be that it has to do with the fact that consistently being here, to be seen, to be heard. Most artists come in and out of the country, they stay may be 2 weeks – or a month max and then they leave. Where as we're here all the time, we're here month in month out, year in year out – although we do other things, like in the continent – but in our main concentration is in England and ‘Northern Soul' the ‘Scooterists'.

PW: When did you first start to sing?

ES: In 1955. There was an amateur show. I had a group called the ‘Future tones' and well…. Well… well originally the group was called ‘The Imperials' but we found out rapidly that there was another group called ‘The Imperials' so we had to change that and we changed it to ‘The Future Tones'. So from 1955-1960 we were ‘The Future Tones' and we were the number 1 group in Ohio, around Ohio where we lived then and it was during the group era, and it was in the town – there was loads and loads of groups; ‘The Cadillac's' ‘The Flamingos' ‘The Drifters'. I mean there were just groups, there were just all groups and out of each of those groups there became 3 lead singers. You know, I mean, 3 Lead singers.

PW: Next Step?

ES: Next step…I was in the army for 2 and a half years, which round up being 3 years because I was there during time when President Kennedy at the time made an involuntary extension on everyone because of the crisis in the canal…… What canal was that?

PW: Um??

ES: You wouldn't know 'cause you're too young.

PW: I did read about that bit, bout you making records and getting somewhere and then they put you in the army!

ES: (Laughs.)

PW: They did that to Elvis! They did that to all the good ones.

EG: You didn't have a choice did you?

ES: Well, I did actually. My father's a career soldier so I knew enough about the whole in's and out's of the army. How to get in and get out quickly. Which I would've done 'cause I volunteered for the draft which meant that I only had to do two years. But when the Cubans had missiles in the Canal and Kennedy made the extension, I was one of the ones who had enough time to be extended. Which was…okay. I was only like another eight months that they extended. Then I got out in 1962. And went immediately back to singing with my group. By 1963 I was spotted by a guy named Bill Doggett, who was an organist. And I travelled with his show until early or mid 1965. Then I met another guy who was a Deejay nicknamed ‘The Baron Taylor' and he took me to the record company. And we did a deal. And the very first record I recorded was a song called ‘Agent OO Soul'. And that particular record went to number one.

PW: Who were your favourites from that time?

ES: Oh, everybody. There were some great singers during that time. In fact, unfortunately, one of those singers that I really liked, Hank Ballard, from the Midnighters, just recently died about two weeks ago. There were a lot of really good singers. Unfortunately, the times have taken their toll; Joe Tex, Otis Redding, you name them…

PW: Who were the ones for you that set the standard when you started off? Or who made you think, “That's what I want to do with my life.”

ES: Well, first of all you couldn't really say that's what I want to do next. The record industry is a world within itself. You can only be lucky if you have a place to record. It's not like it used to be where everybody has a record company to belong to. Many companies today don't have to spend a lot of money on development. Or they have to spend money on trying to build an artist. They've got all these new television interventions. The artists come to them with built in audiences just from television. So they know they have enough smarts about them to know, regardless if the artist is the lowest man on the totem pole, he's still going to sell X amount of records. So they know whatever investment they make is guaranteed. They're gonna get a certain amount of that money back.

PW: Not like the good old days.

ES: No, not like the good old days.

EG: Today – the music is no matter how much talent you have… I believe some people make music for the money to be commercialized.

ES: That is the sad thing about it. That truly is the sad thing about it. How they disillusion the young talent that comes up. They make them believe that it's all peaches and cream. They'll all have big cars and big mansions and the whole bit. Okay, and maybe some of them will be lucky enough to do that. But because they don't have any experience, they won't know how to handle it. They won't know how to contain it or to keep it. You know, half of them don't even do interviews because they don't know how to do an interview. And what would they talk about? Say, “What did you do before you started singing?” “I worked at McDonald's”. You know, there's no history. And me, myself personally, in order for there to be any kind of longevity there's gotta be some history.

PW: Do you see anyone coming up now to match your standard?

EG: Do you see anyone now who's as good?

ES: I wish I could say I could…

PW: I thought it was just me! It's your era, I wasn't born then, but that's the music I'm into.

ES: Believe me when I tell you if you're still doing this in ten years from now it won't be one of those acts you'll be doing this with. It just won't! The music industry is trying to correct itself, one of the things that there doing – Tony Blackburn is going back on the radio, after all these years back to Capital Gold. Which it sounds like a step backwards but it's a step forwards because they need someone on the radio who has knowledge of what it is to play. You know, and I think probably the next person that they'll be reaching out to get – err, I mean he's still around – Dave Lee Travis. You know, I mean, they need those kind of guy's. Those kind of guys are the pillars of the music industry.

PW: I'm all outta questions, so which bits of your career have you enjoyed?

EG: Not that there aren't more to come!

ES: Oh yeah, it's still going, yeah. I've had quiet a few – I've performed in Chicago, Illinois at the Reco Theatre with Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin and myself and that was a memorable occasion. I played Wembley, here, with Bruce Springsteen. I did... err... what's the other place in London ..??? I was here with Elton John; it was all the comedians in England in one show. So I've had some really memorable shows. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people who take pictures, you know, carry a camera. Because if I did I'd have stack's and stack's and stack's of different act's. I got a lot here – I know what I done.

PW: El's a musician. We're not asking for a deal but we were hoping with your musical knowledge – ‘cause we're young and have no experience – is it important to get the records and then the family life is just as good?

ES: If you can make the family life and the music work together that's wonderful. If you can make it work. If there is enough love and enough understanding between each other not to allow the green-eyed monster ‘jealousy' to come into the midst of it – then yes, you can work well, work together and survive. Well, nine times out of ten when you have 2 or 3 stars in a household you have an unfortunate amount of competition that's not necessarily a healthy competition. It's the media, they push the competition, you know. Like, if you wake up in the morning and you've got an interview – okay. But half an hour later after that she's got an interview, then how do you deal with that? You know what I'm saying? Whether two hours later you've both got an interview. Unless you're a musical team. If you're a musical team then that structurally works. But if you're two individuals it can be tricky.

PW: Thank you very much.

ES: You're welcome.

Agent Double O Soul

Double-O-Soul!

I dig rock and roll music

I can do the twine and the jerk

I wear strictly continental suits

And high collared shirts.

I´ve got a reputation of bein´

Gentle but bold.

And that´s why they call me

Agent Double-O-Soul baby!

Agent Double-O-Soul.

They call me Double-O-Soul baby

I´m Agent Double-O-Soul.

I don´t carry no pistol

I don´t wear a false moustache

And you´ll never see me carrying

Around a little black bag.

My real name´s no secret

But from me it will never be told.

I´m just known as Agent Double-O-Soul baby!

Agent Double-O-Soul.

They call me Double-O-Soul baby

I´m Agent Double-O-Soul.

There once was a fella

Who was down on rock and roll.

He couldn´t get himself together

He didn´t have no kind of soul.

The office put me on his case

And I tracked him down right away.

Now he´s a deejay on a radio show

A station that everybody knows.

Call me Double-O-Soul

Call me Double-O-Soul

Double-O-Soul

Double-O-Soul

Double-O-Soul

Double-O-Soul

At my job I work real hard

I´m on the go

Rain, sleet, or snow.

I´m Agent Double-O-Soul baby!

I´m Agent Double-O-Soul

They call me Double-O-Soul baby.

Book Review

In His Majesty's Footsteps: A Personal Memoir

by Vasit Dejkunjorn

Heaven Lake Press, Bangkok 2006

ISBN 974-9412583

286 pages, 30 B&W photos

This may well become something of a collector's item in the future, being the first detailed semi-biographical account in English of the highly revered King of Thailand. It mainly covers the period from the mid 1960s to the late 1970s, a time of frequent turbulence in Thai politics that has been successfully overseen by King Bhumipol Adulyadej, the ninth king of the Chakri dynasty, who has recently celebrated 60 years on the throne. He is thus the longest reigning King currently on the planet. I doubt if a similar record of any other current reigning monarch could show such consistent dedication to duty, and it is therefore well worth reading by Westerners if only as an eye-opener to such comparisons.

This account is written by the king's chief bodyguard of the period, or more correctly, chief of the royal court police, and is really his own career autobiography, but it chronicles the regular duties, meetings, and discussions with His Majesty, also describing the royal family's activities at home and among their subjects, as well as the protocols observed as part of regal and Buddhist ceremonies, sometimes in great detail.

These memoirs also illustrate the king's abilities in building radios, field-stripping an M16 rifle, his interests in musicianship, sailing, aerobics, writing his own speeches, and his devout dedication to Buddhism and sponsorship of many small and remote temples throughout the country. The king's regular jogging exercise has also embarrassed several policemen who have had trouble keeping up on many jungle treks! Driving his own car on many occasions, and kindly stopping for cobras or other animals to cross the road, has also delayed many royal processions. Local readers will find many descriptions of life in Klai Kongwon Palace and other familiar landmarks such as Suan Son and Naresuan Camp. There are many anecdotes detailing His Majesty's development of agricultural communities and cooperatives particularly through his expertise in drainage and land reclamation with the Royal Irrigation Department. One example is at Khao Tao near Hua Hin where the Queen has also aided development in traditional cotton weaving. Often these royal projects have been followed through over a thirty-year period, and this breadth of activity and constant travel round the kingdom is well documented.

The attitudes expressed by the writer, who later became a Police General as well as a monk, might also serve as an eye-opener to Western readers, particularly those who are familiar with foreign security protocols for VIPs. Thai Police and the Thai King work rather differently, and coming across various nuggets of the Thai mindset, or anecdotes of protocol planning and misadventure entwined within a sometimes over-detailed chronicle of events is one of the fascinations of this book. The author, Vasit Dejkunjorn, has had hard-nosed experience fighting Communist insurgents as part of the border police, has travelled extensively in both Europe and Asia, has trained at Quantico with the FBI and has been part of the security detail for visiting monarchs from Britain, Sweden, Belgium, and Denmark amongst others. Yet much of his account deals with his thoughts on Buddhist meditation, visiting famous monks, releasing captured animals and the protocols of the Thai civil servant, rather than security methods, which provides interesting insights into the mind of senior Thai officials. He reflects on one security fiasco when a drunken policeman crashed through the king's escort into his car.

"I can say that twenty-three years later, measures and plans adopted in Thai bureaucracy still simply remain words on a page. There are still no training and simulations for the officers to learn how to confront and cope with this type of situation. As a result, when they face a real incident or emergency they just freeze in their tracks, not knowing what to do next."(p199).

Interestingly, the king continued driving home after this incident and later paid for the culprit's medical bills! Despite the sometimes apparent limitations in security and "mannequins in police uniforms" it is extremely obvious that the Thai Royal Family have been very brave and busy people, frequently visiting the furthest and remotest corners of the kingdom, walking deep into the jungle, or greeting their citizens in insecure urban areas. One episode relates a bomb incident in Yala:

"Suddenly two successive explosions went off in the tent set up for the villagers. The tent had been positioned fifty meters to the left of where the royal family was seated ...after the crowd had been pacified, the king walked over to the microphone and started to give his speech to the people in his normal tone of voice. ...The events then followed according to the original agenda.''

His Majesty later took the royal procession to visit the injured in hospital.

As an account that details the royal activities throughout the communist insurgencies, riots, and coup d'etats of the 60s and 70s this book is a valuable historical record from a close and personal perspective. For those interested in learning more about the Thai royal family and the close reverential bond between the monarch and his people that is perhaps unique in our modern world, it provides an essential insight that is well worth the read.

Earth Report

Plastic bags – just say No!

Wherever you are in the world, plastic is everywhere. Bottles, bags, containers, cups...the list is endless. Very few of us think about plastic or the possibility of reusing or recycling, and particularly here in Thailand, however there are people and companies out there who will take it off your hands, and sometimes even give you money for it! The world's annual consumption of plastic materials has increased from around 5 million tonnes in the 1950s to nearly 100 million tonnes today. In the UK, a total of approximately 4.7 million tonnes of plastic products were used in various economic sectors in 2001. That is the equivalent of a mind boggling 564 billion plastic bags!

Plastic packaging, because of its low weight and relative strength, is one of the most energy efficient, robust and economic delivery methods available. Plastic packaging accounts for 20% of the weight of all packaging and 53% of all goods are packaged in plastics in the UK.

Even though plastics can be recycled, there are fewer recycling collection facilities than for other types of packaging waste and only 23% of plastics packaging waste was recycled in the UK in 2001.This is partially because plastic has a high volume to weight ratio, which can make recycling collections of plastic packaging waste less efficient than the collection of other recyclables which weigh more.

The amount of plastic waste generated annually in the UK is estimated to be nearly 3 million tonnes. An estimated 56% of all plastics waste is used packaging, three-quarters of which is from households. It is estimated that only 7% of total plastic waste arising are currently being recycled. These percentages are likely to be similar in many countries.

The production and use of plastics has a range of environmental impacts. Firstly, plastics production requires significant quantities of resources, primarily fossil fuels, both as a raw material and to deliver energy for the manufacturing process. It is estimated that 4% of the world's annual oil production is used as a feedstock for plastics production and an additional 3-4% during manufacture.

A report on the production of carrier bags made from recycled rather than virgin polythene concluded that the use of recycled plastic resulted in the following environmental benefits:

• Reduction of energy consumption by two-thirds

• Production of only a third of the sulphur dioxide

and half of the nitrous oxide

• Reduction of water usage by nearly 90%

• Reduction of carbon dioxide generation by

two-and-a-half times

• A different study concluded that 1.8 tonnes of

oil are saved for every tonne of recycled

polythene produced.

In addition, plastics manufacture requires other resources such as land and water and produces waste and emissions. The overall environmental impact varies according to the type of plastic and the production method employed.

The disposal of plastics products also contributes significantly to their environmental impact. Because most plastics are non-degradable, they take a long time to break down, possibly up to hundreds of years - although no-one knows for certain as plastics haven't existed for long enough - when they are land filled. With more and more plastics products, particularly plastics packaging, being disposed of soon after their purchase, the landfill space required by plastics waste is a growing concern.

Plastics are used in a wide range of applications and some plastics items, such as food packaging, become waste only a short time after purchase. Other plastic items lend themselves to be reused many times over. Reusing plastic is preferable to recycling as it uses less energy and fewer resources. Long life, multi-trip plastics packaging has become more widespread in recent years, replacing less durable and single-trip alternatives, so reducing waste. For example, the major supermarkets have increased their use of returnable plastic crates for transport and display purposes four-fold from 8.5 million in 1992 to an estimated 35.8 million in 2002. They usually last up to 20 years and can be recycled at the end of their useful life.

According to a 2001 Environment Agency report, 80% of post-consumer plastic waste is sent to landfill, 8% is incinerated and only 7% is recycled. In addition to reducing the amount of plastics waste requiring disposal, recycling plastic can have several other advantages:

• Conservation of non-renewable fossil fuels - Plastic

production uses 8% of the world's oil production,

4% as feedstock and 4% during manufacture.

• Reduced consumption of energy.

• Reduced amounts of solid waste going to landfill.

• Reduced emissions of carbon-dioxide (CO2),

nitrogen-oxide (NO) and sulphur-dioxide (SO2).

• Plastic process scrap recycling

A number of UK retailers have recently introduced degradable carrier bags. These bags are made from plastic, which degrades under certain conditions or after a predetermined length of time. There are two types of degradable plastic: bio-degradable plastics, which contain a small percentage of non oil-based material, such as corn starch; and photodegradable plastics, which will break down when exposed to sunlight.

Degradable plastics are already being used successfully in Austria and Sweden, where McDonalds has been using biodegradable cutlery for several years. This enables all catering waste to be composted without segregation. Carriers for packs of beer cans are now being manufactured in a plastic, which photo-degrades in six weeks. There is also potential to use such plastics in non-packaging applications such as computer or car components.

There are a number of concerns over the use of degradable plastics. First, these plastics will only degrade if disposed of in appropriate conditions. For example, a photodegradable plastic product will not degrade if it is buried in a landfill site where there is no light. Second, they may cause an increase in emissions of the greenhouse gas methane, as methane is released when materials biodegrade anaerobically. Third, the mixture of degradable and non-degradable plastics may complicate plastics sorting systems. Last but not least, the use of these materials may lead to an increase in plastics waste and litter if people believe that discarded plastics will simply disappear.

USE OF RECYCLED PLASTIC

There is a wide range of products made from recycled plastic. This includes polyethylene bin liners and carrier bags; PVC sewer pipes, flooring and window frames; building insulation board; video and compact disc cassette cases; fencing and garden furniture; water butts, garden sheds and composters; seed trays; anoraks and fleeces; fibre filling for sleeping bags and duvets; and a variety of office accessories.

Despite the wide range of recycled plastics applications, the actual tonnage of waste plastic that is returned to the material cycle is relatively small. Currently, recycled plastics are rarely used in food packaging - the biggest single market for plastics - because of concerns about food safety. A method of addressing this problem is by enclosing the recycled plastic between layers of virgin plastic to ensure the packaging conforms to hygiene standards. These multi-layered containers are now being used in some drinks bottles, but recycling cannot eliminate the colours from plastics so they cannot be used in transparent or light coloured applications.

Another constraint on the use of recycled plastics is that, to be economically viable, plastic processors require large quantities of recycled plastics, manufactured to tightly controlled specification at a competitive price in comparison to that of virgin polymer. This is a challenging task, particularly in view of the diversity of sources of waste plastics, the wide range of polymers used and the high potential for contamination of plastics waste.

PLASTICS - What you can do

Choose goods with minimal packaging, and which are

packaged in a material that can be recycled or returned in your area.

Try to reduce the need to throw away plastics. For example, take a reusable shopping bag to the supermarket or corner shop, or re-use the bags you were given last time. Don't accept a bag if you don't need one. When they are beyond reuse, plastic carrier bags can be recycled.

Rather than throwing them away, give plastic toys or containers to children's scrap stores, schools or playgroups for reuse.

Use plastic containers and bags again or make them into something else. For example use yoghurt pots to grow seedlings, use the top part of drinks bottles as cloches for plants and offer clean plastic carrier bags to charity shops.

Buy products that are refillable. For example, the Body Shop provides refills in its containers or takes them back for recycling. The recycled plastic is used to make items like nailbrushes and combs.

Think of ways of reducing the need for packaging. Don't add extra packaging yourself - a melon, a grapefruit or a bunch of bananas already has natural packaging - does it need to go in a plastic bag as well as your shopping bag, and does that already efficiently packaged dairy product or piece of meat really need another wrapper?

In your own country ask your local authority recycling officers (if they exist where you are from) which materials are currently collected or may be collected in the future. Alternatively ask your neighbours what they do.

Look for products, e.g. bin liners and refuse sacks, made from recycled plastic, now available in many supermarkets. Also look out for products packaged in at least partially recycled material.

If it does not already run one, suggest to your local authority that it considers starting a plastics recycling scheme.

Encourage your local authority to buy products, such as street furniture, made from recycled plastic rather than wood.

Useful Telephone Numbers for Hua Hin

Railway station
032-512 770, 032-511 073

Bus station of Hua Hin
032-511 654, 032-512 543

Bus station of Prachuabkirikhan
032-601 901

Bus station of Pranburi
032-621 443

Hua Hin Hospital
032-520 401

Dog Rescue Center
0-1981 4406

Wild life Rescue Center (Tayang)
032-458 135

Department of Land Cha-am office:
032- 430 846-7

Department of Land Hua Hin office:
032-536 164, 032-512 407

Department of Land Prachuabkirikhan:
032-611 211

Department of Land Pranburi
032-622 199

Local Government (Hua Hin)
032-521 340, 532 471

Local water supply
032-511 677

The Power Board of Hua Hin
032-512 215, 032 513 165

Observer office:
032-531 078

Red Cross.
032-512 567

San Paolo Hospital
032-532 576-85

Polyclinic International
032-516 424, 032-516 425

Shell Cooking Gas
032-511 144, 032- 515 620

The Communication Authority of Thailand
(Hua Hin)
032-511 351

Rotary Club of Hua Hin
0-1916 6637
Meeting every Thursday 8.pm
at Hua Hin Grand Hotel & Plaza

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