Rubbish reality
Re: "Phuket looks to resort model to tackle waste", (BP, Jan 17) & "Trash tells Phuket's story", (Editorial, Jan 6).
The latest news article by Achadthaya Chuenniran on rubbish dumping is a sad reflection on the Thai attitude when it comes to actually getting off one's backside and putting it in a bin a couple of metres away
On my daily morning dog walks, I see so much litter along the side of the road, with the plastic bags ripped open by wild animals searching for any food, which leads to an even worse scenario of spewed litter everywhere.
Of course, this whole problem is mainly due to the fact that actual collection from homes has to be prepaid directly, unlike my old country, where all houses are visited on the dust cart's round, so most households on tight budgets resort to the cheaper alternative.
We are biodegradable, unlike the ubiquitous plastic freebie given out on all shop purchases.
I remember buying an item that came pre-packed in a sealed plastic bag with a carry handle, and the shopkeeper putting in a you know what.
I declined, stifling a laugh, saying another bag not needed thankyou. He was gutted.
Ian Dann
Looming disaster
Re: "Lifting crane and fall and crush family home", (BP, Jan 25).
Well, after three major crane accidents in the last week or two, with plenty of fatalities, I think it might be helpful if I reported the stunning turn of events I spotted with my own eyes only two days before the first major recent crane crash. It's almost as though I am psychic.
I had been walking by a popular park on Sukhumvit Road near a foreign grocery store when, on a very breezy day with wind gusts, I spotted a crane doing a roof lift on a new skyscraper.
I messaged my friend who is in her 60s from California and said I saw this, and I said I know cranes never should be working in such high winds as the Miller Park crane collapse of 1999 (see YouTube accident video preserved from VHS) taught me that cranes are not designed for any real upward force, they are designed for only holding and moving very heavy things.
I was worried that a wind gust would take the roof chunk and turn it into a sail, which would topple a huge crane acting as a sail.
Well, two days later, the first major crash happened, then the next one a day later or so, and now another.
I suggest either reading the user's safety manual, which came with the crane or hiring someone like me to insure if basic safety protocols are not satisfied, we do not lift; lest we be the Wicked Witch of the East or the Local Wizard of Plummet and get a house dropped on us; or -- even worse -- our little dog, too.
Jason A Jellison
