Nick Anthony ? co-owner of Indigo Real Estate and well-known Phuket-based environmentalist ? has a smile on his face and with good cause?

Ever since Tesco Lotus refused to sign a M.O.U (signed by all other major retail stores on the island) to introduce a plastic bag charge last year, Nick?s campaign to reduce waste had looked doomed.

That was until he attended a meeting on 16 June, between the Tesco Senior Vice President, Phuket Energy Office Director Jirasak Dhamawej and Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha.

?I?m very happy. They decided to take it one step further than a plastic bag charge and will ban plastic bags altogether,? said Nick.

This initiative will be introduced on 4 December, when 840,000 cloth bags, donated by the government and private sector, will be distributed around the island.

Despite its initial reluctance and refusal to join the ?plastic bag? campaign, it was ironically Tesco?s insistence that any local initiative be government sanctioned that led to the Governor making the shock announcement.

This means therefore that by the end of the year, customers will be unable to take their groceries away from their local 7/11, Tops or indeed Tesco in a free plastic bag and will instead have to purchase or bring with them a cloth bag, costing anywhere from 10-60 baht.

Or will they?

Unfortunately, as of yet, the difference between an initiative and campaign, seems very little.

Nick explains that although plastic bags will effectively be banned, meaning no stores will be ?allowed? to give them away; it is still under consideration how a failure to comply will be enforced.

?Ultimately the Governor and local Orbortor leaders need to decide whether to enact a fine,? he said.

Not to be dismayed Nick, much like the German TV documentary maker featured in the last issue, believes the sheer intention and admission of responsibility a great step forward for environmental action and predicts that Phuket could well be nation leaders in such matters in times to come.

When the ?ban? is introduced, it will have been 2.5 years since Nick originally decided to tackle Phuket?s waste problem, ?The initial trigger was the realisation that if we wanted to make Phuket profitable during the low (green) season, then we needed to clean and maintain the beaches so that they could be open all year round.?

Nick set about launching a two-pronged attack. The first was to target the use of plastic and reduce its usage. The second was to increase the awareness of the benefits of recycling at every level; from the government, the Orbortors way down to the individual level.

Nick said, ?In the last 3 months, I?ve seen a 300% increase in effort. Recycling is already monetarised and Phuket actually has quite an active recycling community. There are 7 recycling stations in Phuket, more than enough to facilitate every house on the island if they wished to recycle.?

He admitted that although he was relatively happy with the recent changes, he would also like to see a similar scheme to the Big Bin initiative in Chiang Mai introduced.

This privately-owned company sends trucks from door to door collecting recyclables in exchange for useable goods. 40 cans will get 6 eggs for example. This, Nick believes, goes some way to change the mindset that recycling does have a monetary value.

?Waste in Phuket is like an octopus?s arms, hard for the government to get its hands around. The beast is getting larger and larger owing to driving consumerism and a growing population.?

But Nick believes that they?re managing to do that now, or at least recognising that they need to do that now, and the introduction of new and necessary infrastructure (e.g expanded incinerator to be completed by the end of the year) is a positive step forward.

So will Phuket?s most active member of the environmental community take a step back now, happy in the knowledge that he has been instrumental in perhaps solving a large portion of the waste produced on the island?

Absolutely not, ?There is still a lot of hotel waste and household waste that needs to be recycled, and I?d like to see recycling stations placed out at sea,? he said.

Nick Anthony is also a member of the recently formed Phuket-based environmental organisation ?SEEK? (Sustainability, Environment, Empowerment, Knowledge).

Currently on its watchful eye?s agenda is a road in Southern Phuket that will pass through the Khlong Koh Pi mangrove forest, and the 2 stroke/4 stroke issue of Speed Boat Tours.

A Japanese company, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is also in the process of conducting a series of tests to asses Phuket?s current effectiveness in dealing with carbon emissions, the results of which will hopefully aid in the future development of island-based initiatives and infrastructure.

A cause of countless complaints and harmful effects on the environment is the high number of tuk tuk and taxis on the island. The problem has been well publicised in the media and authorities are apparently well aware that a change must occur.

Considering constant complaints are usually the catalyst for change in Phuket and on the strength of how unified tourist, expats and locals are in their desire for the situation to be remedied, the introduction of an effective public transport system, at least Nick believes with a smile, is inevitable.

?The light rail project will be a positive first step. It will happen! It will just take investment and efficient transport will be on the horizon soon.?

Maybe then, Phuket residents, tourists and expats alike will all be able to sport smiles as broad as Nick?s.