Plastic raises air fares

The recent furore incited by the supermarket plastic bag ban parallels the thoughtless plastic waste generated by airlines. Aside from being bad for the environment, the cost of manufacture of food and beverage packaging, transporting to landfill or recycling incur higher ticket prices. Do canned and bottled drinks really need to come with a plastic glass to be poured into unless those beverages need to be further chilled on ice? Is there a health risk from drinking directly from the lip of a can or bottle? Worse still are the unused stiff plastic knife and fork in sealed envelopes that automatically come with finger foods such as sandwiches and brownies. JOSEPH TING foreign media in their role regarding the cave rescue saga ( BP, July 21).

It said the foreign media’s questions “would only serve to remind them of the trauma they went through, and may lead to further psychological issues in the future”.

Yet, after the boys release from hospital, the government laid on an extensive press conference with TV cameras broadcasting to all parts of the world.

It was a very lengthy affair conducted by a Thai interviewer only, who discussed and questioned the boys in great detail, in what I agree was undoubtedly a very traumatic experience for them.

I fail therefore to see the difference between this press conference in the glare of TV cameras, and why it would not have reminded the boys of the trauma they went through, and even caused them possible psychological damage as had been suggested, and the foreign media’s questions the government said should not have been done at all.

A rescue event of this nature watched throughout the world, was always going to attract enormous publicity and attention, but in this case I would suggest was necessary to allow the boys to express their thoughts and emotions before going back to their families and getting on with the rest of their lives, rather than attempting to “wrap them up in cotton wool”. LAWRENCE TILNEY