Today, Thailand's green day, is a minor milestone in the long and often depressing battle for a better environment.
Supermarkets, convenience store chains, malls and hypermarkets won't put your purchases in plastic bags. Some will have paper sacks to replace the usual plastic; some won't, and customers will have to make do. All have had signs up to warn patrons that, for one day only, Thailand is at least partially a "no plastic bag" nation.
Today will bring home the underlying problem to many Thais. That there is a need for action against plastic pollution is now beyond debate and self-evident. It is reasonable to look to the government for at least a sign of leadership, but that is not forthcoming. It is ironic, then, that the worst offenders in plastic also are spending at least one day to accentuate the danger.
By Wednesday opening of business, of course, it is likely shops and consumers will return to their usual extravagant use of plastic bags, including that horrid practice of putting an item placed in a plastic bag, in another plastic bag.
Overuse of plastic bags by retailers is annoying to thoughtful people, and should be aggravating to everyone. Plastic waste is one of the world's worst pollutants and Thailand is one of the world's top plastic polluters. This should concern everyone, and every person should consider how to make these intertwined problems better.
They're not though. Worse, a too-large percentage of retailers, their employees and their customers are going to feel somewhat good about themselves this evening. Participating in the "no plastic bag" campaign will convince people they have done their bit for conservation. They haven't. A day without plastic bags is arguably the smallest possible start the country can make.
It is, however, a start, as several media outlets resort to the term "D-Day" against single-use plastic bags. It encourages the nation to think about its far too profligate use of plastic in general.
A bag is just one of many plastic things an average Thai puts to convenient use ahead of helping the environment. And while the government pledged just five short months ago to tackle this abhorrent, harmful overuse of polluting plastic, it has actually shown no sign at all of taking any meaningful steps. So convenience outlets and customers are ahead of their government on this one.
Thais are not unaware of the problems of plastic pollution. Social media is certainly single-minded about the subject. There are plenty of emojis and even an unofficial no-plastic-bag sticker -- the familiar yellow-haired female of Line graphics showing her horror.
The news section of the Bangkok Post Sunday showed off the first-ever animated icon in its history, an anti-plastic bag frowning yellow face in the PDF version of the newspaper.
But knowing the problem and working to solve it are unaligned. The footpaths and pavements of Bangkok, along with other cities and resort towns, show that a large number of people add to the problem rather than work to solve it. Litter is everywhere, and of the most easily preventable types.
These plastic bags and takeaway lunch boxes, water bottles and plastic cups are typical items which wind up in the oceans, killing marine life and creating filth along the world's coastlines.
After a campaign against unclean recycling in July, the government has again gone mute. It could contribute and then service large numbers of trash and recycling bins, but has chosen the silent tack.
Ministries with science and technology responsibilities are concentrating on harsh new surveillance laws instead of environmental campaigns. No group, no company and certainly not Gen Surasak Karnjanarat, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment are adapting the marvellous Magic Eyes conservation campaign of Khunying Chodchoy Sophonpanich for the 21st century.
There must be realisation that more needs to be done in order to bring change to consumers' behaviour and win the war against plastic bags.