Bangkok Residents Encouraged to Separate Waste For Recycling

[webfact]

 

by Tarin Angskul

    

BANGKOK (NNT) - Residents in Bangkok are being encouraged to help separate waste for reuse and recycling in order to reduce the capital city’s expenditure on waste management.

 

According to reports, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) spent more than 10 billion baht on garbage disposal while spending only 6 billion baht on public health and 4 billion baht on education.

 

During a recent meeting with a panel overseeing waste management issues, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt stated that the BMA will implement waste management policies while improving its waste transportation system.

 

Officials will encourage residents and the private sector to work together to separate dry and wet waste before reusing and recycling the remaining dry waste.

 

The BMA’s Environment Department will also provide waste disposal guidelines to local communities and schools in order to encourage local communities to reduce garbage output.

 

Meanwhile, authorities will also address complaints such as foul odors emanating from garbage disposal sites. The Bangkok Governor stated that officials must monitor the city’s waste collection because it is a major environmental problem that affects people’s quality of life.

 

The Bangkok governor also emphasized the importance of dispelling the narrative that the BMA dumped its waste in one location, which made residents reluctant to separate waste for reuse and recycling.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2022-07-08

 

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[Emdog]

"...(BMA) spent more than 10 billion baht on garbage disposal while spending only 6 billion baht on public health and 4 billion baht on education." GIGO: garbage in,garbage out. And they overpaid for what they got in education

[RichardColeman]

We got 417 baht from selling our last 2 months of separated recycle stuff few days ago.  There's money in that there trash - atleast 8 beers worth, or a months water, or a free gas canister ! Though I am sure it will all end up in a wife's extended clothing budget

[bangon04]

"The Bangkok governor also emphasized the importance of dispelling the narrative that the BMA dumped its waste in one location, which made residents reluctant to separate waste for reuse and recycling."

 

"dispelling the narrative"  does that mean lying about it?

[hotchilli]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

BANGKOK (NNT) - Residents in Bangkok are being encouraged to help separate waste for reuse and recycling in order to reduce the capital city’s expenditure on waste management.

While one truck turns up and throws everything in the back.

[orchidfan]

Recycling bins in local shopping malls and outside 7/11 just show how a very large proportion of people here don't give a damn.

 

Both bins ("recycle" and "other waste") are both full of just anything which people wish to discard.

 

Makes it hard for those poor buggers going through it all try7ng to find a few plastic bottles or cans to sell !

 

Education. That's where it was drilled into us from a young age. 

[proton]

8 hours ago, hotchilli said:

While one truck turns up and throws everything in the back.

Ours take anything, garden waste, bricks, even a front door last year! Far better than UK and nobody pays for it. Went once to the office to pay after being here 4 years, said they were too busy to take the money, nobody else was there.

[Golden Triangle]

I was separating my waste in the UK over 30 years ago, I still do it here but as someone before commented "only one truck turns up", what a waste of time & effort. Sorry, for clarity I live in Pattaya.

Edited July 9, 2022 by Golden Triangle
Additional information

[Purdey]

The BMA (and others) have been very duplicitous in their talk about waste separation. Talk is cheap. While plastic PET bottles are often separated as people know their value and there are many places to sell them, to be honest the BMA has been dumping everything else. They keep telling people they are "doing their best", but as someone pointed out earlier, most waste is not separated and goes into the same truck. It's all well and good to tell people to separate waste but when the bins and collection are ineffective and collection times are once a week (in the suburbs) then the issue isn't going to be solved. Three streets around my home, everyone dumps all waste at the junction as there is only one bin among fifty homes.

If you want people to separate waste, teach them about what types of waste can be recycled. Make it a compulsory subject at schools and encourage university students to find ways to clear waste from waterways.

As an aside, little old Wales is a world leader in separating and recycling waste. A 40 quid fine if you don't separate. Difficult in Thailand - who will collect fines that no one wants to pay?

An interesting idea (not mine) is to bury certain types of waste that is non-toxic, e.g. paper that has had food in it and cannot be recycled. Once there is a managed and segregated waste dump, grass it over until a recycler with new tech says he will pay the BMA to dig it up and recycle the contents. Then put the park back together after. 

I really don't know how to solve the waste problem in Bangkok and it looks as though the BMA doesn't either. I hope the new governor will.