New effort to resolve island's garbage woes

The Environmental Quality Promotion Department has launched its latest effort to tackle the garbage problem on the resort island of Phuket which has been struggling to get rid of around 600 tons of rubbish a day. Department Chief Monthip Sriratana Tabucanon said she would convince private recycling firms to invest in the glass recycling business there. There were large amounts of glass mixed with other garbage collected from households and hotels on the island, but garbage collectors ignored collecting it because they could make only small profits from selling the glass compared to cans, paper or plastic which could be sold for higher prices, she said. Glass waste was priced only about 10 satang a kilo. "More than 100 tons of glass material is thrown away each day. This glass junk is piling up at the provincial dump site and no one wants to collect it and sell it to recycling plants," said Monthip. According to the department's statistics, Phuket's garbage is broken down into 50% organic waste, followed by 15% paper, plastics and metal, and 18% glass at around 108 tons a day. Half of the total amount of 600 tons of garbage is sent to the garbage incinerator, while the remaining 300 tonnes is dumped into the island's 129-rai landfill, which has been in operation since 1993.

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http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/09Feb2008_news06.php

I have to wonder about this waste disposal now. People dump paint, heavy metals and aromatic substances in the trash. Would I be wrong in my assessment that I doubt they have scrubbers that collect the metals and aromatic vapors from the emissions, so off those fumes and vapors go, only to fall back to earth. The other items are dumped in a landfill which probably doesn't have a protective liner or liquid catchment system so that the effluent drains off to contaminate the water table?

Yes, it is a complicated worldwide problem.

The Thais are great at recycling as there are enough poor people around to do it for you (go through the trash)

However, if glass is not going to get recycled because it is not cost effective to do so, of course a lot of the trash is going to be glass as most of us know someone who drinks beer from glass bottles. (not me of course)

So, wouldn't it be best if either:

1/ we drink our beer from cans?

2/ or we put the beer in returnable bottles (remember them? I think they died out in the 70's? not sure why.)

3/ or make glass recyclable by raising the price at the recyling centers (govt. subsidized?)

doing nothing is not a good choice.