How to dispose CFL bulbs and other hazardous waste?

[fishbrando]

Where do you guys go to dispose of hazardous waste? I have some compact fluorescent bulbs that I need to throw away. I searched a bit online and in this forum and couldn't find anything. Any help would be much appreciated!

[bkkjames]

Throw them in your nearest klong like the locals do.

Sadly, not kidding.

I recall seeing somewhere (maybe a hardware store) had some info on this. I will have a look sometime and see what I can find.

[tingtong]

if there happen to be no klong nearby, a neighborhood land spot should be just as good...

you can do it if no one around. you can do it if some is watching.

not sure which one is the preferred thai way, both happens.

[Crossy]

For feel-good factor separate them out and mark the box as hazardous, then put them out with the trash.

The local garbage collectors will dispose of them safely dump them in the truck with everything else

[fishbrando]

Well, I'm definitely going to start buying LED bulbs instead, though they are not too environmentally-friendly either:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/led-lightbulb-concerns/

Looks like LED bulbs have lots of lead and arsenic - but at least no mercury.

[soundman]

Well, I'm definitely going to start buying LED bulbs instead, though they are not too environmentally-friendly either:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/led-lightbulb-concerns/

Looks like LED bulbs have lots of lead and arsenic - but at least no mercury.

Look on the bright side, supposedly they last a lot longer and cause less pollution for the same luminosity.

[thrilled]

In the U.S.they want you to go thru all kinds of loops.They say there's hazardous material inside.I guess I'll be hated for this.I just toss em in the trash can.I bet I'm not the only one.

[fishbrando]

In the U.S.they want you to go thru all kinds of loops.They say there's hazardous material inside.I guess I'll be hated for this.I just toss em in the trash can.I bet I'm not the only one.

Yeah, that hazardous material is mercury. It's poisonous and it stays in the environment.

But I'm sure it will only affect people whom you don't know:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Button,_Button_(The_Twilight_Zone)

[tao40]

Here in the U.S., I believe Ikea recycles them, so check with the Ikea in BKK, and see if they will accept them for recycling.

[Gandtee]

Well, I'm definitely going to start buying LED bulbs instead, though they are not too environmentally-friendly either:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/led-lightbulb-concerns/

Looks like LED bulbs have lots of lead and arsenic - but at least no mercury.

Look on the bright side, supposedly they last a lot longer and cause less pollution for the same luminosity.

How can he look on the bright side? He has thrown his bulbs away.

[Rockhopper]

In Chiang Mai go to Pantip Plaza to recycle hazardous waste. There are bins on the first and second floor. Lord knows what happens when the bins are emptied.

[Estrada]

I help write the BMA's Solid Waste Master Plan. We did a lot of research on the way they collect the rubbish and garbage. You may have seen the coloured bins the BMA supplies. At one time different coloured bins, Green for Garbage (Wet Waste), Yellow for rubbish (dry waste) and Grey with a Red lid for household hazardous wastes (herbicides, insecticide, batteries and fluorescent tubes. Unfortunately, the Thai people don't care for helping the environment and dump everything in any colour bin they feel like. They are certainly not going to sort their rubbish to help the refuse collectors because they sell the recyclables on their way back to the waste disposal station. So the Thai people think let them have the hard work of separating the waste, because no benefit to us. The grey bins were never big enough for a long fluorescent tube and in any case the Thai people generally don't care to help the environment. The grey bins have disappeared from our Moo Bahn so there is no way to dispose of them safely except perhaps to give them directly to the BMA waste collectors when they come to empty the bins.

So if their are no grey/red bins then give the hazardous waste to the Authorised Waste Collectors, otherwise take it to the nearest Authorised Waste Disposal Facility. The nearest to me is off of Soi Onnuch Prawet Bangkok.

[khunPer]

I help write the BMA's Solid Waste Master Plan. We did a lot of research on the way they collect the rubbish and garbage. You may have seen the coloured bins the BMA supplies. At one time different coloured bins, Green for Garbage (Wet Waste), Yellow for rubbish (dry waste) and Grey with a Red lid for household hazardous wastes (herbicides, insecticide, batteries and fluorescent tubes. Unfortunately, the Thai people don't care for helping the environment and dump everything in any colour bin they feel like. They are certainly not going to sort their rubbish to help the refuse collectors because they sell the recyclables on their way back to the waste disposal station. So the Thai people think let them have the hard work of separating the waste, because no benefit to us. The grey bins were never big enough for a long fluorescent tube and in any case the Thai people generally don't care to help the environment. The grey bins have disappeared from our Moo Bahn so there is no way to dispose of them safely except perhaps to give them directly to the BMA waste collectors when they come to empty the bins.

So if their are no grey/red bins then give the hazardous waste to the Authorised Waste Collectors, otherwise take it to the nearest Authorised Waste Disposal Facility. The nearest to me is off of Soi Onnuch Prawet Bangkok.

Great information, thanks – believe all we farang have reservations with just leaving hazardous waste together with normal garbage.

However, it may all depend on where in Thailand you live; I presume garbage is handled quite different in an Isaan village compared to a major town or a tourist area. Unfortunately seems like some locals still prefer to just burn all their waste, even garbage collection is available.

Anything that can be sold – i.e. have a value like aluminum cans, cardboard and plastic – are no problem, just sort it in a different preferably transparent plastic bag(s) and place it next the garbage; it may disappear long before the garbage collectors arrive. Also when I have placed a used car battery, a faulty pump or other electronics it seems to “walk away” quick – but as I have a very kind 10-bath-a-day local garbage collector lady coming every morning at six o’clock on her motorcycle with sidecar, she even sweeps any waste from soi dogs who has been trying to rip the bags open and check the content, I now only put valuable stuff out there after midnight so my garbage collector can sell it.

If no other obvious solution available locally, perhaps we shall just sort hazardous waste in a transparent plastic bag, and when full (enough) place it next to the garbage and hope it ends up safe somewhere?

[Estrada]

On 28/01/2014 at 2:10 PM, khunPer said:

On 28/01/2014 at 0:50 PM, Estrada said:

I help write the BMA's Solid Waste Master Plan. We did a lot of research on the way they collect the rubbish and garbage. You may have seen the coloured bins the BMA supplies. At one time different coloured bins, Green for Garbage (Wet Waste), Yellow for rubbish (dry waste) and Grey with a Red lid for household hazardous wastes (herbicides, insecticide, batteries and fluorescent tubes. Unfortunately, the Thai people don't care for helping the environment and dump everything in any colour bin they feel like. They are certainly not going to sort their rubbish to help the refuse collectors because they sell the recyclables on their way back to the waste disposal station. So the Thai people think let them have the hard work of separating the waste, because no benefit to us. The grey bins were never big enough for a long fluorescent tube and in any case the Thai people generally don't care to help the environment. The grey bins have disappeared from our Moo Bahn so there is no way to dispose of them safely except perhaps to give them directly to the BMA waste collectors when they come to empty the bins.

So if their are no grey/red bins then give the hazardous waste to the Authorised Waste Collectors, otherwise take it to the nearest Authorised Waste Disposal Facility. The nearest to me is off of Soi Onnuch Prawet Bangkok.

Great information, thanks – believe all we farang have reservations with just leaving hazardous waste together with normal garbage.

 

However, it may all depend on where in Thailand you live; I presume garbage is handled quite different in an Isaan village compared to a major town or a tourist area. Unfortunately seems like some locals still prefer to just burn all their waste, even garbage collection is available.

 

Anything that can be sold – i.e. have a value like aluminum cans, cardboard and plastic – are no problem, just sort it in a different preferably transparent plastic bag(s) and place it next the garbage; it may disappear long before the garbage collectors arrive. Also when I have placed a used car battery, a faulty pump or other electronics it seems to “walk away” quick – but as I have a very kind 10-bath-a-day local garbage collector lady coming every morning at six o’clock on her motorcycle with sidecar, she even sweeps any waste from soi dogs who has been trying to rip the bags open and check the content, I now only put valuable stuff out there after midnight so my garbage collector can sell it.

 

If no other obvious solution available locally, perhaps we shall just sort hazardous waste in a transparent plastic bag, and when full (enough) place it next to the garbage and hope it ends up safe somewhere?

There is one place in Thailand that recycles its waste in an environmentally friendly way and that is Phitsanalok, any harmful waste that cannot be recycled such as medical waste is bunt with a clean burn incinerator supplied by an Australian Company who also supplied the medical waste incinerator on Soi Onnuch.

[khunPer]

I help write the BMA's Solid Waste Master Plan. We did a lot of research on the way they collect the rubbish and garbage. You may have seen the coloured bins the BMA supplies. At one time different coloured bins, Green for Garbage (Wet Waste), Yellow for rubbish (dry waste) and Grey with a Red lid for household hazardous wastes (herbicides, insecticide, batteries and fluorescent tubes. Unfortunately, the Thai people don't care for helping the environment and dump everything in any colour bin they feel like. They are certainly not going to sort their rubbish to help the refuse collectors because they sell the recyclables on their way back to the waste disposal station. So the Thai people think let them have the hard work of separating the waste, because no benefit to us. The grey bins were never big enough for a long fluorescent tube and in any case the Thai people generally don't care to help the environment. The grey bins have disappeared from our Moo Bahn so there is no way to dispose of them safely except perhaps to give them directly to the BMA waste collectors when they come to empty the bins.

So if their are no grey/red bins then give the hazardous waste to the Authorised Waste Collectors, otherwise take it to the nearest Authorised Waste Disposal Facility. The nearest to me is off of Soi Onnuch Prawet Bangkok.

Great information, thanks – believe all we farang have reservations with just leaving hazardous waste together with normal garbage.

However, it may all depend on where in Thailand you live; I presume garbage is handled quite different in an Isaan village compared to a major town or a tourist area. Unfortunately seems like some locals still prefer to just burn all their waste, even garbage collection is available.

Anything that can be sold – i.e. have a value like aluminum cans, cardboard and plastic – are no problem, just sort it in a different preferably transparent plastic bag(s) and place it next the garbage; it may disappear long before the garbage collectors arrive. Also when I have placed a used car battery, a faulty pump or other electronics it seems to “walk away” quick – but as I have a very kind 10-bath-a-day local garbage collector lady coming every morning at six o’clock on her motorcycle with sidecar, she even sweeps any waste from soi dogs who has been trying to rip the bags open and check the content, I now only put valuable stuff out there after midnight so my garbage collector can sell it.

If no other obvious solution available locally, perhaps we shall just sort hazardous waste in a transparent plastic bag, and when full (enough) place it next to the garbage and hope it ends up safe somewhere?

There is one place in Thailand that recycles its waste in an environmentally friendly way and that is Phitsanalok, any harmful waste that cannot be recycled such as medical waste is bunt with a clean burn incinerator supplied by an Australian Company who also supplied the medical waste incinerator on Soi Onnuch.

Thanks. Where I live in Thailand the waste is burned in an incinerator (or two, I think they have now), but I don’t have a clue how well it works and how hazardous waste may be handled. I know the garbage truck staffs do some sorting, but probably only the stuff they can sell.

Would be nice if there were some places to dispose batteries etc. In some European countries they have a disposal box by shopping centres and malls – for batteries and the like just a smaller box hanging on a wall is needed, for example next to the pin board that many centres have – might be an idea for Thailand, could even be sponsored by a brand.

[Glock3am]

On 28/01/2014 at 5:06 PM, khunPer said:

On 28/01/2014 at 4:32 PM, Estrada said:

On 28/01/2014 at 2:10 PM, khunPer said:

On 28/01/2014 at 0:50 PM, Estrada said:

I help write the BMA's Solid Waste Master Plan. We did a lot of research on the way they collect the rubbish and garbage. You may have seen the coloured bins the BMA supplies. At one time different coloured bins, Green for Garbage (Wet Waste), Yellow for rubbish (dry waste) and Grey with a Red lid for household hazardous wastes (herbicides, insecticide, batteries and fluorescent tubes. Unfortunately, the Thai people don't care for helping the environment and dump everything in any colour bin they feel like. They are certainly not going to sort their rubbish to help the refuse collectors because they sell the recyclables on their way back to the waste disposal station. So the Thai people think let them have the hard work of separating the waste, because no benefit to us. The grey bins were never big enough for a long fluorescent tube and in any case the Thai people generally don't care to help the environment. The grey bins have disappeared from our Moo Bahn so there is no way to dispose of them safely except perhaps to give them directly to the BMA waste collectors when they come to empty the bins.

So if their are no grey/red bins then give the hazardous waste to the Authorised Waste Collectors, otherwise take it to the nearest Authorised Waste Disposal Facility. The nearest to me is off of Soi Onnuch Prawet Bangkok.

Great information, thanks – believe all we farang have reservations with just leaving hazardous waste together with normal garbage.

 

However, it may all depend on where in Thailand you live; I presume garbage is handled quite different in an Isaan village compared to a major town or a tourist area. Unfortunately seems like some locals still prefer to just burn all their waste, even garbage collection is available.

 

Anything that can be sold – i.e. have a value like aluminum cans, cardboard and plastic – are no problem, just sort it in a different preferably transparent plastic bag(s) and place it next the garbage; it may disappear long before the garbage collectors arrive. Also when I have placed a used car battery, a faulty pump or other electronics it seems to “walk away” quick – but as I have a very kind 10-bath-a-day local garbage collector lady coming every morning at six o’clock on her motorcycle with sidecar, she even sweeps any waste from soi dogs who has been trying to rip the bags open and check the content, I now only put valuable stuff out there after midnight so my garbage collector can sell it.

 

If no other obvious solution available locally, perhaps we shall just sort hazardous waste in a transparent plastic bag, and when full (enough) place it next to the garbage and hope it ends up safe somewhere?

There is one place in Thailand that recycles its waste in an environmentally friendly way and that is Phitsanalok, any harmful waste that cannot be recycled such as medical waste is bunt with a clean burn incinerator supplied by an Australian Company who also supplied the medical waste incinerator on Soi Onnuch.

Thanks. Where I live in Thailand the waste is burned in an incinerator (or two, I think they have now), but I don’t have a clue how well it works and how hazardous waste may be handled. I know the garbage truck staffs do some sorting, but probably only the stuff they can sell.

Would be nice if there were some places to dispose batteries etc. In some European countries they have a disposal box by shopping centres and malls – for batteries and the like just a smaller box hanging on a wall is needed, for example next to the pin board that many centres have – might be an idea for Thailand, could even be sponsored by a brand.

Actually, many large shopping malls in Bangkok do have battery/electronics disposal bins. Have a look in the sections where all the mobile phone vendors are set up and you will likely find one. Definitely at the Central malls I have been to anyway.

[Ufanur]

There are some places that collect batteries and lamps (besides the colored bins nobody gives a shit about): in universities, malls, district offices.

You can look/join to the facebook group named "Batteries Recycling in Thailand" (it is also about the fluorescent bulbs). The group is for sharing information about the recycling spots all over Thailand. Currently there are marked on a map a few places (all in Bangkok) for batteries, rechargeable batteries and fluorescent lamps. All have exact addresses, directions and photos.

https://web.facebook.com/groups/BatteriesRecyclingThailand/

map:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=zKH6ili__DD4.kPcTkPyjWpjM

Edited January 6, 2016 by Ufanur

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Any update on the map?  Any disposal site out in the Rangsit area, Nakhon Nayok?

 

I don't do Facebook so can't see if they have any info.

 

Mac