Mounting trash becoming a national worry: Thai PCD

[webfact]

Mounting trash becoming a national worry
Poungchompoo Prasert
The Nation

THE AMOUNT of household garbage nationwide has risen to 27 million tonnes, the Pollution Control Department (PCD) reported yesterday.

Of this figure, only 7.2 million tonnes had been eliminated properly, leaving almost 20 million tonnes not disposed of according to regulations.

"We found that the total amount of garbage last year was equal in area to the 139 Baiyoke Tower II building, the country's highest," Pollution Control Department (PCD) director-general Wichian Jungrungreon told a press conference yesterday.

The amount of household waste per person per day has increased from 1.03 kilograms in 2008 to 1.15kg in 2014.

Thailand has 2,490 waste disposal sites across country, but only 466 of these dumps handle garbage properly, leaving over 2,000 who do not keep to the rules.

The Department also found that last year Thailand produced 2.65 million tonnes of hazardous waste. Of this amount, about 2.04 million tonnes was industrial waste and the rest from households.

About half the hazardous waste was located at Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, Rayong, Prachin Buri and Samut Prakan.

Illegal disposal of hazardous waste

In the past year, the Department reported on illegal disposal of hazardous waste more than 10 times, Wichian said. He was worried that electronic waste from households, especially television sets, would become a big problem for the country as Thailand moves to digital terrestrial TV broadcasting next month.

"People will discard their old TV sets and buy new ones that can receive a digital signal. At the same time, Thailand still does not have a recall system to collect electronic waste from households for elimination," he said.

To date, Thailand has only three waste disposal sites that handle electronic waste, he said.

Household and electronic waste will continue to be a national problem, but infectious waste as well.

The Department found that last year there were 50,481 tonnes of infectious waste collected from hospitals and clinics across country.

The Department had received reports about illegal dumping of this infectious waste in areas such as Buri Ram and Surin provinces.

Meanwhile, the quality of air in Bangkok remains poor. The Department found the level of ozone gas had increased, mostly from vehicles that used gasohol.

Bangkok's nearby provinces have also been affected by the ozone gas released from power plants, vehicles, and industry.

The Department reports that its tests of water quality have been disappointing, revealing that only eight of 59 main rivers nationwide were in good condition.

The lower Chao Phraya was the most polluted river followed by Tachin, Lam Takong, Upper Pang-Rat, Lopburi, and Rayong.

Additionally, the Department has learned that the quality of seawater along the coastal area was still bad, especially at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River and Sib Song Tanwa canal.


-- The Nation 2014-03-20

[PaullyW]

Maybe it will help for the stores to stop giving us separate bags for every individual items we buy. What's the point of that anyway? Makes no sense (outside of Thailand)

[Credo]

It's not just the number of plastic bags. With affluence comes trash. In Thailand a lot of the absolutely crappy merchandise that comes, primarily from China, ends up in the trash.

Even a lot of the 'wood' furniture falls apart.

[ChrisY1]

"only 7.2 million tonnes had been eliminated properly, leaving almost 20 million tonnes not disposed of according to regulations."

Why hasn't the disposal been treated properly......useless managers...useless inspectors......

More evidence of another failed system!

[ZigZagMan]

I found the missing garbage. It's all along the roadside in Jomtien and PraTamak Hill.

Every roadside and empty lot is a dumping ground.

You would think with the low cost of labor, there would be city work crews picking it up?

[IMHO]

Sounds like a headline ripped straight out of Sim City to me

[jacko45k]

Packaging is the problem.

Everything comes in pretty little packages, I bought some hardware for doing a little job and had 6 separate packages ranging from a dozen screws to 4 hooks in each.

The micrSD card I bought was packaged more in relation to its capacity than its physical size.

Couldn't get it open either.

[bangkokheat]

thailand has a PCD?

[Utley]

Packaging is the problem.

Everything comes in pretty little packages, I bought some hardware for doing a little job and had 6 separate packages ranging from a dozen screws to 4 hooks in each.

The micrSD card I bought was packaged more in relation to its capacity than its physical size.

Couldn't get it open either.

Wrong - you are not Thai so you are not capable of understanding. My Thai father-in-law throws his chicken bones, food scraps and discarded anything including packaging in our front yard making our house (IMO) look like a junk heap. It is the Thai way. Since I am not Thai, I don't understand either.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Utley

[monkey4u]

I found the missing garbage. It's all along the roadside in Jomtien and PraTamak Hill.

Every roadside and empty lot is a dumping ground.

You would think with the low cost of labor, there would be city work crews picking it up?

One time I watched a group of workers sweep the center island on a main road.

All the rubbish was dumped on a vacant lot opposite.

My question was WHY BOTHER with cleaning the road, its all coming back tomorrow

[Estrada]

I was one of the Consultants that wrote the 1999 Bangkok Solid Waste Master Plan for the BMA, when Phichit Ratakhun was BMA Governor. The BMA have been writing Solid Waste Master Plans for years using Foreign Government Money. However, no plans ever get implemented (Why would they? If they implement them they would not be able to get money for another Solid Waste Master Plan the following year!).

In 1994 to 1996 we worked with Kritsada Arunwong na Ayutthaya, the then BMA Governor on incineration as a solution to solid waste. We completed the first clean burn medical waste incinerator at Onnuch landfill/waste transfer station. He then went out for tender for 7 x 1,000Tonne per day incinerators to cope with all of Bangkok's solid waste. However this was against the interests of the mafia who owned land where they could charge high fees for landfill. At the contract award time, the opposition squashed the deal because they found that Krisada's wife had an alleged interest in the Incinerator company that the BMA was going to award the contract to, so the ultimate solution did not go ahead. Onnuch already had a state of the art waste sorting and composting system which was never run properly. Pairote Sompongpanit is the operator of most of the landfills around Bangkok, he has a history of "Accidental fires" in his waste handing landfills around Bangkok including Onnuch and Samutprakarn. We proposed to Samak, the BMA Governor from 2000 to 2004, to compress the waste in supersize sanitary bales fro disposal in sanitary landfills. However, despite our technology being written in the specification the contract was awarded to a Thai Company that adapted an ordinary straw baling system which didn't work, but "incentive" wise was rewarding to the people in charge.

You can find a link to the residents 2002 objection to the Samutprakarn Landfill here: http://www.ist.cmu.ac.th/riseat/archives/Jan_02/News/11010201.html

Apart from places like Phitsanalok, the Bangkok public could not care less about recycling or helping the BMA waste collectors by sorting out there rubbish. Hazardous waste, garbage(wet waste), rubbish(dry waste) and recyclables all get thrown into the nearest coloured bin the come to.

In our plan apart from recycling, composting and waste to power biogas plants, we recommended that they use the waste to reclaim the land on the western side of the Chaophraya river to prevent flooding. However the elected to dump the waste in an inland landfill on land owned by "The Usual Suspects". Now around 5 kms of the coast line has disappeared and salt water is entering even further up the river affecting the water supply.

The people to blame are the corrupt politicians of all parties who responsible for the current choking smog which I am having to breathe even around my home near Seacon Square.

[akampa]

If it takes a well educated country like Germany nearly 20 years to get to where they are today ie recycling separation of glass, plastic etc ,what chance really have they in Thailand slim to none I`d guess education every time sad really

[midas]

it's happening all over the world.

This is the price we will pay for “ progress “

Even what was the pristine Maldives is trying to deal with hundreds of tons of solid waste and toxic material

http://www.businessinsider.com/thilafushi-trash-island-maldives-photos-2013-3?op=1

[rkidlad]

In my apartment they've finally segregated the bins for different materials. This was a request by mostly foreigners. I very much enjoy separating my rubbish because I feel better for doing it.

Often I find any old crap in the plastic bin; nappies, food waste etc. The 4 bins spread across about 5 metres. Most random rubbish is thrown in the closest bin which is the plastic waste. It's purely down to education.

[KIWIBATCH]

Thailand is fast becoming one huge dump...come on let's be honest.

It doesn't matter where you travel in Thailand - rubbish is dumped everywhere - roadsides, highways, rooftops, stairwells, National parks, waterways, sidewalks.

Have you seen the street vendors at the end of the working day dumping there used cooking oils and "sludge" into the nearest hole in the pavement.

Multiply this by the thousands if not millions of street vendors doing this on a daily basis.

I read some months back that 60% of Bangkok's sewerage is untreated and simply dumped into the Chao Pyra river......60% a massive amount finding it's way into the sea.

The pristine exclusive Thai resorts that tout their offers - most of them based on the "exclusive" islands and along the Thai coastline - most if not all dump their sewerage directly into the sea. Add to this the foodsellers resident on the islands with their used cooking oils etc, let alone the residents

So in the initial report above the Department "has learned" that the quality of water along the coastline is "bad" and that only 8 of the 59 main rivers were in good condition.

This is a national disgrace to Thailand - it is only going to get (rapidly) worse - as nothing is ever done. talk talk talk that's all they ever do..... a Hub of Inaction.

I would suggest that a swim in the sea along the coast of Thailand has you swimming in "badly" polluted water most of the time, if not in someone elses poo then in an oil slick or amongst trash.

Wake up Thailand before you totally spoil this beautiful country and turn it into a Hub of Filth and Trash...(it is already well on the way)

[ginjag]

Packaging is the problem.

Everything comes in pretty little packages, I bought some hardware for doing a little job and had 6 separate packages ranging from a dozen screws to 4 hooks in each.

The micrSD card I bought was packaged more in relation to its capacity than its physical size.

Couldn't get it open either.

Wrong - you are not Thai so you are not capable of understanding. My Thai father-in-law throws his chicken bones, food scraps and discarded anything including packaging in our front yard making our house (IMO) look like a junk heap. It is the Thai way. Since I am not Thai, I don't understand either.

I understand for sure, LAZYNESS, DIRTY HABITS, --look at the toilets here in rural areas in particular, Tin shed/corrugated sheets, dip in tub for shower, 500 baht would cure this, pvc pipe, shower head.

Kids throwing bags and rubbish out of school buses. Thai in general do the easy way out for them, I see them taking rubbish in pick-ups and dumping on unoccupied land.

No wonder there is a rat problem--ant/cockroaches thrive, stinking water direct from shower and sink let run out on the land plot forming puddles for mozzies to breed.

Local authorities ---we were provided bins for our household rubbish, but no collection JOKE. so if you didn't dump it you burned it.

Truth please look at the family burning rubbish at the home---when the fire has gone out look closely, TINS, BOTTLES, BATTERIES. and the rest-----Brain dead teachers are most parents. Sorry this applies to most 3rd world countries as well. again DIRTY HABITS., applies to most areas, SOME but few are clean.

[VocalNeal]

If it takes a well educated country like Germany nearly 20 years to get to where they are today ie recycling separation of glass, plastic etc ,what chance really have they in Thailand slim to none I`d guess education every time sad really

Cultural imperialism doesn't suit you.

In Thailand or even Asia for that matter. No glass, plastic or anything else with recyclable value gets any where near the municipal garbage. It all gets whisked away. This includes all the plastic bags that people complain about.

[Thaiready]

Packaging is the problem.

Everything comes in pretty little packages, I bought some hardware for doing a little job and had 6 separate packages ranging from a dozen screws to 4 hooks in each.

The micrSD card I bought was packaged more in relation to its capacity than its physical size.

Couldn't get it open either.

Wrong - you are not Thai so you are not capable of understanding. My Thai father-in-law throws his chicken bones, food scraps and discarded anything including packaging in our front yard making our house (IMO) look like a junk heap. It is the Thai way. Since I am not Thai, I don't understand either.

hell atleast he throws it away...I can't get my Thai Father-Inlaw to throw anything away.

[Lupatria]

Only after toxic billows of smoke blew in their houses, people realize that men made waste is not off the planet after the dump truck left. A week ago it was not anybody’s agenda.

Now you smell it- now you don’t, does not work here!

Once again the biggest stench stems from the corruption involved in the lucrative business in illegal dump of toxic waste.

However, here most people seem to be immune to the smell of corruption anyway. Your ubiquitous menthol sticks won’t veneer that. For a change, try to sniff that in your heads!

[Riley'sLife]

Time to chill people. We'll all be reincarnated a number of times before things change here. Meanwhile read one of my stories: (-if you can be bothered to wade through it!!) Yes, it is on-topic.

The road from my village to the local regional hospital was designed for travel by motorbike rather than by car. It is paved now, but still dusty from the mud brought onto it in the rainy season by vehicles entering from the surrounding rubber plantations through which it weaves a strange, almost aimless track, with many sharp bends.

To overtake the motorbike I was driving behind in my car would have enveloped the riders in a cloud of dust for a few hundred metres. I held back, as I knew I would have to wait for a while once I arrived at the hospital to collect my in-laws. I was in no rush. On the motorbike a small pair of child’s feet dangled to the right side between the two adults. I hadn’t noticed the child before, but that confirmed in my mind that I had made the correct decision to not overtake.

Without warning, the motorbike driver threw a large plastic cup to the ground. The ice from the discarded drink gave the glistening appearance of glass as it hit the road and I instinctively braked. As we continued, I pulled back slightly, to leave more space between my car and the motorbike. Several bends later as we entered town, just before the hospital entrance, the female motorbike passenger held out her right hand holding her drink. At first I thought she was signaling a turn, as she made no attempt to release her drink, but then, suddenly, she flicked open her fingers dropping her plastic cup of ice which scattered across the centre of the road. She kept her open-fingered hand outstretched, like a dancer would, for dramatic effect. As I pulled into the hospital car park the elegance of her gesture distracted my thoughts before I internally berated the riders for being so inconsiderate both to me, and to society in general for their lack of awareness and disregard for the environment.

I was able to find a parking space, but, as the multi-storey car park was full, as it always is by mid-morning, I settled for an un-shaded vacant bay in the new overflow car park in front of the hospital. This area, bordered by an ancient knee-high stone wall, had always been the parking place of choice before the multi-storey park had been built. The tall acacia trees offered much needed shade. Now, food vendors were forbidden entry by the security staff, the old stone wall had a sparkling new stainless-steel security fence fixed above, topped with security cameras, and more than half the trees had been felled. The dusty, uneven ground with exposed tree roots had been blessed with a modern black tar macadam surface that radiated the heat, but looked smart and efficient with the new parking bays clearly marked out in white lines.

I had called my in-laws to let them know I had arrived. They said they could see my car from the hospital window and would be ready soon.

As I waited for my in-laws to appear I was thankful for my car’s air-conditioning and audio system bathing me in their soothing, soporific atmosphere, isolating and insulating me from the noise of the food sellers on the street and the heat of the tropical sun. I thought again of the discarded drinks cups, and wondered if my car engine was causing more or less damage to the environment than the unwanted plastic seen everywhere.

From my vantage point I watched the comings and goings. The occasional ambulance arrived, a line of vehicles endlessly circled the car park waiting for a bay to be vacated. A family emerged from the hospital and slowly wandered into the car park. An elderly lady was trailing behind the main family group, holding the hand of her very young grand-child. Both were eating ice-cream. The other family members - one early teenage boy, two older teenage girls and mother and father - were all sipping drinks. As they reached their pick-up truck, the father gave the keys to the teenage boy who opened all the doors of the vehicle to allow the heat to dissipate, before returning to the group who were now all standing in the shade of the trees.

I saw the father hand his empty soda bottle to the teenage boy, who placed it at his feet. One by one as each finished their drink, their plastic cup or soda bottle was placed on the ground at the boy’s feet. As they departed I was amazed to see the father instruct his son to place all their drink containers on the old stone wall, below the stainless-steel rails. The new car park had numerous waste bins. Two bins were closer than the wall! This country will never be environmentally friendly if parents don’t teach their children to respect it, I thought. Why not place unwanted items in the waste bins provided?

Twenty minutes later I was exiting the car park with my in-law passengers. As I passed through the security gate and gave the car park token back to the security guard in return for a smart salute, I looked left and right waiting for a gap in the traffic on the busy main road. It was then that I noticed to my right, a frail and very elderly lady, almost bent double, walking slowly behind the food vendors and alongside the stone wall of the car park, dragging a huge sack behind her.

She stopped, reached carefully through the rails of the new stainless-steel security barrier above the stone wall, and retrieved all the plastic cups and bottles, one by one, before placing them in her sack. Behind her, all the containers had been collected, but, ahead of her, were many, carefully placed, used plastic containers. I looked left to see even more containers awaiting her on the top of the stone wall. In my rear view mirror I saw the security guard stiffen to attention and give his best, white-gloved salute as the old soul passed behind my car unseen except for the slow moving sack of plastic waste.

I smiled to myself as I drove off into the crowded street of cycles, motorbikes, overloaded pick-up trucks, and handcarts. I wondered how many other times in the past I had wrongly judged people.

[Nickymaster]

"only 7.2 million tonnes had been eliminated properly, leaving almost 20 million tonnes not disposed of according to regulations."

Why hasn't the disposal been treated properly......useless managers...useless inspectors......

More evidence of another failed system!

Most agree that Thailand isn't properly managed in many fields, even as common as garbage collections.

One might wonder what those Shins have been doing the last decade. Perhaps spending more time on their personal business than on the country's problems? Looking at the rice fiasco, maybe the Shins aren't that smart after all but only good at stealing.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Nickymaster

[Claude Balls]

I guess the problem is that most thais seem to think Thailand is their rubbish tin. You watch any thai on any given day and they be strewing rubbish everywhere. Plastic bags, drink containers, cig packets.... you name it. Go to any "market day" and see the trash produced there Its this behaviour that needs to stop before anything else can be done

[Thai at Heart]

In my apartment they've finally segregated the bins for different materials. This was a request by mostly foreigners. I very much enjoy separating my rubbish because I feel better for doing it.

Often I find any old crap in the plastic bin; nappies, food waste etc. The 4 bins spread across about 5 metres. Most random rubbish is thrown in the closest bin which is the plastic waste. It's purely down to education.

U think that when faced with a bin saying plastic on it, that if someone puts a coke can inside, it is down to education?

I suggest, educating 100people of that character to PhD level would may only get 50 of them to change.

Put a feeling of freely giving to help others might go a bit further.

[lostmebike]

It's not just the number of plastic bags. With affluence comes trash. In Thailand a lot of the absolutely crappy merchandise that comes, primarily from China, ends up in the trash.

Even a lot of the 'wood' furniture falls apart.

...or the Chinese tourists buy it whilst here just to take it back home!

[JimHuaHin]

Did someone say something about the Thai mindset?

Could Thailand's movers and shakers learn something from Singapore or Japan??

Thailand moving into the 21st Century?

I cannot see any Green politicians or parties making any impact here for a few decades.

[takkatan in the land]

do the Pollution Control Department has a plan? are they gonna do something or just they worry?

what about getting worry about the massive smoke contamination produced by vehicles, especially those 30 year old buses which still smoking around

Whatever measure they are going to take I think it comes little late already