Thailand Creates Aggressive Plan to Clean Up Hazardous Garbage

[Jacob Maslow]

Thailand implements an aggressive plan to clean up hazardous garbage. About 200,000 tonnes of garbage has already been removed, but more needs to be done.

Thailand’s Interior Ministry confirmed the government’s aggressive plan to clean up hazardous garbage in the Sara Buri, Nakhon Pathom and Lop Buri provinces. A successful model has already been implemented in Ayutthaya, and the government has plans to expand further into 24 new provinces in the future.

Maitri Inthusut, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Interior, said 200,000 tonnes of garbage had been removed from a dump site. The removed garbage will be buried at a new site in the Bang Ban district according to sanitary regulation by March.

Approximately 150,000 tonnes of garbage are already underground. An RDF plant and power plant will be built soon to help combat the problem. According to Maitri, the ministry now has the budget and go-ahead to urgently remove garbage from these three provinces, which has reached a critical point. A Term of Reference for the plan is in the works.

The ministry and agencies are working together to create a roadmap to clear cumulative garbage from the 24 other provinces. The goal is to find a location to build a modern waste management facility. Of the 32 potential areas for power plant sites, only two were up and running. The rest are still under construction. The new project is being called “Clean City, Happy People”.

Thailand is aiming to eliminate as much garbage as possible by 2016. Thus far, efforts to reduce waste in the country has been paying off. Total household garbage in Thailand shrunk to 26.2 million tonnes in 2014, down from 28.2 million tonnes in 2013.

The 2013 report of 28 million tonnes of garbage sparked an effort to clean up the country and make efforts to eradicate waste properly. A little over 14 million tonnes of waste was disposed at the country’s 2,450 dump sites, but only half of the waste was eradicated properly.

-- 2015-02-17

[eliotness]

How do you "eradicate waste properly" ? I worked in the waste industry for nearly 20 years and have never heard that phrase before. Reducing waste generation is the key. Banning plastic bags and polystyrene trays would make a massive difference.

[Surasak]

Education in the correct way to disposing of domestic waste would make a massive inprovement. The norm appears to be general across the country to just dump rubbish at the side of the road or on a convenient spare piece of land. It will get through to these people eventually that the dirty environment they live in is the cause of many of the health problems. I'm not holding my breath here.

[eliotness]

How do you "eradicate waste properly" ? I worked in the waste industry for nearly 20 years and have never heard that phrase before. Reducing waste generation is the key. Banning plastic bags and polystyrene trays would make a massive difference.

It only requires the PM to have the will to improve things. Imagine, it's probably the one thing that all sides in this political mess can agree on, IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT. This could be such a good tool to bring the country together, please oh please dear PM grab the chance, use this cause to unite the country. Big strides begin with small steps.