Bangkok: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has announced garbage disposal as a national agenda and has assigned the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to draft a road map for sustainable disposal of garbage, Interior Minister Gen Anupong Paochinda said Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Anupong said Prayut also assigned the Interior Ministry to be in charge of collecting garbage from the people for sustainable disposal in line with the road map to be drafted by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

During the meeting, Prayut expressed concern that there have been no sustainable method for garbage disposal so the prime minister decided to make it a national agenda, Anupong said.

He said Prayut wanted to build garbage power plants in several parts of the country as a sustainable measure of disposal.

Several garbage power plant projects have met strong opposition from local residents.

Anupong said Prayut wanted the government agencies concerned to explain to local people that garbage power plants would be necessary or else more landfill sites would be needed.

The prime minister pointed out that there are now 141 major landfills nationwide and the garbage at the landfills could power up to 44 power plants.

Earlier, the Cabinet has approved a proposal that small power plant fueled by garbage would be exempted from environment impact assessment.

Anupong said about 500 tons of garbage a day would be suitable for fueling a power plant.

He said the Cabinet would later consider whether to invest in the power plants or give concession to private firms or carry out joint investments.

More important than the plants:

Force all shops to charge a couple of baht for each plastic bag, they hand out!!

Educate the population, so they don't throw their garbage everywhere. Thailand is a truly beautiful country except for all the litter.

If the plan is to burn plastic, then I object too.

When will all this happen? Ah the good ol' "we're going to do this/that"etc.

I'll bet Thailand will be the "hub" of recycling for S.E. Asia.

Maybe then some/any trash will be picked up in our village in Isaan.

The people in my friends village were offered garbage collection and many refused to pay just 20bht a month to have it collected. They prefer to burn it. Also they should bring out laws to stop these mainly Thai producers who produce excesive waste. How many times have we see more packaging on a product that there is product inside. Crisps are a great example.

Edited June 17, 201511 yr by bim

When will all this happen? Ah the good ol' "we're going to do this/that"etc.

I'll bet Thailand will be the "hub" of recycling for S.E. Asia.

Maybe then some/any trash will be picked up in our village in Isaan.

I am with you on this one, if he stays around for another two years or longer it will be more of the same. I would like to an going total cost on all these yet to be if ever to be delivered promises.

Garbage, a personal pet peeve of mine. It needs to be looked at in its entirety from house

pick up, to anti littering campaigns, to reducing the use of plastic bags at grocery stores and

7-11's etc.. As for disposal, I understand the Scandinavian countries have incinerators generating

electricity that are so efficient and clean they do not require smoke stacks, so I am all

for them. Re-cycle everything that makes sense, then burn and recover the energy.

Surely a better system than dumping the waste into ditches, rivers and oceans. Land

fills will leach out toxins with the heavy rains and pollute ground water. Back yard burning is

not the answer. I know NIMBY is always going to be a problem but an appropriate

locations can be found for these incinerators. And while you are at it look at construction

waste disposal as well. Heave fines for contractors and developers that do not dispose

of materials properly.

When will all this happen? Ah the good ol' "we're going to do this/that"etc.

I'll bet Thailand will be the "hub" of recycling for S.E. Asia.

Maybe then some/any trash will be picked up in our village in Isaan.

I am with you on this one, if he stays around for another two years or longer it will be more of the same. I would like to an going total cost on all these yet to be if ever to be delivered promises.

[/quote

You could deduct the costs of elections from the total. Let's not forget how many unfulfilled promises elected officials made either..

Great news,

Garbage and disposal is big business waiting to happen in Thailand.

Lots of jobs from independent collectors, to collection depots, to recycling plants.

This initiative will do a lot for Thailand and will hopefully educate the country too about the value of recycling, although don't expect this will be an overnight change, It took western developed nations 20 years to educate their populace.

Well from diving all over Thailand ' s waters it seems they already found the ocean is a great place to throw it. ....yes I know "you do it in the western countries too!" Blah blah blah... we also enforce the laws to punish polluters not just let them off if their name is high up in society (most of the time )

I thought they had solved the problems years ago.

Just dump it on a vacant lot when no one is looking.

Thais love plastic bags. I had never seen Coca Cola dispensed in a plastic bag until I arrived here 15 years ago.

Sadly the bags end up everywhere.

The story is very interesting. Thanks.

Gclub

Can someone explain to me why the Thais don't expand upon their cassava derived eco products such as disposable bowls/bags? This is supposed to be a Thai innovation and a very good one. Too expensive?

Other than that, I suggest everyone deluge P with snaps of the bloody litter every damned where. It's disgusting. A Thai neighbour went along to the local OrBorJor here in Rawai to complain about just one ever increasing garbage dump in one of the beautiful sois here and they told him they'd 'put up a sign'. Pah. That was three months ago and still no sign and no one to enforce any fine anyway. Same as before. Don't they see this shit every day? Are they blind as well as bloody stupid?