Municipal Solid Waste

Management in Thailand
Situation in Thailand in 2000

Total Population in Thailand is

61,661,701

Population Growth Rate is 0.35

GDP 4.688 Billion Baht

GNP 4.560 Billion Baht

Solid Waste Generation is

38,170 ton/day
Significance of MSW Management
year
1992 1999
Total Population 57,788,965 61,661,701

Population 1.20 0.32

Growth Rate
GDP (million 2,827,158 4,688,000
baht)
GNP per capita 48,359 73,771
(baht)
Waste 29,135 37,879
generation
(ton/day)
 Current problems of solid waste
management in Thailand

„ Lack of law and regulation to cover entire system of solid waste

management

„ Existing laws do not include effective municipal solid waste

management to be implemented.

„ Lack of clear measures to promote waste reduction and public

participation.

„ The infectious waste from hospitals is not properly controlled.

„ Lack of clear measures to promote separation of household

hazardous waste from conventional household waste.
 Recent trend of changes

Application of inappropriate technologies such as the open dumping

Many significant environmental problems

The Environmental Act was revised and enacted in September 1992

Change in the role of Environmental management

A National MSW management plan was developed

for the entire country in 1997

Solid waste management has improved from 1992 to 1999

 Comparison of Waste generation &
Waste disposal
7,000,000

6,000,000

5,000,000
Waste (ton/day)

Waste generation
4,000,000

3,000,000

2,000,000

Waste disposal
1,000,000

0
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Year
Solid Waste Generation in 2000

ƒ BMA 9,130 ton/day

ƒ Municipalities
&Pattaya 11,785 ton/day

ƒ Outside of municipality
&sanitary district 17,255 ton/day

ƒ Total 38,170 ton/day

Solid Waste Composition - Thailand
Waste separation

•Waste separation is key mechanism for the

reduction of waste quantity

•Setting up laws and regulations for separating

wastes, as wet and dry wastes, before disposal.

•Provide rubbish bins or containers according to

the types of wastes

•Limit contamination to the lowest level

so that the wastes can be utilized
downstream.
Waste collection and transport
 Quantities of Collected Wastes in
Bangkok (1997)

Total Solid Waste

9,120 ton/day

On-Nut Solid Waste Nong-kham Solid Waste Management Tae-Rang Transferring Station
Management Plant PlantSanitary Landfill (by Private Sanitary Landfill (by Private
4,690 ton/day Contractor) 2,290 ton/day Contractor) 2,140 ton/day

Sanitary Landfill Compost Plant

(by Privat 1,050 ton/day
Contractor)3,640 ton/day
 Waste collection and transport

Collection truck with

Compactor

Side loading Truck

Waste collection and transport

Small truck with

compactor

Large truck with

compactors
 Waste collection and transport

Side –loaded truck

Container hauling truck

Transfer station in
Bangkok

Waste Transportation
from Bangkok
to disposal site
 Disposal of Solid Wastes

Open dump
Sanitary &
landfill incineration
7% 1% Landfill
20%

Open dump
72%
 Disposal of Solid Wastes

Open Dumping

Sanitary Landfill
 Waste composting

Waste separation

Composting drum
 Waste composting

Composting
Screening

Composting
Maturation Building
Incinerator
Resource Recovery, Recycle and Reuse
ƒ 40-60% of solid waste
generated can be recycled
and reused.

ƒ The 3 major recycled

waste materials are

ƒ Paper 57%
ƒ Glass 19%
ƒ Plastic 15%

ƒ The recycling rate has

increased approximately
9% per year
Community participation

The waste buying market

at municipality of
Phitsanulok

Opposition of waste disposal

at Chiangmai left the
garbage uncollected
Case Study of Small Communities
Participating in MSW Management

Project of Solid Wastes Exchange

At Klong Toey community in Bangkok
is the project of solid wastes exchanging with eggs

Solid Waste Bank Project

The Wad Klang community at Bangkapi district in
Bangkok has developed a solid waste bank project.

For an incinerator in the Hang Dong district

The local people in Hang Dong district strongly
opposed the project
 Waste scavenging
¾ Recyclable wastes collected
at sources by the scavenger
is estimated at 286
tones/day

¾ Amount of materials
recovered by the
scavengers varies between
50-150 kg/person/day

Composition of recyclable materials

¾ paper 55%
¾Recyclable glass 1- 3%
¾Plastic 10-15%
Informal sector involvement

An itinerant waste picker, or

“saleng”, pedling her tricycle
through Bangkok traffic in search
of garbage.

A material buying
centre from “saleng”
groups in Phitsanulok.
Participation of Woman

63-67% of total female in Thailand has

been employed during 1994-1998

There are 48 staff within the division of

which about 52% of total staffs is female, in
the Hazardous Substance and Waste
Management Division, PCD
It was found that 60% of woman are participated
In waste scavenging at Phitsanulok municipality
Climatically and Seasonal Influences

It was found that composition of wastes in

summer (March-April) was not much
different from rainy season.

They were little effect on moisture content

of whole waste. The average moisture
content of solid waste was reported at about
50-60%
 Central government organizations
related to the solid waste management
Prime minister

National
Environment Board

Ministry of Science
Ministry of Industry Technology and Environment Ministry of Public Health Ministry of Interior

Department Industrial Authority Office of Environmental Pollution Control Department of Department of

Department of Health
of Industrial Works of Thailand Policy and Planning Department Local Administration Public Works

Provincial The Provincal

Environmental Administrative
Office Organization

Sub-district
The Sanitary
Municipality Administrative
District
Organization
 The Organization structure of local
authorities in Thailand

Bangkok
75 Provinces

Local authorities Local authority : the BMA

Department of Public Cleaning Department of Public Cleaning

Street Sweeping and Solid Waste Disposal Public Cleaning

Disposal Site Division
Collection Plant Division Service Division

Night Soil Control Planning Division

Institutional Deficiencies and Weakness

unclear demarcation among the

responsible central agencies and
complicated relationship between local
municipalities and central agencies

incapability of local municipalities

project implementation (both technically
and financially).
 Resources and Skills
Technical Department

Survey and Construction and Mechanical

Design Divison Maintence Division Division

Head of Survey and Technicians in solid

Design Divison waste landfilling

Driver
Non permanent staff

Organization management of solid waste landfilling in Nonthaburi municipality

 Resources and skill requirement in solid
waste management in local municipality.

Position Duties
Environmental Engineer -Control solid waste treatment system and disposal site
(Bachelor degree) -Control wastewater treatment plant
Electrical Technician - Control whole electrical related works ๆ
(Certificate level)
Analytical - Monitoring quality of water/wastewater, leachate and
chemist/environmental runoff of landfill
scientist (Certificate level) - Air quality

Accountant/computer - Estimate the operating cost, income, fees and purchase

specialist (Certificate
level)
Worker - Cleansing landfill area, gardening etc.
Drivers - Drive solid waste trucks
Efficiency of SWM Staff and Equipments

Staffs for Solid Waste

Organization Number of Staffs Management
OEPP 591 65
PCD 559 84
DEQP 324 91
DIW 700 151
IEAT 606 100
PWD 3,201 480
DOH 2,659 569
DPC of BMA 377 377
 Health aspect
Households received impact
Locations from solid waste pollution
Whole Kingdom
Total 3300
Municipal Area 4700
Non-Municipal Area 3000
Bangkok Metropolis 5100
Central Region (Excl. BKK) 3400
Northern Region 1800
Northeastern Region 2900
Southern Region 5100

Household pollution impact more than one way possible and

environmental information by region in 1998.
 Legal Aspects
The Environmental Act was revised and enacted in September 1992

Reconstruction of the Office of the National Environment Board

•the Office of Environmental Policy and Planning (OEPP)
•Pollution Control Department (PCD)
•the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion (DEQP

Environmental Fund
The Fund provides grants to governmental agencies and
low-interest loans to the private sectors who are engaged
in the activities related to the improvement of the
environment.
Economics and Financial Aspects

The budget for MSW management in Thailand comes from two parts:

•national expenditure basically for facility construction

•service fees for running cost.

In the BM, the collection fee per household is 40 baht (A$ 2) per
month compared to 150 baht (A$ 8) of the actual cost.
 Economics and Financial Aspects
Public Private Partnership

Private sector involvement (“privatization”) in the development of public

infrastructure and in the provision of public services has been proven to be
highly effective.
To ensure privatization’s success, the following criteria must be addressed:
•A willingness of the central and local government sectors to employ
the private sector
•A desire to improve standards of operation
•The capability and willingness of the private sector to participate
•A proper legal framework
•The need to inject funds into SWM infrastructure and the relative
abilities and costs associated with government and the private sector
meeting this need
Economics and Financial Aspects
Cost Recovery

The low levels of cost recovery in the SWM sector can be

attributed to three major factors as follows:

•Low customer Fee Levels

•Low Collections Performance
•Relatively High Cost Strcture
 Income and payment of department
of public cleansing, BMA.
Baht
2 ,000 , 000 , 000

1 ,800 , 000 , 000

1 ,600 , 000 , 000

1,400 , 000 , 000

1 ,200 , 000 , 000

1,000 , 000 , 000 Payment

Income
800 , 000 , 000

600 , 000 , 000

400 , 000 , 000

200 ,000 ,000

0
1986 1988 1989 1991 1993 1996 1997 2000 2001
 Economics and Financial Aspects
Resources Utilization

Materials Selling price (baht kg-1)

Plastic bottles 3.20-3.30
Broken bottles 0.20-0.30
Mekhong bottles (white) 0.70-0.80
Beer bottles (brown) 0.10-0.20
Iron 1.50-1.60
Aluminum 14.70-17.70
Copper 39.70-49.70
Writing paper 3.20-3.30
Newspaper 1.30-1.80
Waste paper 0.80-1.10
Cardboard 1.20-1.40
Recommendations-Technical Aspects
Encourage the private sector to provide services in solid waste
and night soil collection, transportation, and disposal
As a waste collection planning criterion guideline for each
community; Procurement of collection bins at 1150 liters for
350 residents, and a demand 10 cubic meter collection truck
for every 5,000 residents.

Rehabilitate the existing unsanitary disposal sites. ( PCD)

Establish waste disposal centers for adjacent communities to

share common disposal facilities, and adopt the integrated
MSW management approach.
Encourage waste separation and recycling program at
sources such as at homes, businesses, institutions and
factories by employing segregation strategy that
matched to the appropriate and effective waste
collection and disposal practices.
Recommendations Institutional
Aspects and Capacity Building

Specify organization and responsibility of the

government and private sector for efficient solid waste
and night soil control, monitoring, and management
Recommendations-Legal Aspects

Amend laws, regulations, and order relating to solid waste

and night soil management fees, and fees for reduction and
recycling of solid waste.

Establish solid waste disposal site pollution control standard

Establish laws, regulations, orders, and standards that create

mechanisms for returning used products and packaging for
recycling, and reduction of solid waste
 Recommendations
Economics and Financial Aspects

Apply the “Polluter Pay Principle” for both the public and
government organizations

Provide funding incentive, technical assistance and various-

facility to private investors on MSW management business or
non-government organizations involved in solving solid waste
management problem.
 Recommendations-Health Aspects

•Disposal method should be mostly sanitary landfill.

•Disposal site should not be located in public area.

•People didn’t want disposal site in neighborhood (NIMBY syndrome).

Recommendations-Public Awareness

Public relation in waste reduction campaign by waste

separation and recyclable waste through education
institutes. However the budget should be supported by
government.

Promote public education program, correct attitude and social

values reinforcement in keeping public cleanliness and proper
MSW management for all children and citizens in the society.

Initiate education and training program in fostering

technical and administrative capabilities to concerned
local government and private personnel in the area of
MSW management.
 Recommendation for Integrated
Solid Waste Management

The functional aspects like source reduction, separation,

collection, distribution, and disposal all function well together

Waste management activities are coordinated across space

and time

Jurisdictions work together, so that all levels of

•

government and the private sector all have the same

goals and policies for waste management.