1.2 Kg Trash generated by Bangkokians every day 22% Amount of trash Bangkok generates relative to the whole country. 8.1 Millon Plastic bags Bangkokians use, per day

B1,000 Cost of processing one ton of trash B4,967,665,400 This year’s trash processing budget for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) 95.56% Percent of the BMA’s total budget expenditure this represents.

Source: Pollution Control Department of Thailand

  Top Pipat, founder of Eco Shop by Top Pipat, www.ecoshop.in.th

“I think we’ve seen a dramatic increase in environmental awareness recently. There are more products made from recycled materials, more people buying it and more support from officials. As for recycling, I think many people are capable and willing to contribute. But we are not educated enough about this when we are young. If you look at countries like Japan, children learn about these things at school, see their parents set an example, so it automatically becomes habitual for everyone. We need to do better to motivate people here for real changes to happen.”

53% = Percentage of Bangkok’s municipal solid waste which is compostable organic garbage, like food leftovers and fruit peels. 5% = Percentage of households that practice composting.

	1. Get your small plastic or iron garbage can with a lid. Make 10-15 small holes in the bottom and put it on a tray with a one-inch gap between the two to let air in.
	2. Add in a few inches of dry bedding such as dead leaves, strips of newspaper, coconut coir, or sawdust at the bottom to balance the moisture levels (You might want to keep the dry bedding nearby as you will need to add it later too).
	3. As a beginner, it’s wise to avoid tricky stuff like meat, fish and dairy waste and start with fruit and vegetables. Now put your organic trash in and leave it.

	4. If there’s ever bad odor or liquid leaking into the bottom tray, add more dry bedding.
	5. Every couple of weeks, mix the contents up with a stick to let air pass through it and help the composting process.
	6. Experiment to find the right balance between your trash and dry bedding. The end result is rich soil you can use for your plants.

36,363  color-coded bins were purchased in 2010. 35,000 transparent bins were purchased this year for security reasons. B70 MILLION cost of the new tranparent bins.

	Paper: Office paper (type used for printers) = B5.8/kg Newspapers, Books, Magazines = B3.5/kg Brown box paper = B4/kg Other paper (grossy flyers, brochures and magazine covers) = B1.25/kg
	Plastic bottles: Clear plastic bottles, with PET logo at the bottom = B15/kg Opaque plastic bottles = B17/kg General plastics = B8.25/kg Plastic bags = B1/kg
	Glass: Soda Bottles = B10/box Colored glass = B1.25/kg  Clear glass = B1.50/kg Large soft drink bottle = B2/bottle The price of a liquor bottle highly varies depending on the brand.
	UHT boxes: Juice and milk cartons = B1/kg
	Other: If your trash doesn’t fit into any of these basic categories, don’t give up. Stuff like rubber boots, CDs and any parts of electronic appliances are recyclable too. The priciest trash you can sell is bronze wire at B180/kg

Source: Thailand Institute of Packaging and Recycling Management for Sustainable Environment (TIPMSE).

Chidjai Khemglad Public Cleanliness and Orderliness officer, KLong Toey District Office.

 “Sa leng [private trash collectors who operate on motorized tricycles] in fact make life harder for us. They get to the collection spots before our officers arrive. Because they are not taking the all of the trash, they just scatter it all out from the bin, pick what they can sell and move on, leaving it all out of the bin and all over the ground. Some even stole our bins.”

 Chainiran Payomyam, president of activist group OPAR

B900 million Cost of an incinerator to be built in Nong Kham to be operated by Hong Kong’s waste-to-energy company C&G who currently runs five plants in China.  500 tons Amount of waste the incinerator could burn, per day. 9.8 megawatts Amount of energy that it will generate, to be sold back to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.

 

Chainiran Payomyam, President of activist group OPAR

 “I’m not against the building of the incinerator; it should have been done a long while ago but what I don’t understand is why the BMA doesn’t look to own it. Instead it will hire a private company to operate it, meaning we won’t get the revenue from the waste-to-energy process. And the location is too close to the city, especially with the city’s ongoing expansion. Many people may suffer from cancer-causing dioxins—that’s why it’s important the BMA should own the plant and control its safety.”

 

Top Pipat, founder of Eco Shop, which is a platform for eco-friendly and recycled design products.   “I think everybody knows environmentalism is a good thing. But to motivate people to actually do something about it is another story. I don’t agree with people who say it’s a problem too big for individuals to do anything. If we do nothing, our actions will definitely come back to affect everyone.”	Chidjai Khemglad Public Cleanliness and Orderliness officer, Klong Toey District Office.   “I want people to see public places the way they see their own homes so they won’t litter. We are really lacking a sense of responsibility. We need contributions from every part of society. The least we ask is that people put their trash into the bins. No matter how advanced our technology, if the public doesn’t care it about this, we can never really improve.”	Chainiran Payomyam, President of activist group OPAR   “While people in developed countries are taught to sort their trash in their household, we are taught to put everything in one bag and throw it into a bin. The BMA once said they would have a recycling system for these plastic bags, but we haven’t seen it materialize.”

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) did not grant us an interview for this issue. After postponing several times, they pointed us to a Public Relations fact sheet.