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Municipal solid waste
Thais per capita generate an estimated 1.1 kg of solid waste per day—50 percent of it biodegradable. Thailand in 2015 generated 26.9 million tonnes of solid waste, about 73,560 tonnes per day. The yearly figure in 2009 was 15.1 million tonnes. Twenty percent of total is generated in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area (BMA) Of the waste generated in 2015, only about five million tonnes were recycled. Only about eight million tonnes were handled in accordance with global best practices. Of Thailand's 2,500 dump sites, only about 20 percent are managed properly. According to the Pollution Control Department (PCD), Thailand's primary waste watchdog, the nation faces serious solid waste management issues. Those issues are increasing. Wichan Simachaya, director-general of the PCD, said the volume of waste could continue to grow by 600,000 tonnes a year, due to increasing population and tourism.
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Thailand's waste management plan calls for 75 percent of Thailand's total solid waste to be properly disposed of or recycled in some way by 2021, up from the current 49 percent. By 2021, the government and private sector plan to spend a total of 177 billion baht (US$5.1 billion) on waste management technology and public awareness campaigns. "We have fines for littering but no one seems to care," Wijarn said. "We need to step up law enforcement as well as teach people to recycle, reuse and reduce waste."
In Thailand the roles in solid waste management (MSW) and industrial waste management are organized by the Royal Thai Government, which is then divided among the central government, regional governments, and local governments. Each government is responsible for different tasks. The central government is responsible to stimulate regulation, policies, and standards. The regional governments are responsible for coordinating central and local governments. Local governments are responsible for waste management in their governed area. Local governments themselves do not dispose of waste, but instead hire private companies that have been granted that right by the PCD. A major problem is lack of funding for waste management—the average Thai household pays less than one dollar a month to dispose of their solid waste. The main companies are Bangpoo Industrial Waste Management Center; General Environmental Conservation Public Company Limited (GENCO); SGS Thailand; Waste Management Siam Ltd (WMS); and Better World Green Public Company Limited (BWG). A leading resource recovery company is Wongpanit, who purchase mixed recyclables (paper, plastics, glass, aluminum, steel) at about 11,300 baht per tonne. These companies are responsible for the waste they have picked up from their customers before disposal.
Industrial and toxic waste
As of 2016 Thailand collected and processed the industrial waste of 68,261 companies. Its capacity to process industrial and toxic waste is 37.6 million tonnes annually, an estimated 2.8 million tonnes of which is toxic waste. Total capacity in 2015 was 25.8 million tonnes. The Ministry of Industry's Department of Industrial Works (DIW) plans to establish 15 regional waste management facilities throughout the country as detailed in its five-year waste management plan for 2015-2019.
Waste water
In a 2004 study commissioned by the World Bank to examine the state of Thailand's infrastructure, the authors concluded that, "The worst infrastructure provision performance in Thailand is in waste water treatment....Virtually none of the...[waste water treatment] systems are operating....only 3 waste water plants operate sporadically. The problem is that no user fees are assessed or collected and that households and firm [sic] are not required to connect to the systems. Water supply authorities,...have consistently refused to add waste water charges to their water supply bills, despite clear evidence from international experience that this is best practice."
At the end of 2016, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is considering the imposition of a waste water fee, pending endorsement by the BMA council. If approved, the move will impose fees on waste water release:
The fees collected will be used to improve waster water facilities operated by the BMA.
In 2015 Thailand produced 9.5 million m3 of waste water. This was the equivalent of 150 litres per day per person. Only 34 percent of the waste water was treated at one of Thailand's 93 treatment facilities before being returned to the environment. One direct result was a corresponding deterioration of the quality of Thai coastal waters.
Environmental impacts
Thailand's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment says Thailand produces 50 tonnes of solid waste that finds its way into the sea each year. Only two tonnes are collected. Large quantities of coastal rubbish, especially in the upper reaches of the Gulf of Thailand impact sea life and coastal mangroves. Mangrove swamps are cluttered with garbage. At one site, the Bangkok Post reported that, "Plastic bags, bottles, ropes, discarded noodle containers and even a rusty cooking appliance float in the water or are stuck in the mud under the green canopy."
The Thai Pollution Control Department (PCD) reports that the water quality of major rivers flowing into the upper Gulf of Thailand has seriously deteriorated in the past decade. The department found the lower Chao Phraya River, which flows through Bangkok, contains bacteria and nutrient pollution from phosphates, phosphorus, and nitrogen. Nutrient pollution causes algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle, harming water quality, food resources for aquatic animals, and marine habitats. It also decreases the oxygen that fish need to survive. PCD categorised water quality at the mouth of Chao Phraya at Bangkok's Bang Khun Thian District as "very poor" and worse than in 2014. Nearby rivers, such as the Tha Chin in Samut Sakhon, were rated "poor". PCD findings indicated large amounts of wastewater were discharged into the river from households, industry, and agriculture.