Amid the bustling streets of Thailand, a resonant green movement has silently been making significant strides. A campaign geared towards the effective separation of household waste proves it is yielding worthwhile fruits. This latest update, as corroborated by Aekvarunyoo Amarapala, spokesperson of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), points to a tangible reduction in garbage that finds its way to the city’s waste management facilities.
In the spotlight over the weekend, Amarapala delivered encouraging figures that spanned over the past five months. He presented a remarkable tandem of decreased garbage volume and reduced expenses associated with waste processing. This involved a substantial dip of 67,248 tonnes in the overall volume of waste managed by the city between February and end of June this year. The reduction is estimated at approximately 444 tonnes daily, a stark variance from the volumes recorded during the same duration in the previous year.
The silver lining extends to fiscal conservation as well. The subsequent decrease in waste treatment costs amounted to a savings of 127.8 million baht (US$3.7 million), which is indeed a cause for celebration. There’s more to this story when one delves into the nuanced specifics of the data.
The month-wise breakdown of waste reduction reveals an encouraging trend. In February, the BMA witnessed an average daily decrease of 200 tonnes (2.25%), and in March, 272 tonnes (3%). With April rolling in, this figured dipped further by 318 tonnes per day, marking a 3.6% reduction. Through May and June, this decline trend sustained impressively, registering reductions of 713 tons/day (7.5%) and 719 tons/day (7.4%) respectively.
This substantial fall in the total volume of waste due for processing led to a noteworthy decrease in processing costs. With a 10.6 million baht ($300,000) drop in February, and steady declines over the following months, the total savings clocked in at a whopping 41 million baht (US$11.8 million) by June.
“This transformation is a direct outcome of BKK Zero Waste, a project spearheaded in unison by BMA and its public and private partners,” said Amarapala. The initiative has actively roped in communities across the city, along with over 998 businesses, educational institutes, fresh markets, religious centers, and event organizers.
These stakeholders actively segregate their waste into specific categories of wet, dry, and recyclable before it meets its fate with the collectors. Simultaneously, yet another initiative encourages households and businesses to separate kitchen waste from biomass materials, also referred to as green waste.
Such collaborative efforts led to a notable decrease of 55 tonnes of daily wet waste from an aggregate of 1,112 participating sources. The Ministry of Interior has hailed this achievement as it contributes to the broader “Food Waste Management for Climate Action and a Commitment to Sustainable Thailand” project. This project seeks to manage household waste efficiently, reduce local carbon emissions, manage carbon credits, and work towards UN’s sustainability goals. A worthy testament to the power of collective action and intent.
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