Over 200 tons of garbage has
piled up on Koh Larn since New Year because three of four trash trucks are
broken and the city stopped hauling away refuse by barge.
Phasakorn Channgam
Pattaya officials are proposing building a landfill on Koh Larn,
where broken sanitation trucks and suspended ferry service has left the
island choking on garbage.
Koh Larn Village Chief Bunchert Bunying complained to Pattaya Permanent
Secretary and city council Vice-President Sanit Boonmachai Jan. 10 that more
than 200 tons of garbage has piled up on the island since New Year because
three of four trash trucks are broken and the city stopped hauling away
refuse by barge.
“The trash is emitting a foul odor and has become a
source for mosquitoes, which are increasing rapidly,” Bunchert said. The
village chief added that city hall has ignored several requests to repair
the broken trucks and that the island has too few sanitation workers for its
resident and tourist population.
Pakorn acknowledged that the city last month suspended
trash-ferry service from Koh Larn because of a dispute with officials in
Khao Maikaew, where Pattaya disposes of its waste. Community officials there
now insist any waste deposited in their landfill comes from mainland Pattaya
only, not Koh Larn, and blocked all access to the dump until the city
agreed, he explained.
Khao Maikaew’s problem with Koh Larn’s trash is that the transport time from
the island to the landfill is so long that the rotting garbage smells so
bad, neighbors complain.
Pakorn said the only solution would be to construct a
rubber-lined dump on the island itself. Planners suggested it be built over
a rai of land and be dug 3 meters deep. Waste would be treated with
biological agents to hasten decomposition, then the remaining refuse would
be buried in a landfill.
Pattaya officials also agreed to organize a cleanup day for the island to
remove the trash surplus and pursue a permanent outsourcing contract for
garbage collection.
