After a year of ignoring the
problem, workers were finally sent to clean up the mess on Soi Arunothai.
Vittaya Yoondorn
Pattaya civil servants scrambled to clean up a stretch of Soi
Arunothai being used as a makeshift garbage following a Pattaya Mail story
that showed the city was knowingly ignoring the problem.
Pramod Supsaeng, deputy director of the Chonburi Natural Resources and
Environment Department, ordered Pattaya’s Public Health and Environment, and
Engineering departments to deploy four trash trucks last week to clean up
the 10-meter-long stretch of garbage polluting a stretch of private property
bordering central Pattaya homes.
Cement, wood, construction materials, rotting fruit and other garbage has
been dumped nightly by six-wheeled commercial trucks for nearly a year but,
other than posting “no dumping” signs, the city did nothing to stop it.
The trash will be sorted with bottles and plastic sent for recycling and
construction materials will be reused. It took the four trucks more than 50
runs to rid the area of trash.
The Pattaya Mail last week highlighted the long-running problem, quoting a
city official saying that bureaucrats knew of the problem, but wouldn’t do
anything other than post signs to stop it.
Amnuay Muangthong, head of the Arunothai neighborhood committee, said he was
pleased the city finally did something and thanked the Pattaya Mail for
forcing the issue.
