The Move Forward Party moved across Pattaya Bay to campaign for its Pattaya mayor and city council candidates on Koh Larn Island.
Mayoral candidate Kittisak “Bob” Ninwattanatochai and progressive movement leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit led a delegation of council candidates to the Pattaya tourist island April 27. There they toured the island’s overloaded dump and sewage treatment plant and met with local business owners.
The candidates claimed they were shocked to see the country’s most-expensive waste-disposal system for themselves, promising to build a new garbage-sorting facility to reduce costs, if elected May 22. They also promised a review of a planned incinerator.
Kittisak said Pattaya spends 192 million baht a year, or 12% of its budget, on waste management. On Koh Larn, the city hired a private company to build an incinerator to burn rubbish at 1,900 baht a ton, making it Thailand’s priciest garbage.
Kittisak said waste management on Koh Larn must begin at the household level, with people sorting recyclables from biodegradable waste.
Pattaya’s budget for garbage sorting is only 135,000 baht a year.
Thanathorn said the progressive movement has experience in waste management, citing the case of a Mukdahan subdistrict which overhauled its waste-management system and reduced the overall amount of trash going to landfills.
The group then moved to Samae Beach to inspect Koh Larn’s overburdened sewage-treatment plans, which lacks the capacity to handle all the wastewater now generated by the island. Kittisak promised to push forward the long-stalled project for a new treatment plan, if elected.
The Move Forward candidates wrapped up their campaign tour with a visit to South Pattaya to talked with musicians who have not been able to make a living for the past two years. The campaigners also me with motorcycle-taxi drivers in from of Tuk-Com on South Pattaya Road to listen to their grievances.
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