BANGKOK, 19 March 2011 (NNT) – The Thailand Institute of Packaging and Recycling Management for Sustainable Environment (TIPMSE) has encouraged people to recycle rubbish more to save the currently high amount of budget spent on waste disposal.
According to TIPMSE Director Yutthapong Wattanalapa, Thai people produce about 0.6-1.0 kilogram of rubbish per person per day, or 15 million tons a year. A 12-billion-baht budget is needed for waste management annually.
The TIPMSE has been studying ways to reduce rubbish by means of recycling. Surveys show Thailand produces yearly about 3.13 million tons of recyclable rubbish worth 21.288 billion baht before recycling.
Recycled rubbish usually generates 18.170 billion baht in economic value a year. It can help save landfill expense of 2.5 billion baht per year and can help create jobs for more than 600,000 people.
The institute also has projects to promote the use of technology to transform plastic and foam products into diesel for use in industrial machineries. The project has been piloted at a landfill in Si Racha district in the eastern province of Chon Buri. However, more study is needed to find out an appropriate technology to be developed for use on a grand scale.
