Garbage becomes Thailand's most serious environmental problem

BANGKOK, March 19 (TNA) - Garbage becomes the most serious environmental problem in Thailand due to improper disposal, especially those of industrial and infectious wastes. Wichien Jungrungruang, Director-General of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's Pollution Control Department, told reporters of the information on Wednesday, saying that industrial wastes in Thailand now amount to as many as 2 million tons yearly, accounting for 77 per cent of all garbage in the country. Wichien acknowledged that improper disposal and illegal dumping, including that of industrial wastes, have continued and there are five Thai provinces with the highest amounts of accumulated garbage, including Songkhla, Samut Prakan, Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani. Besides, at present 20 million tons of garbage are left unattended nationwide daily. Wichien urged the Ministry of Industry's Department of Industrial Works to tackle the problem and proposed that it is time Thailand applies a standard system to handle garbage. Wichien pointed out that a latest incident showing the garbage crisis in Thailand is a lingering fire at a garbage dump site in the Bang Pu Municipality of Bangkok's adjacent Samut Prakan Province, which started on March 16 and has remained affecting more than 300 locals. Meanwhile, Bangkok Governor M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra inspected erosion along the coast of Bang Khunthian District in the capital, where 800-1,000 meters of inland has eroded and, without an effective solution, its mangrove forest will be destroyed by 2017 and the erosion will advance by about 50 more meters. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), thus, plans to build a T-Groin embankment to protect the district, with its environmental impact assessment (EIA) report expected to be completed by October 2014 and its three-year construction to be followed subsequently. (TNA)