Govt speeds up effort to handle waste management

BANGKOK, July 19 (TNA) – The Department of the Environmental Quality Promotion has trained environment volunteers to boost participation of local community in waste management as part to achieve the target of the five-year master plan. Deputy Director of the Department of the Environmental Quality Promotion, Bunpot Amarapiban said that during the training, the volunteers learned more about policies and law related to the five-year waste management master plan from 2016-2021. The government gives importance to disposal of leftover garbage, community garage and hazardous waste and the master plan was mapped out to promote participation of all sectors, including local community. The implementation of the master plan on waste management in 2015 achieved the target to dispose 56 per cent of 27 million tonnes of community garbage and about 67 per cent of 30.49 million tonnes of leftover garbage. However, only 0.19 percent of over 600,000 tonnes of hazardous waste was abolished, below the target at five per cent. In the first half of this year, the implementation of the master plan could dispose 82 per cent of 24.96 million tonnes of leftover garbage while only 28 per cent of 27.39 million tonnes of community garbage was managed. (TNA)