Thailand's Phuket battles post-pandemic garbage crisis

The Manila Times

Thailand's Phuket battles post-pandemic garbage crisis  The enchanting Thai island of Phuket faces a waste management crisis despite its goal to become a 'Sustainable Tourism Destination' by 2026. Known for its white-sand beaches and vibrant nightlife, Phuket is a popular vacation spot. It has seen rapid town development and a surge in tourists after the pandemic. And that generates a huge amount of waste. Every day, around 1,1  00 tons of waste collected from towns across Phuket are sent to one single landfill. Only 700 tons are incinerated – that is the maximum capacity of the landfill's only incinerator. The rest continues to be steadily dumped.  REUTERS VIDEO  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe  Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital  Sign up to our newsletters: https://tmt.ph/newsletters   Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #themanilatimes #worldnews  #thailand #garbage

Transcript

00:00The enchanting Thai island of Phuket is facing a waste management crisis, despite its goal

00:07to become a sustainable tourism destination by 2026.

00:11Known for its white sand beaches and a vibrant nightlife, Phuket is a popular vacation spot.

00:17It has seen rapid town development and a surge in tourists after the pandemic, and that generates

00:23a huge amount of waste.

00:26Every day, around 1,100 tons of waste collected from towns across Phuket are sent to one single

00:32landfill.

00:33Only 700 tons are incinerated.

00:37That's the maximum capacity of the landfill's only incinerator.

00:41The rest continues to be steadily dumped.

00:44Hundreds of residents nearby, like Vasana Toyu, have been increasingly suffering from

00:49the intensifying smell.

00:50There's no life outside the house.

00:53We just stay at home.

00:54Sometimes you have to wear a mask at home because of the smell, and the smell is very

00:58strong.

00:59You have to wear a mask and turn on the air conditioner and air purifier all the time.

01:03The power bill is very expensive each month, up to $180 per month because you have to keep

01:08everything on all the time.

01:10Toyu said her children are not able to go out and get fresh air because of the smell.

01:14Her three-month-old has never been outside at all, she added.

01:19Authorities are scrambling to find solutions for the steadily increasing waste problem.

01:24Here is Supachoky Langphet, the deputy mayor of Phuket municipality.

01:31The growth of the city has been much more rapid than it should be.

01:34Therefore it could mean a crisis in terms of waste management within Phuket province

01:38itself, which the municipality must accommodate.

01:42We speak in terms of a crisis, or in the worst case, that we must prepare an area to accommodate

01:481,400 to 1,500 tons of garbage per day in the next two to three years until the second

01:54incinerator is built.

01:58Thai authorities are collaborating with private agencies to reduce waste.

02:02Their plan involves transforming the waste into fuel.

02:05An NGO has also launched an initiative to help decrease organic waste by 1,100 pounds

02:11per day.

02:12Despite the efforts underway, an expert believes that more needs to be done.

02:17Panate Manomayvibor is a solid waste management expert and assistant professor at Burafa

02:23University.

02:24They need to also focus on waste reduction, waste separation, because if we just keep

02:29expanding more waste incinerators, I don't think that would be just the solution, because

02:34at the end of the day, you have access and you would end up using this kind of preset

02:40landfill.

02:41But for now, the community living near the landfill has to endure the pollution until

02:46the crisis is solved.

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