Public Participatory Processes for Sustainable Waste Management of Pak Nam Laem Sing Municipality, Chanthaburi, Thailand

Abstract

The purposes of this study were 1) to investigate situations of waste in Pak Nam Laem Sing Municipality and 2) to find ways and approaches of sustainable waste management in which public participatory processes were employed.  There were ten participants, including responsible staff, municipal leaders, local entrepreneurs, and residents. The data collection included 1) observations, 2) in-depth interviews, both of which were first applied to collect the data and present to municipal leaders and representatives; 3) a focus group was then conducted to find ways of using sustainable management with  A-I-C procedures.  The data analysis was narrative inquiry.

The results revealed that waste management was regarded as an essential issue of the municipality. There were two kinds of managing projects: 1) self-conducted, and 2) co-operated with external agencies, which provided knowledge and assisted the management.   The external assistance included waste management training, workshops, and implementations, three of which were informed via a variety of media (e.g. notices, Facebook). However, some of the managing problems included poor conditions of the municipal’s waste-carrying trucks. If the trucks did not work around the same duration, this could result in an overloaded of trash bins.  On the other hand, the residents and entrepreneurs were highly voluntary to attend waste management projects since they would like to impressseveral visitors who visit their tourist sites. Overall, the residents preferred to separate waste such as plastic bottles for selling and gaining income for their family. At home, each residence had their personal bins, and waste was then transferred to public ones before the trucks would collect the waste.  Some residents remarked that there was waste fluid from trucks seeping towards community roads. Moreover, some of the residents preferred burning the waste (e.g. leaves).  Some houses which were distantly situated also had a problem of rubbish, scattering around due to their lack of waste management knowledge. 

There were six methods for waste management. The first way was to foster knowledge of management for the residents. The Second way to create local-material trash bins. The Third was the manage waste at home appropriately before transfering it to public bins. The Fourth way was to educate world-caring notions for sustainable waste reduction. The Fifth way was to organize trainings of innovative waste application (e.g. manure, biological liquid). The Sixth way was to increase the municipal’s waste management efficiency by installing filters into drainage  and preventing the trucks’ fluid from seeping and flowing towards the community roads.