Participatory Waste Management Process of elderly in Rim Nuea Sub-District, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

     This article purposes to present the study of Participatory Waste Management Process of elderly in Rim Nuea Sub-District. The method called Participatory action research: PAR is applied to sustainably manage the waste in the community in order that the people in the community can participate. Moreover, it is to promote the awareness of waste management within the community. With the application of A-I-C process, Waste Management can proceed systematically. This activity is driven by the group of 600 elders in Rim Nuea Sub-District using action research which includes 1) Group conversation to analyze the major problems of waste management; 2) Training to educate how to manage each kind of waste; 3) Workshop to determine the management structure and to establish the Community Waste Management Center. The empirical data was then analyzed according to the deductive method and Methodological triangulation in order to analyze the data with the methods of Descriptive analysis and Content analysis. It is significantly seen that the behavior of people in the community in managing waste within their households is changed positively. The amount of their household reduced to 16.08 percent within 2 months. This promotes the unity of people in participating in the waste management activities; making fertilizers and liquid bio-fertilizers, to use in agricultures, which reduces the expenses of their family. Furthermore, this gives the elders in the community the sense of pride and satisfaction that they are able to create sustainability for their community and make it the community of Zero Waste.