Development of Law on Sustainable Household Solid Waste Management in a Local Community: A Case Study of Na-or Municipal District, Loei Province

Abstract

It is prescribed in several laws that the management of household solid waste is a vital duty of Local Administrative Authorities (LAAs). LAAs nationwide have experienced how to deal with this issue efficiently due to various causes. Loei is no exception. Mainly, it has been facing the increase of waste and lack of adequate measures in handling with this issue. Hence, this area-based research selects Na-or Municipal District, one of the LAAs in Loei Province, to study whether or not and to what extent its legal frameworks are sufficient to deal with the management of general solid waste in its area. The outcomes drawn from the research revealed that measures dealing with the management remain inappropriate and unclear. Firstly, they fail to encourage the process to sort out, reuse and recycle the waste before disposal. Secondly, the current legal frameworks are not clear how to manage the waste collected by LAAs’ staffs. Thirdly, a fee delivered by each household does not reflect on an actual managing cost. Lastly, Na-or Municipal District fails to enforce the law aiming to prohibit littering in public areas. The research conclusions suggest that it is necessary to improve and enforce laws regarding solid waste management urgently to strengthen their effectiveness. In this regard, the Na-or Municipal District Regulation on Waste Management should prescribe comprehensive processes on the management of household solid waste by requiring a home to consider the choices to reduce, reuse, recycle before disposal. Regarding the improvement of waste management in a national level, it is crucial to pass the Bill on National Waste Management to be legislation as it contains measures to deal with household waste comprehensively. Finally, both LAAs and other state authorities should implement non-legal measures to encourage, educate and raise the awareness of people to realize the importance of the waste management before disposal.