At a meeting chaired on Wednesday (January 2) by Vice Governor Sommai Preechasilpa and attended by Somjai Suwansuppana, Mayor of Phuket Town, which owns Phuket’s garbage incinerators, and representatives of most of Phuket’s 13 Tambon Administrative Organisations (OrBorTor), several expensive problems were aired.
The first concerns hazardous waste such as used batteries. The island generates a ton of hazardous waste a day, which goes into a special oven. However, this oven is old and its pollution control system is broken. The committee decided to apply for a budget of B53.5m to patch up the unit and to buy a new one to replace it.
They also voted to double the fee for collection of large batches of hazardous waste from the current B12-15 a kilo to B25-30.
Other problems were brought up at the meeting:
- Storage for hazardous waste. The current facility is not designed for, nor up to standard for storing hazardous garbage.
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Garbage trucks, too, are not up to standard for transporting hazardous waste. New ones must be bought.
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The biggest concern is the island’s two incinerators. A new incinerator from PJT Technology was commissioned in May last year. Capable of burning 700 tons of trash a day, it works effectively and releases less smoke than the old 250-ton incinerator, which has broken down, used to.
However, the island currently generates just over 600 tons a day, and that amount is climbing. Work on repairing the old incinerator, at a cost of B530 million, must begin immediately, as it will take around 18 months.
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Meanwhile, the landfill around the incinerators is now full to overflowing. A plan has been made to remove the garbage, but this will cost B89 million.
A request will be sent to the central government for funding to solve all these problems.