How Koh Larn became 'Trash Island'

[reader]

From Thai PBS World

by Nad Bunnag, Thai PBS World

Koh Larn, an island lying in the Gulf off Pattaya, has been attracting thousands of local and foreign tourists for decades, but this has undeniably led to a mountain of garbage, resulting in an enormous landfill on the small island.

“In the past, about 10 tonnes of garbage were generated each day on Koh Larn but, because the number of tourists has been increasing, the amount of garbage has doubled,” said Manoch Nongyai, deputy governor of Pattaya City.

As much as 25 tonnes of waste is dumped into this landfill every day. The site now contains an estimated 70,000 tonnes, with about 20,000 above ground and the remainder buried beneath it.

“Most of the garbage here is plastic waste which cannot be recycled,” Manoch said. “There are also wood and other construction materials that we place at the back of the landfill, because this type of garbage cannot be disposed of through burning.”

In the past, most of the trash from Koh Larn was shipped to Pattaya for disposal, until the Interior Ministry imposed new regulations on waste management in 2015. This eventually led to garbage piling up on the island.

“The new ministerial regulation states that wherever the waste is generated, we have to dispose of it there. So, we cannot nolonger ship the waste over to Pattaya,” said Manoch.

The mountain of garbage there has been a long-standing problem for people in the community. There does now, however, seem to be a way out.

The local government plans to complete the installation of two incinerators this year, with the capacity to burn at least 50 tonnes per day of the waste at the landfill, including newly-generated waste. The deputy mayor predicts, however, that it will take at least 7 years to burn all of the accumulated waste in the landfill.

Burning waste also raises concerns over the negative environmental impacts. The deputy mayor offered a reassurance that the use of incinerators has been carefully considered, to reduce the impact on the environment and the residents.

“At first, we were quite concerned [about the negative impacts],” he said, “but then we looked into which type of incinerator would be most suitable for the island. So, we decided on an incinerator that uses extreme heat and doesn’t emit smoke. We do not believe that it will ruin the island’s image or the environment, because [the landfill] is in the middle of the island. So, we have to take care of the island’s environment.”