Kalasin removes electrical waste
A 50-tonne first batch of waste electrical equipment will be removed free-of-charge on Thursday from the Khok Sa-art community in Kalasin's Khong Chai district, which has been known for recycling and processing e-waste for proper disposal in Sara Buri, said provincial natural resources and environment office director Phichit Sombatmak on Wednesday.
The member of the Kalasin public health committee said the move was part of proactive measures to prevent and mitigate the health and environment impacts from e-waste processing in the community and garbage accumulation at the Khok Sa-art Tambon Administrative Organisation (TAO)'s dumpsite.
He said the committee received help from Better World Green's project in removing the e-waste out of the dumpsite to a waste management plant in Sara Buri.
Khok Sa-art TAO president Wichit Mul-ek praised the private company's project and the government agencies' efforts to solve the possible long-term health and environment impact of e-waste burning at the site while also take into consideration the Khok Sa-art residents' necessity in performing this main occupation of e-waste processing. Wichit said he had already arranged for a backhoe to extract the e-waste before the removal.
He affirmed that the dumpsite's e-waste was leftover from the residents' activity in processing e-waste they brought from various sites in Thailand, not e-waste that was smuggled in from overseas like in other provinces.