BMA cuts daily carbon footprint by 142 tonnes with food waste tactic
Food waste separation at 184 markets across Bangkok has helped reduce the carbon footprint by over 140 tonnes a day, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said.
City hall spokesperson Ekwaranyu Amrapal said, for perspective, "the reduction is equal to the energy consumption of 1,183 round flights from the capital to Chiang Mai".
He said the 184 markets that collaborated with 50 Bangkok district offices could separate food waste of almost 75 tonnes per day, accounting for 142.5 tonnes reduction in carbon footprint daily.
The top five markets with the highest efficiency in food waste separation were:
- Mahanak Market (Dusit district): 7.83 tonnes/day
- Khlong Toei Soi 8 Market (Khlong Toei district): 6.77 tonnes/day
- Yodpiman Market (Phra Nakhon district): 4.54 tonnes/day
Thai Agriculture Promotion Market (Phra Nakhon district): 4.19 tonnes/day
- Lat Phrao Soi 123 Market (Bang Kapi district): 3.87 tonnes/day
Ekwaranyu said that after separation, the food waste was being managed as follows:
- 36.6 tonnes/day (49%): Sent to farmers
- 27.9 tonnes/day (37%): Fertiliser production
- 5.1 tonnes/day (7%): Livestock raising
- 4.9 tonnes/day (7%): Others
This project is a part of Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt's initiative to deal with waste issues and save the capital's environment.
It follows the finding that food waste accounts for almost half of total waste in Bangkok, which can be used to make fertilisers. However not all the waste can be recycled, as some are contaminated with general waste.
