Phuket faces waste management crisis amid surging tourism
Phuket is facing a waste management crisis due to rapid tourism development and a rising number of visitors, according to Krungthep Turakij's report on Friday.
Of 35 million foreign arrivals last year, around 13 million people visited the resort island in the South of Thailand, generating more than 1,100 tonnes of waste daily.
Meanwhile, the waste incinerator which Phuket City Municipality allows PJT Technology to manage will be closed for maintenance from February 18 to March 18, 2025, causing an impact on waste management efficiency.
Phuket can now eliminate only 300 tonnes of waste a day, leaving more than 900 tonnes to be dumped in landfills.
The volume of waste could reach 1,400 tonnes daily in the high tourism season, triggering uncertainty about whether landfills in the province will be full within a year.
Supachok Laongpetch, deputy mayor of Phuket City Municipality, said the province needs to revise landfill management daily to cope with increasing waste.
On February 23-24, 800-900 tonnes of waste had been dumped in landfills, he said, adding that relevant agencies have been urged to reduce waste as much as possible.
“Phuket's growth is much faster than it should be, making the province a very important destination for generating income for the country,” he told Reuters.
Noting that an increase in waste was due to household, tourism and construction in the post-Covid-19 era, Supachok said the province has planned to reduce 200,000 tonnes of waste within a year, including waste processing into refuse-derived fuel (RDF).
Apart from Phuket City Municipality’s effort to expand landfills and waste incinerators, Panet Manomaiwiboon, a waste management expert from Burapha University, advised the municipality to boost awareness of waste reduction and separation among people.
