Where does Bangkok's
garbage go?
The move from landfill
to incinerator
By Jon Fernquest Where do the tonnes of garbage that Bangkok residents produce each day go?
Garbage disposal in Bangkok and the imminent
switchover
to
incineration
from landfills is a topic you don't hear
much about. Recently, the Bangkok Post featured a background piece on this topic.
Today's article follows the vocabulary.
landfill - a place
where garbage is buried (See Wikipedia)
incinerator - a place or facility for burning garbage
incineration - the activity of burning things
residents - the people who live in a city or place
dispose - throw away or get rid what remains of something you are finished with and have no further use for
garbage disposal - removing garbage from a place
imminent switchover - a change that will happen very soon
background piece - an article that gives the reader basic information on a subject
incinerator - a place or facility for burning garbage
incineration - the activity of burning things
residents - the people who live in a city or place
dispose - throw away or get rid what remains of something you are finished with and have no further use for
garbage disposal - removing garbage from a place
imminent switchover - a change that will happen very soon
background piece - an article that gives the reader basic information on a subject
Local News
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Landfills falling out of favour with BMA
20/02/2010Supoj Wancharoen
CITY GARBAGE Bangkok accounts for 24% of the total rubbish produced in Thailand. The amount of garbage in the capital is expected to increase by 80% over the next decade to more than 15,000 tonnes per day....
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration expects to move from burying its garbage in landfills to burning it in incinerators in the next 10 years.
falling out of favour
- don't like anymore
BMA (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration) - the official name for the government of Bangkok (See Wikipedia) การบริหารราชการกรุงเทพมหานคร
X accounts for Y% of Z - X is Y% of Z
rubbish - waste material or things that are no longer wanted or needed ขยะ
the capital - the city that is the center for government in a country
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
decade - a period of ten years ทศวรรษ, ระยะเวลา 10 ปี
burying - putting under the ground
BMA (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration) - the official name for the government of Bangkok (See Wikipedia) การบริหารราชการกรุงเทพมหานคร
X accounts for Y% of Z - X is Y% of Z
rubbish - waste material or things that are no longer wanted or needed ขยะ
the capital - the city that is the center for government in a country
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
decade - a period of ten years ทศวรรษ, ระยะเวลา 10 ปี
burying - putting under the ground
Under the leadership of MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, it is gearing up for what could be an expensive, but environmentally friendly change
The project is costly but necessary because local people oppose conventional landfills.
gearing up - preparing
for
environmentally friendly - does no damage or harm to the environment
local - in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area that you are talking about ท้องถิ่น
oppose - to disagree with or not approve of a plan or policy คัดค้าน
conventional - usual or normal ธรรมดา
environmentally friendly - does no damage or harm to the environment
local - in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area that you are talking about ท้องถิ่น
oppose - to disagree with or not approve of a plan or policy คัดค้าน
conventional - usual or normal ธรรมดา
Bangkok metropolis is the country's biggest source of garbage. Last year, it generated as much as 8,700 tonnes of garbage a day, which accounts for 24% of the total amount of garbage generated by the country.
Although the amount of garbage in Bangkok fell by 1.52% annually between 2003 and 2007, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation predicts that Bangkok will be producing as much as 13,835 tonnes of garbage a day by 2015, and 15,607 tonnes a day by 2019.
metropolis
- a very large city, often the most important city in a large area or
country มหานคร
source - the place or person something comes from or starts at, or the cause of something ต้นกำเนิด, แหล่งกำเนิด
generated - created
annually - happening every year ทุกๆปีด
X predicts Y - X claims that Y will happen in the future
source - the place or person something comes from or starts at, or the cause of something ต้นกำเนิด, แหล่งกำเนิด
generated - created
annually - happening every year ทุกๆปีด
X predicts Y - X claims that Y will happen in the future
Iravat Patamasucon, the director of the BMA's environment department, says most of the 8,700 tonnes of garbage produced daily in Bangkok (or 0.9 kilogramme of garbage per person per day) is so-called "community garbage", drawn from sources like houses, markets, companies and government offices.
Community garbage is transported to three BMA garbage transit yards, in Nong Khaem (which handles 3,500 tonnes a day), Onnuj (2,200 tonnes a day) and Sai Mai (2,000 tonnes a day). The three yards receive 88% of all the garbage of Bangkok.
environment
- the natural world of land, sea, plants, and animals
community - the people living in one particular area ชุมชน
transit - the act of moving from one place to another การเดินทางผ่าน
transit yards - an area where things are stored while they are being moved from one place to another place
community - the people living in one particular area ชุมชน
transit - the act of moving from one place to another การเดินทางผ่าน
transit yards - an area where things are stored while they are being moved from one place to another place
Garbage is sorted and transported to Kamphaeng Saen district of Nakhon Pathom and Phanom Sarakham district of Chachoengsao where it is buried in a landfill. The rest is turned into compost. Bangkok also produces about 20 tonnes of potentially infectious garbage a day.
This garbage comes from hospitals and clinics and includes used cotton, syringes and bandages.
buried
- put under ground (covered completely by something, in this case, soil
ฝัง)
compost - a mixture of decayed plants and vegetables added to soil to help new plants grow
potentially - may happen, possible in the future ที่อาจเกิดขึ้นได้
clinics - places where people go to receive medical treatment
syringes - a small tube used by doctors and nurses to inject medicine directly into blood of patient or to take a blood sample (See Wikipedia)
bandages - sticky tape or cloth used to cover cuts or wounds on the body
compost - a mixture of decayed plants and vegetables added to soil to help new plants grow
potentially - may happen, possible in the future ที่อาจเกิดขึ้นได้
clinics - places where people go to receive medical treatment
syringes - a small tube used by doctors and nurses to inject medicine directly into blood of patient or to take a blood sample (See Wikipedia)
bandages - sticky tape or cloth used to cover cuts or wounds on the body
It is incinerated at the Onnuj yard which is operated by Krungthep Thanakom Co, an enterprise of the BMA.
Another category is hazardous garbage from houses. It includes used batteries, light bulbs, and pesticide bottles and amounts to about five tonnes a day. A private company is hired to neutralise this kind of garbage before burying it in Sa Kaeo.
enterprise
- an organization, especially a business กิจการ,
บริษัท,อุตสาหกิจ,วิสาหกิจ
category - a group of people or things that have similar qualities หมวดหมู่ ประเภท
hazardous - dangerous, especially to people's health or safety
pesticide - chemicals to kill insects that eat and destroy plants (See Wikipedia) ยาฆ่าแมลง
neutralise - prevent something from having an effect or from working properly (incapacitate)
category - a group of people or things that have similar qualities หมวดหมู่ ประเภท
hazardous - dangerous, especially to people's health or safety
pesticide - chemicals to kill insects that eat and destroy plants (See Wikipedia) ยาฆ่าแมลง
neutralise - prevent something from having an effect or from working properly (incapacitate)
The fourth category of Bangkok's garbage is industrial waste, the disposal of which is the responsibility of factory owners under the Industrial Factory Act of 1992.
The other category of garbage in the capital comprises waste from construction such as concrete bars and poles, steel rods, bricks, gravel and sand
industrial waste - garbage
and chemicals thrown away from factories
disposal - getting rid of something or, in this case, making an explosive safe การกำจัด
responsibility - 1. being blamed for something that goes wrong, 2. having to take care of some task as part of your job
X comprises Y - X is made up of Y
construction - the work of building or making something, especially buildings, bridges, etc. การก่อสร้าง
concrete - based on facts, not on ideas or guesses
rods - a long thin metal bar
gravel - large amounts of very small stones (used in gardens and to make paths)
disposal - getting rid of something or, in this case, making an explosive safe การกำจัด
responsibility - 1. being blamed for something that goes wrong, 2. having to take care of some task as part of your job
X comprises Y - X is made up of Y
construction - the work of building or making something, especially buildings, bridges, etc. การก่อสร้าง
concrete - based on facts, not on ideas or guesses
rods - a long thin metal bar
gravel - large amounts of very small stones (used in gardens and to make paths)
Mr Iravat said that the BMA disposes of almost 100% of its garbage every day. A small amount is left over because residents forget to leave garbage in front of their homes in time for city workers to collect it.
Replacing landfills with incinerators is not a new idea.
In Thailand, Phuket and Samui islands have depended on incineration for years. BMA officials are studying an incineration project, too, in line with the garbage disposal policy of its governor, who favours incineration.
residents
- people who live in a particular place or area ชาวบ้านในบริเวณ
ผู้อาศัยในบริเวณ
leave - put
leave garbage in front of their homes - put it in front of their homes (so that the garbage man will take it away to the garbage dump)
do X in time for Y - do X before Y happens
X in line with Y - X agreeing with Y, X following Y
dispose - throw away or get rid what remains of something you are finished with and have no further use for
garbage disposal - removing garbage from a place
policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย (See Wikipedia)
leave - put
leave garbage in front of their homes - put it in front of their homes (so that the garbage man will take it away to the garbage dump)
do X in time for Y - do X before Y happens
X in line with Y - X agreeing with Y, X following Y
dispose - throw away or get rid what remains of something you are finished with and have no further use for
garbage disposal - removing garbage from a place
policy - a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group นโยบาย (See Wikipedia)
We may try with an incinerator that can handle only 300-500 tonnes of garbage a day. Incineration will cost about 4 million baht per tonne.
It is up to management. Landfilling will become a problem in the future as land in Bangkok is expensive.
People in the provinces do not want landfills in their areas. We are likely to have our own incinerator in the next 10 years," said the director of the BMA's environment department.
(Source: WASTE MANAGEMENT, Landfills falling out of favour with BMA, 20/02/2010, Supoj Wancharoen, link)
