Nonthaburi municipality stole a march on the rest of the country with its modern waste-management systems, adopted a decade ago.
The changes have won wide praise for encouraging recycling and involving residents and are now being adopted elsewhere.
After observing how hazardous waste is separated in Japan, Nonthaburi mayor Somnuk Thanadechakul started separating waste in the province in 2005.
Compared with Bangkok, Nonthaburi's smaller size and population make its waste easier to manage. Almost 40 times smaller than the capital, Nonthaburi covers only 38.9 sq km and is home to 250,000 people.
According to the Nonthaburi Municipality Office, in 2013, Nonthaburi produced 412 tonnes of waste a day. Every day, about 297 tonnes were buried and 116 tonnes were recycled.
Of the waste generated in 2013, about one tonne of it was hazardous. Of this, 8,654kg were light bulbs, 378kg were used spray cans and 325kg were miscellaneous items.
Toxic waste requires stabilisation or solidification, a pre-treatment process prior to depositing it in landfills. It uses chemicals to change a hazardous waste material into less soluble and less toxic forms to prevent the possibility of migration or leaching.
Apart from hazardous waste, electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) management, which is rare in Thailand, is also part of Nonthaburi's waste separation system.
In 2013, 2,751kg of e-waste was collected in Nonthaburi and recycled by the TES-AMM Company for free, Mr Somnuk said.
Mr Somnuk has introduced incentives to involve Nonthaburi residents in the process to make waste management more sustainable. The most recent of these is the "Separation Treasure Hunt" activity. It encourages residents to separate waste at home before throwing it away. It also allows recyclable waste to be exchanged for household items, Mr Somnuk said.
For example, three used light bulbs or five used spray cans can be exchanged for one token, while a mobile or home phone can be exchanged for two tokens.
Nonthaburi resident, Suphachai Chanamunkongkit, 45, praised the province's waste management systems. Garbage cans with three compartments — for recycled waste, hazardous materials, and general waste — can be found on small streets, main roads, and at bus stops throughout Nonthaburi, Mr Suphachai said.
However, waste management in Bangkok is different. Chatree Watanakhajorn, director of the Solid Waste Disposal Division, said the capital has no clear policy to deal with e-waste. Households in Bangkok produce about 160 tonnes of hazardous and e-waste each day.
Waste-disposal lorries, with a toxic waste compartment, will collect and deliver the rubbish to three solid waste disposal centres in Bangkok.
According to the Environment Department, e-waste is valuable and people prefer selling it to junk shops, rather than throwing it away.
Bangkok residents produce more than 10,000 tonnes of e-waste a day, but only 9,700 tonnes is collected and distributed to the three solid waste disposal centres; the rest goes to junk shops.
Arisara Thanyaviniskul, whose family has run a junk shop for 30 years, said people would rather sell e-waste to earn money.