Saraburi, which houses Thailand's key cement plants, is expected to become a model of waste management following a fresh effort to turn waste into energy, led by the Thai Cement Manufacturers Association (TCMA).
The association started a pilot project by making what it calls "ignitable waste pallets" to replace imported coal, which is usually used to fuel the cement production process, said TCMA chairman Chana Poomee.
Cement producers use waste from mining, cement factories and nearby communities as raw materials to make the new fuel.
They want to make use of waste that cannot be reused or recycled, aiming to reduce waste in the province, said Mr Chana.
Tan Diao subdistrict is home to seven cement plants, which are located in this area because of their proximity to limestone mountains.
Limestone mining plays an important role in cement manufacturing.
The province needs better management of the growing amount of garbage attributed to urbanisation and the expansion of agribusiness in Saraburi, he said.
So far the main response from local officials has been sending waste to a landfill, said Mr Chana.
Stakeholders agreed to find new solutions to the waste problem under the "Saraburi sandbox", which refers to cooperation among state agencies, businesses and residents to better manage waste, he said.
The public-private-people partnership (PPP) aims to create a waste management model for other provinces and supports the government's policy to achieve a net-zero target, a balance between greenhouse gas emissions and absorption.
"The PPP will support the waste-to-energy initiative as well as other recycling projects," said Mr Chana.
He said TCMA intends to introduce waste-to-energy know-how to other provinces, believing it can help them better manage both waste and energy issues.
Kittipong Promwong, president of the National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Office, said he believes the Saraburi sandbox can play an important part in the government's commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Thailand announced in 2021 at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow it would take serious actions to address climate change, striving to reach carbon neutrality, a balance between carbon dioxide emissions and absorption, by 2050, along with the net-zero target by 2065.