Police shut down 16 illegal rubbish dumps

Environmental crime police at one of the 16 illegal dumps shut down in Bangkok on Wednesday. (Photo: police)
  		 
Environmental crime police at one of the 16 illegal dumps shut down in Bangkok on Wednesday. (Photo: police)  

Police have shut down 16 illegal rubbish dumps in nine districts of Bangkok and arrested seven people for operating them.

Police said on Thursday that the dumps were closed on Wednesday after public complaints about the stench and health hazards.

There were three illegal rubbish dumps in both Lat Krabang and Saphan Sung districts; two each in Min Buri, Nong Khaem and Suan Luang; and one each in Prawet, Klong Sam Wa, Bung Kum and Bang Khae.

Police arrested seven people who were operating the dumps and said three were women.

The suspects said they had sought permission from the land owners to use their ponds for landfill and had promised to beautify the sites, covering them with soil, so the owners could later sell the land later.

The illegal dump operators charged each rubbish truck 40-300 baht a load, depending on the kind of waste - mainly wood and construction materials and tree branches.

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Vocabulary

  • arrest: (of the police) taking someone under control (usually taking them to a police station) because they are believed to have committed a crime - การจับกุม
  • branch (noun): a part of a tree that grows out from the main stem and on which leaves, flowers and fruit grow - กิ่งก้าน
  • complaint: when someone says that something is wrong or not satisfactory - การร้องเรียน
  • dump (noun): a place where waste or rubbish/garbage is taken and left - ที่ทิ้งขยะ, กองขยะ
  • hazard: something that is dangerous and likely to cause damage - สิ่งที่เป็นอันตราย
  • illegal: against the law - ผิดกฎหมาย, นอกกฎหมาย
  • landfill (noun): an area of land where large amounts of waste material are kept and buried under the earth - หลุมฝังกลบ, สถานที่ฝังกลบขยะมูลฝอย
  • load: the goods that a vehicle or boat carries - ของบรรทุก
  • materials (noun): things that are needed in order to do a particular activity - วัสดุ
  • permission: allowing someone to do something - การอนุญาต,การอนุมัติ,การยินยอม
  • rubbish: waste material or things that are no longer wanted or needed - ขยะ
  • stench: a strong unpleasant smell - กลิ่นเหม็น,กลิ่นสาบ
  • suspect: a person who is thought to have committed a crime - ผู้ต้องสงสัย
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