A local community in Kalasin's Khong Chai district, known for recycling scrap electronic equipment, has brushed off health and environment concerns from so-called e-waste while stressing the need for a long-delayed incineration plant for proper garbage management.
Wanchana Nathomthong, a member of tambon Khok Sa-art administrative organisation (TAO), said sorting and dismantling of discarded electronic equipment has been a good source of income for Khok Sa-art people. However, the business is hard-hit by controversial imports of plastic and electronic waste which some firms bring in to dispose of in the country.
He said what they do is go out and purchase old electronic devices, sort them and extract scrap electronics for materials that can be reused or recycled and sell them to a third party.
"It creates employment opportunities and people make more money from this work than other jobs. It's entirely different from the sorting and disposal of the imported e-waste," he said.
According to Mr Wanchana, a pressing issue which has faced the community is a lack of an incineration facility to properly dispose of piles of garbage at the dump site. Residents would be exposed to pollution and health issues if the waste is not handled properly.
"It [the incinerator] doesn't have to be a massive one costing some 40-50 million baht. A four-million-baht incinerator will do if it is equipped with a system which gives off no foul smell or smoke," he said.
He blamed the Kalasin provincial health authorities for failing to implement such a scheme and for endangering health and the environment.
Khok Sa-art's struggle with piles of garbage was disclosed during an inspection led by Maj Gen Chumpol Chumpolpakdi, head of the peace-keeping force in Kalasin, in the light of reports that the district houses some of the country's largest recycling businesses.
His delegation included Pichit Sombatmak, director of provincial natural resources and environment office, Pol Col Boonrit Chaweewat, superintendent of Khongchai police station, and Wijit Mul-ek, chair of tambon Khok Sa-art administrative organisation.
Mr Pichit said a total of 154 households are engaged in the sorting of electronic scrap in tambon Khok Sa-art and handle about 1,000 tonnes of garbage each month. The waste is left at the dump site, amounting to 24 tonnes each month.
Citing an initial plan, Mr Pichit said garbage at the dump site will be transferred for disposal at incineration facilities in Sa Kaeo and Saraburi. He said after the clean-up, authorities will conduct a study to determine a garbage management and disposal system suitable for the community.
He said health officials have been monitoring health and the environment and that levels of contaminants are low and do not pose a threat to people's health and the ecosystem.
Maj Gen Chumpol said business operators insist the discarded electronics come from local households and it has been a source of income for more than 20 years.