Sangkhla Buri, a district in Kanchanaburi, was once known for its bucolic landscapes -- beautiful mountainsides and rivers. The pristine nature of this pastoral district, however, is now under threat from mounting piles of waste.
Demographic and geographic features of this district contribute to the problem.
Due to its sparse population scattered in small communities, efforts to impose effective waste management have been dire. It is hard for the district to set up a collective garbage management facility as the towns are so far apart.
The district is home to a variety of ethnic groups such as the Mon, Karen people and Thais.
"Attempts to cooperate with village leaders across the district have been difficult. Sometimes we want to meet to discuss waste management and they don't show up," said Thanaphat Lamad, director of the campaign known as "The Waste Separation and Reduction Programme" which has made big inroads against the problem here.
The programme is designed to raise awareness and educate local youth about the environmental damage of plastic waste, and how some waste can be converted into an income.
The project, which started in the middle of last year, set up campaigns in three small communities of Nong Lu sub-district. Mr Thanaphat said the response was initially overwhelming.
The programme is funded by the National Health Security Office.
"Our approach to educating young people about waste is different, we don't force feed information. We let the children share their ideas and thoughts, and we help correct them where they are wrong," Mr Thanaphat said.
The waste problem in the district results in an abundance of trash-burning, worsening air quality in Sangkhla Buri. Local villagers are most affected, said Samrit Sowgwonchanasuk, a member of the programme.
"We have seen a growing number of patients in hospitals being admitted for skin diseases and diarrohea and doctors say it is caused by toxic chemical fumes," Mr Samrit said.
The campaign helps villagers understand it is their behaviour which leads to the garbage problem.
"The older generation of villagers refuse to comply, because it is so much easier to put everything in a pile of flames," he said.
The programme currently has 11 children who are members of the waste management initiative. These children will show younger ones how to separate plastic bottles, glass, caps and so on.
When waste has been sorted, municipal trucks come to pick up the waste.
"Trucks that take trash in bulk buy our separated trash and we are able to make some money for the children. For every seven baht the programme makes from recycling trash, we give six baht to the children and one baht towards funding the programme," Mr Samrit added.
However, the project ran into problems over time with people tiring of sorting waste as the novelty wore off.
"The walking distance from one place to another is so far apart where it is not tempting enough for garbage trucks to travel great distances to collect trash in this village," said Mr Samrit.
"We currently rely solely on the Sub-district Administrative Organisation to handle our ordinary trash, and they collect two times a day. Only on the second week of each month do the recycling trucks come around for sorted waste," Mr Samrit said.
Participants in the project banded together to figure out a solution. It is simple yet ambitious -- building their own waste recycling plant in the community.
The plan is to expand garbage-sorting activities into other sub-districts as much as possible. They hope that getting more people involved will jump-start the recycling business.
The young team of workers in the Waste Separation and Reduction Programme hopes that one day, they will be able to give full financial support to the children in their area.