PHUKET - Plastic bottles and empty beer cans roll on the sea floor in the waters around Phuket in southern Thailand, while ever more garbage piles up on the island itself, a tourist hotspot better known for its pristine beaches and stunning sunsets.
In one corner of the island, trucks and tractors trundle back and forth moving piles of trash around a sprawling landfill, the final destination for much of the more than 1,000 tonnes of waste collected on Phuket every day.
The number is up from 742 tonnes in 2022 and 961 tonnes in 2023, according to figures from the provincial statistics office and the Pollution Control Department.
In a matter of months, the landfill has grown so large it has replaced the previous serene mountain view from Vassana Toyou’s home.
“There is no life outside the house, (we) just stay at home,” she said. “The smell is very strong, you have to wear a mask.”
To cope with the stench, Vassana said she keeps her air conditioner and air purifiers switched on all the time, doubling her electricity bill. (Story continues below)
A drone view shows a landfill next to the Saphan Hin community in Muang district of Phuket. (Photo: Reuters)
Phuket has undergone rapid development due to its tourism sector, a major driver of the Thai economy as a whole. Of the country’s 35.5 million foreign arrivals in 2024, about 13 million headed to the island. That compares with about 6 million two decades ago.
“The growth of (Phuket) city has been much more rapid than it should be,” said Suppachoke Laongphet, deputy mayor of the main municipality, explaining how a tourism and construction boom has pushed trash volumes above pre-Covid levels.
By the end of this year, the island could be producing up to 1,400 tonnes of trash a day, overwhelming its sole landfill at Saphan Hin, he said.
Authorities are pushing ahead with plans to cut waste generation by 15% in six months, expand the landfill and build a new incinerator, he said, as the island strives to become a more sustainable tourist destination.
The permanent resident population of Phuket was 418,000 as of 2021. The figure does not include people from outside the province and other countries working on the island.
The province has only one incinerator operated by the Phuket municipality which can handle only about 900 tonnes of garbage daily. The rest is sent to dump sites. Only 10% of the trash in Phuket is recycled and 60% is organic waste, the Pollution Control Department says.
But increasing capacity and incinerators is only part of the solution, experts say.
“If you just keep expanding more waste incinerators, I don’t think that would be just the solution,” said Panate Manomaivibool, an assistant professor in waste management at Burapha University.
“They need to focus on waste reduction and separation.”
The municipality began a trial of a “garbage bank” in the Samakkee Samkong community in Muang district last year to recycle waste and trash. If successful, it will be rolled out to other locations.
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Garbage is scattered at the bottom of the sea in Phuket. (Photo: Reuters)