New fee system incentivises move to reduce growing volume of trash, writes Supoj Wancharoen
Households in Bangkok are being encouraged to separate organic waste from other forms of rubbish to help reduce the daily volume of garbage.
Those who comply will continue to pay the existing garbage disposal fee of 20 baht per month. However, those who do not sort their waste will be charged a new fee of 60 baht per month by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).
The Bangkok Metropolitan Council approved the bill for the Bangkok Ordinance on the Fee for Waste Management Services under the Public Health Act on Oct 30 of last year.
The bill is currently awaiting publication in the Royal Gazette, which is expected to occur later this month. Once announced, the new fee structure will take effect within 180 days, likely around October.
Pornphrom N S Vikitsreth, adviser to the Bangkok governor and chief sustainability officer of the BMA, told the Bangkok Post that the garbage separation campaign for households began in January.
The garbage collection fees are divided into three categories. The first applies to households that dispose of no more than 20 litres or four kilogrammes of waste per day.
The current fee for this group is 20 baht per month, but the new rate will increase to 60 baht per month.
However, households that separate their waste — dividing food scraps, recyclables, and general waste — can continue to pay the lower 20-baht fee.
The second group includes restaurants, convenience stores, and small businesses that dispose of more than 20L or 4kg of waste per day, but not exceeding 1 cubic metre or 200km per day. These businesses will be charged a new rate of 120 baht per 20L per month.
The third group consists of department stores, markets, hotels, and large businesses that discard more than 1 cubic metre or 200kg of waste per day. They will face a new fee of 8,000 baht per cubic metre per month.
The second and third groups are not eligible to participate in the garbage sorting campaign as the campaign is decided for households only.
Mr Pornphrom urged residents to join the sorting initiative by registering via the BKK Waste Pay application, the website bkkwastepayapi.bangkok.go.th, or the district office in their area.
“Registration is now open. Participants need to provide their name, phone number, house registration number, and a photo of their sorted waste. Registered households will receive a green bag for food waste during their first year in the programme,” he said.
He also highlighted that Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt is dedicated to this issue.
“We’ve been promoting the campaign through online and social media channels. We also plan to organise training sessions for people in various communities, encouraging them to volunteer and share knowledge about waste sorting with others,” Mr Pornphrom said.
The BMA aims to reduce daily garbage collection from the current 9,200 tonnes to 8,500 tonnes once the new fee structure is in place.
“As people become more accustomed to waste separation, the amount of waste will decrease even further,” he noted.
“The BMA spends 7 billion baht per year on waste collection and management but only gets 500 million baht in fees, which is minimal. If the campaign is successful, we will be able to use the savings to fund other improvements for the people of Bangkok,” Mr Pornphrom added.
Kanyarat Heman, a food vendor in the On Nut area, expressed support for the garbage-sorting initiative.
“However, the BMA hasn’t done enough to promote the campaign. If there were more widespread publicity, people would be better informed,” she said.
“My family already sorts our garbage, but the problem is that the garbage truck doesn’t come regularly to collect it. Sometimes, the bags pile up. Maybe they don’t have enough staff in our area,” she added.
Waiwit Thongthongkam, an office worker, said he was unaware of the increase in garbage collection fees for households.
“It’s good that Bangkok is trying to find a way for people to sort their garbage,” he said.
“I would also like to see the BMA impose fines on households that are registered for the sorting programme but fail to comply with the rules,” Mr Waiwit added.