Evaluation of Plastic Waste Management in Thailand Using Material ...

of industrial wastes and 30% of municipal wastes will be disposed at landfills, and the total
landfilled waste will be 0.73 million tonnes in 2016. Therefore, the amount of stocked
plastic wastes in the landfill process will be around 1 million tonnes out of which 0.67
million tonnes can be recovered to produce recycled pellets and crude oil.
Increasing of recycling rate will decrease the amount of improper disposal of waste in
2016. Approximately 8% of improper disposed wastes in MSW will be expanded and
stocked in the environment. The total stock in the environment will be 0.46 million tonnes,
as the total stock of the scenario 2A will be 4.39 million tonnes in 2016. The highest
amount of stocked plastics was shown in the plastic consumption process amounted to 1.97
million tonnes. This stock is from the long-live plastic products and reused/secondary
plastic products. This amount of stocked plastics will be highest in the next five or ten
years if the waste reduction and reuse policy stimulates people to use long-lived products
for over five or ten years.
Scenario 2B: Increase in recycling rate by 30% with promoting bio-plastics
The plastic bag taxation is not used now, but FPRI is the one organization who studied on
the feasibility of plastic bag taxation in Thailand in 2011. The proposed plan for the plastic
bag taxation includes banning conventional plastic bags, promoting the biodegradable
plastic products, collecting bag charges, and supporting plastic bag recycling. Figure 4.30
illustrates the material flow of plastics in Thailand in 2016; the scenario 2B.
From Figure 4.30, the amounts of MPW disposed of scenario 2B at the municipal and
industrial incineration and landfill sites are equal to those amounts of scenario 2A.
Likewise, the percentage of plastic waste recycling of this scenario will increase by 30% in
2016 as well as the scenario 2A because the plastic bag taxation promotes to charge the
plastic bag fee for supporting the plastic bag recycling. This scenario also did not promote
the waste to energy scheme, so the amounts of MPW for oil recovery and incineration are
the same as the scenario 1 and scenario 2A.
The amounts of MPW and IPW reused, landfilling and disposed in open environment of
the scenario 2B are different from the scenario 2A. 10% of industrial wastes and 5% of
municipal plastic wastes will be separated and reused in the manufacturing and
consumption processes. Approximately 1% of industrial wastes and 40% of municipal
wastes will be disposed at landfills, and the total landfilled waste will be 0.97 million
tonnes in 2016. Therefore, the amount of stocked plastic wastes in the landfill process will
be around 1.2 million tonnes out of which 0.91 million tonnes can be recovered to produce
recycled pellets and crude oil.
Although, there is the reduction of plastic waste generation from the banning plastic bag
strategy, the amount of waste generation may slightly decrease because there is the
promotion of biodegradable plastic products. This scenario followed by plastic bag
taxation which simulates the plastic manufacturing to decrease plastic bag production, but
increase to produce the amount of biodegradable plastics. Similarly, people have to use
biodegradable plastics instead of plastic bags followed by this taxation. The main
advantage of biodegradable plastics is that they can be degraded by anaerobic condition at
landfills within one year (NIA, 2008). The government must be careful on this taxation use
because it directly affects the recycling business and amount of stocked wastes at landfills.
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