Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2019) 21:10–22

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-018-0781-y

SPECIAL FEATURE: REVIEW

The 4th International Conference on Final Sinks (4th ICFS 2017)

3Rs Policy and plastic waste management in Thailand

N. Wichai‑utcha1 · O. Chavalparit2,3

Received: 16 March 2018 / Accepted: 12 August 2018 / Published online: 25 August 2018
© Springer Japan KK, part of Springer Nature 2018

Abstract
Plastic has become an important and integral part of society throughout the world due to its various applications, such as
packaging, agriculture, automobile parts, electronic applications and medical devices. The plastic fabrication process can be
modified to form various shapes, colors and specifications according to customer needs. Consequently, the amount of plastic
waste is increasing due to the increase in plastic consumption because of the increasing population. Moreover, the problem
of marine plastic debris is on the rise globally, including in Thailand, which results from the irresponsibility of mankind.
Generally, plastic waste in Thailand can be generated from industrial processes and households. These two waste sources
have caused the rise in plastic waste, which has contributed to the problem of waste management in Thailand. Additionally,
Thailand is one of the contributors to the leakage of plastic waste into the ocean, which results from inefficient waste manage-
ment. To reduce the impacts of plastic waste, effective measures have to be applied, such as reducing, reusing and recycling
(3Rs) or energy recovery from plastic wastes. To ensure the proper management of solid waste, Thailand has established the
National 3R Strategy and the National Master Plan for Waste Management (2016–2021). Furthermore, Thailand also launched
a “Plastic Debris Management Plan 2017–2021”, which comprises several approaches, such as promotion and introduction
of eco-packaging design and eco-friendly plastic substitution, development of the material flow for plastic containers and
packaging inventory, implementation of the 3Rs (reduce–reuse–recycle) strategy for plastic debris management, and the
promotion of education for relevant stakeholders in the field of plastics and its alternative materials. In addition, the options
to create more effective plastic waste management are to implement legislation or revise the laws to improve the efficiency
and reduce the amount of plastic waste, such as imposing plastic bag fees, strengthening the 3Rs measures, and encouraging
the implementation of a circular economy in plastic value chains.

Keywords Plastic waste management · 3Rs policy · Key barrier · Plastic waste recycling

State of solid waste management in Thailand

and the impacts of solid waste

Solid waste is a major environmental issue in most develop-

ing countries, including Thailand. The rate of waste gen-
* O. Chavalparit eration from domestic and industrial sectors has rapidly
[email protected] increased, and appropriate waste management methodolo-
1
gies are not effectively applied. Several factors, such as low
Interdisciplinary Program of Environmental Science,
collection coverage, the lack of available transport services,
Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok,
Thailand illegal waste dumping, open burning and the lack of effec-
2 tive treatment and disposal facilities which leads to water,
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty
of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, land, air and visual pollution that is harmful to people and
Thailand the environment [1].
3
Research Unit of Environmental Management The Thai government established waste management as
and Sustainable Industry, Faculty of Engineering, an item on the national agenda, which focused on munici-
Department of Environmental Engineering, Chulalongkorn pal solid waste management, industrial waste, hazardous
University, Bangkok, Thailand

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Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2019) 21:10–22 11

substances and infectious waste. The amount of industrial of general waste as there is a more intensive degree of leg-
waste that was generated in 2015 was 37.4 million tons. The islation and the waste has to be treated with more specific
composition of waste can be classified as 92.5% nonhazard- approaches.
ous waste (34.6 million tons) and 7.5% of hazardous waste.
Figure 1 shows that 37% of industrial waste was utilized for GHG emissions from the solid waste sector
other purposes: 10.88 million tons was reused or recycled, in Thailand
such as for glass, paper, plastic, steel, aluminum and rubber
products, and 2.86 million tons was converted from waste to The greenhouse gas inventory in “Thailand’s First Biennial
energy. Apparently, the popularity of industrial waste gen- Update Report” (2015) [5], which was reported to UNFCCC,
eration has started to decrease due to the introduction of the showed the total GHG emissions (excluding LULUCF)
“Clean technology concept”, “3Rs” and “Waste exchange” from different sectors, which accounted for 305.52 mil-
from the government. Additionally, some large factories lion tCO2eq in 2011. The waste sector was responsible for
have started to utilize the concept of “Zero Waste to Land- 11.43 million tCO2eq or 3.74% of the total GHG emissions.
fill”, which has also helped to decrease the amount of waste It was shown that the GHG emissions from the waste sector
[2]. resulted from 6.41 MtCO2eq from wastewater treatment,
In 2015, the volume of municipal solid waste (MSW) 4.93 MtCO2eq from solid waste disposal on land and 0.09
generated in Thailand was approximately 26.85 million MtCO2eq from waste incineration (Fig. 2). As a result, the
tons or 1.13 kg/person/day. Approximately 47% of solid Thai government established the goal to mitigate 7–20% of
waste that was generated was managed appropriately. Of GHG emissions by 2020 and 25% by 2030, and this target
this amount, 27% was disposed of in sanitary landfills, 20% was confirmed in the “Intended Nationally Determined Con-
was reused/recycled, and the rest was incinerated [3]. Most tribution” (INDC), which was submitted to UNFCCC on
of the utilized waste was recycled into products, such as October 1st, 2016. The Thai government selected the waste
glass, paper, plastic, iron and aluminum, which were being sector as one of the main sectors to enhance mitigation along
sent back to be used in manufacturing processes. However, with 7 other sectors: power generation, transportation, indus-
almost half of the total MSW is organic waste in which only try, agriculture, forestation and urban management.
a small portion can be reused as compost. The remaining
parts of the waste are plastic waste (20%), paper waste (10%)
and other waste (20%) [4]. Plastic waste management and its impacts
In 2015, the industrial sector generated 2.8 million tons
of hazardous waste [3]. The hazardous waste generation by Thailand is one of the main plastic manufacturers and con-
households was 0.59 million tons or 2.2% of MSW, in which tributor of plastic in Asia. The plastic pellet and resin pro-
65% of hazardous household waste was electronic waste duction capacity in 2015 was 6.094 million tons. The import
(WEEE). The rest of the hazardous waste was constituted and export rates of plastic beads accounted for 5.842 and
of other E-waste, batteries, fluorescent lights, spray cans 1.875 million tons, respectively, in which 2.127 million tons
and leftover chemical/pesticide containers. The amount of were consumed within the country. The plastic consumption
generated infectious waste estimated by the Pollution Con- amount was approximately 4 million tons, and plastic pack-
trol Department was ~ 53,868 tons in 2015, and 76% of this aging accounted for 2.048 million tons. The production of
waste came from hospitals. Principally, the regulation of plastic packaging can be classified as bag packaging, which
hazardous waste management is different from the regulation accounted for 0.476 million tons, and other packagings such

Fig. 1  Solid waste generation Solid waste management in 2015

and waste management in Thai-
land in 2015. Source: adapted
MSW Industrial Waste Infectious Waste
from PCD (2016) [3] 37.4 million ton
26.85 million ton 0.054 Million ton

Non-HZ Waste HZ Waste Non-HZ Waste HZ Waste

26.26 million ton 0.59 Million ton 34.6 million ton 2.8 million ton
(47% were manageable) (40% were manageable) (34.6% were manageable)

Reuse 18.4% 50% of Reuse/Recycle 30.1% Reuse/Recycle 12.7% Disposal 75%

population sold
W-to-Energy 0.01% WEEE after no W-to-Energy 7.4% W-to-Energy 10.35% Other 35%
longer use
Composed 1.82% Shipped oversea 0.6% Shipped oversea 0.83%

Landfill+ incineration 27.18% Proper disposal 2.2% Proper disposal 10.8%

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12 Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2019) 21:10–22

Fig. 2  Greenhouse gas emission in Thailand a by Sector b GHG Emissions in Waste Sector. Source: Thailand’s First Biennial Update Report
(2015) [5]

Fig. 3  Material flow analysis Exported Products 2.2 Mt (24.4%)

of plastic waste in Thailand in
2013. Source: adapted from Waste from production
Bureecam (2015) [8] 0.22Mt 0 (1.53%)
Incineration
Residual Waste
(1%)
Production
Production 5.5 Mt Plastic Products Collected Plastic Waste Landfill
Raw Material 8 Mt consumption 3.56 Mt (44.5%of raw 2.08 Mt (26%of
6.6 Mt material) raw material)
Recyclable Recycle to production
waste 1.1 Mt (12.2%)
0.8 Mt 0.77 Mt (9.6%)
Recycle MSW improper and
(10%)
uncollected wastes
0.6 Mt (7.5%)
Export Recycle material
0.5 Mt (6.3%) Open
Imported Products 1.1 Mt Environment

as boxes or cups, which accounted for 1.482 million tons. improving the circularity of these materials in the economy
Domestic consumption in Thailand is approximately 40 kg could increase resource efficiency.
per year/person. According to a material flow analysis of plastic in 2013,
the amount of plastic waste from general consumption was
Sources of plastic waste approximately 6.6 million tons, and 3.56 million tons of
this waste was collected and transferred to disposal sites
The major sources of plastic waste come from industrial by the local government (Fig. 3) [8]. According to the
and municipal waste. Over the past decade, plastic waste process, 0.77 million tons of plastic waste were recycled
has increased by 12% or ~ 2 million tons every year, and the by local government organizations or used as raw mate-
concerns have also increased due to the nondegradability rial for plastic production by independent merchandisers.
of plastic and toxic gas that is generated from plastic waste A total of 0.22 million tons of plastic waste were inciner-
incineration [6]. From the problems mentioned earlier, three ated for energy recovery, and the remaining 2.08 million
options for plastic disposal are introduced. The options are tons of plastic waste were disposed of by landfilling. It was
landfilling, recycling and incineration. Most of the plastic observed that only a small amount of plastic waste that went
wastes that were discarded from consumption and produc- to a landfill came from the industrial sector. In addition, the
tion were treated by landfilling. Eygen (2018) [7] reported amount of plastic waste that was recycled by manufacturers
that information on the material flow of plastic packag- was approximately 1.1 million tons or 27% of the gener-
ing is needed to calculate the recycling rates. In addition, ated waste plastic. According to plastic recycling, there are

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Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2019) 21:10–22 13

two main sources of recycling feedstock: (1) industrial plas- Impact of plastic waste
tic waste made by the manufacturing sector (0.82 million
tons) and (2) community plastic waste recycled by the local Many severe problems from plastic waste mostly occur in
government organizations and independent merchandisers open environments, which results from improper MSW
(0.77 million tons) [6]. management (0.59 million tons) and uncollected wastes
The Pollution Control Department (2016) [10] reported (0.49 million tons) that can be harmful to the environment
that most plastic wastes do not have high potential to be [11]. Improper waste disposal causes the blocking of drain-
recycled as 80% of plastic wastes are contaminated, such age pipes, which results in flooding when heavy rainfall
as plastic bags and packaging, which are made from high occurs, including the leakage of waste into rivers and seas.
density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP) and low Moreover, the database of waste from the department of
density polyethylene (LDPE). The costs of eliminating, col- marine and coastal resources of Thailand 2015 revealed that
lecting and cleaning these types of waste are quite expen- plastic bags were the most common type of waste in the
sive. The compositions of plastic wastes that were found in sea, which accounted for 13%, followed by plastic straws
municipal waste management are demonstrated in Fig. 4. (10%), plastic caps and plastic food containers, which each
HDPE, which is the material used to produce bags and bot- contributed 8%. Further analysis also showed that the inef-
tles, contributed the highest proportion (46%) of plastic fectiveness of plastic waste management in Thailand resulted
waste, followed by LDPE (24%) and PP (14%). from production and consumption all the way to waste man-
agement after consumption.
Plastic waste collection and recycling

The Local Administration Organization is responsible for Plastic waste management networks
waste management in the area. They provide waste collec-
tion services and disposal. There are many actors involved The plastic waste management network shows the interac-
in plastic waste collection and recycling. Waste generators tions among stakeholders, who have an influence on plastic
such as households, the commercial sector and institutes col- waste mitigation in Thailand. The network of stakeholders
lect and sell their recyclable plastic waste to waste shops or is presented in Fig. 5, which is based on the roles of the key
waste recyclers. The remaining plastic waste is collected stakeholders. The vertical network consists of a connection
by the informal sector. Plastic waste from curbside bins at starting from producer to waste disposal: plastic produc-
roadsides and transfer stations is collected by waste pick- ers, consumers (plastic waste generators), waste collectors,
ers/transfer station scavengers and is sold to waste shops. waste recyclers and waste shops. Waste collectors collect
Finally, landfill scavengers also collect plastic waste from plastic waste from waste generators and then supply recy-
landfills. Waste pickers and transfer station scavengers do clable plastic waste to waste recyclers and waste shops. The
not collect plastic bags or films to recycle because they are policy network of plastic waste management in Thailand,
contaminated cannot be sold. Manual segregation at sources which includes government organizations, e.g., the Ministry
and dumpsites leads to inefficient segregation and recycling of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), Pollution
of plastic waste. Control Department (PCD), Department of Industrial Work
(DIW) and Ministry of Energy (MOE), can have a substan-
tial impact on other stakeholders in the network. This policy
network sets the laws, policies and plans that force other
stakeholders, including plastic producers, waste generators,
waste collectors and waste recyclers, and control the envi-
ronmental issues that stem from each stakeholder, including
the promotion of recycling activities [12]. However, most
policies/strategies emphasize the fact that waste generators
should reduce and reused their waste at the source. Manda-
tory or voluntary involvement of these relevant stakeholders
can help achieve the goal of better plastic waste manage-
ment in Thailand. Research institutes/universities that con-
duct research and develop waste management technology,
including 3R options, are mostly financially supported by
government agencies. Most research involves many actors,
Fig. 4  Proportion of various types of plastic waste in the waste man- such as the central government, local government, indus-
agement system. Source: PCD (2016) [3] tries, communities, commercial sectors, institutes, waste

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14 Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2019) 21:10–22

Fig. 5  Network of plastic waste

management actors in Thailand
Economic network Plastic Producer & Societal network
(Research institute, University, Converters (NGOs, Mass media)
private organization, Plastic
Institute of Thailand

Waste shop Waste generator

Policy network (Community,
(MNRE, PCD, Commercial, Institute)
DIW, MOE) Waste recyclers
(Industrial, RDF, WTE)

Waste collectors
(Local government
and independent
merchandisers, Waste
picker, scavenger) Material flow of plastic waste
Relation among the stakeholders
Waste Disposal
(Local government)

recyclers, NGOs and the mass media. The current network Ministry of Energy. Local governments play a key role in
analysis reveals that in the policy network, the local govern- municipal areas in terms of collection and disposal. The
ment, waste collectors, waste recyclers and waste shops play frameworks for each organization are shown in Fig. 6 and
important roles in plastic waste management in Thailand. Table 1.
Waste generators, research institutes/universities, and plas-
tic producers have minor effects on plastic waste reduction/ Waste management law/legislation/regulation
recycling.
Thailand has policies, strategies/plans and projects in place
for solid waste. The current National Economic and Social
Roles of agencies and waste management Development Plan (2017–2021) has supported waste man-
law and legislation agement throughout the life cycle by focusing on the local
community to improve the potential of waste management,
Roles of agencies which aims to utilize more than 75% of MSW by the end of
2021. The government has undertaken actions to improve
Thailand has a number of different agencies that regulate the existing relevant laws and develop additional regulation
different aspects of solid waste management under a variety measures, as shown in Fig. 7 and Table 2. The National
of laws. There are 3 main ministries that are involved in Solid Waste Management Master Plan (2016–2021) and
waste management and legislation in Thailand, which are the the Industrial Waste Management Plan (2015–2019) sup-
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment through the port integrated waste management and aim to reduce the
ONEP and the PCD, the Ministry of Interior (Local Author- flows of waste to final disposal sites, reduce GHG emissions,
ity) and the Ministry of Industry (Department of Industrial and improve resource efficiency and energy recovery. The
Works). Other agencies are involved in the waste manage- National Waste Management Master Plan (2016–2021) also
ment system, such as the Ministry of Public Health and the encourages private waste management investors, especially

Fig. 6  Role of agencies related

to waste management
Royal Thai government

Central Government Ministry of Ministry of

Formulating national: policies,
Ministry of Natural
Resources and Interior Industry
Regulations & standard, Guideline
to support local government. Environment

Provincial/ Local Government PCD/ONEP/DEQP Local Authority Industry

(Implementation unit)
Handling waste and management Policy/ Action plan/ Municipal solid Industrial
within govern area. guideline,/ COP/ waste waste
Information system

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 Table 1  Roles of agencies related to waste management
Level Institutes Responsible unit responsibility

Central government Pollution Control Department (under MNRE) Waste and Hazardous Substances Management Bureau Provide recommendations on the technical preparation
of MSW management policy
Develop guidance/guidelines and processes for solid
waste mitigation and value added from waste
Develop policy and plan for preserving the national
environment, creating quality standards, controlling
pollution at sources, and monitoring environmental
quality
Office of the Natural Resources and Environmental Office of National Environmental Board Prepare and plan for conservation and development
Policy and Planning (under MNRE) environment’s policies and management of natural
resources and the environment in the whole of the
country; (ii) coordinate environmental policy and
planning between government agencies; (iii) analyze
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2019) 21:10–22

and propose legislative measures, economic measures,

social measures, and other measures for promoting the
implementation of planning and policies into practice
Department of Environmental Quality Promotion Promote and disseminate information pertaining to
(under MNRE) MSW management
Department of Industrial Work (under Ministry of Industrial Waste Management Bureau Plan and create the project related with industrial waste,
Industry) waste inspection, and the issuance of license under the
Factory Act 1992 for waste management facilities
Control for overseeing the storage, transportation, treat-
ment and disposal of industrial waste in Thailand
Ministry of Energy Department of Alternative Energy Development and Give subsidy to waste to energy project
Efficiency
Provincial Prepares waste management plans and proposes to the
MNRE to be integrated to the national master plan on
waste management
Local Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO) /munici- Handle waste management within governed areas
pality and Subdistrict Administrative Organization Collecting solid waste and sewage in the area of author-
(TAO) (under MOI) ity of local government
Manage the cleanliness and waste collection and dis-
posal of sewage and solid waste
Issue fee rates for solid waste collection and disposal of
sewage

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16 Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2019) 21:10–22

Fig. 7  Waste management laws

The 11th National Economic and Social Development Plan (2012-2016)
and regulations in Thailand The 12th National Economic and Social Development Plan (2017-2021)

National 3R strategy

Ministry of Natural Ministry of Industry Ministry of Interior

Resources and Environment

National Waste Management The Industrial Waste National Master Plan Public Sanitary and Oder
Master plan (2016-2021) Management plan on Cleaner Production Act, (2017)
(2015-2019) and Clean Technology

National Strategic Plan on household solid Integrated strategic management on

waste and household hazardous waste WEEE (2015 -2021)

Action Plan “Thailand Plastic Debris Management (Draft) Act on Management of Waste from Electrical,
Zero Waste” Plan (2017-2021) Electronic Equipment and Other Products, B.E. …
(WEEE law)

in the waste to energy sector [14–17]. There are many pro- bottles/containers required for the efficient recycling of
jects/programs that have been launched to promote the use plastic waste [8].
of industrial and municipal solid waste to reduce the amount • Lack of financial incentives for plastic waste recycling.
of waste to landfills and increase the resource efficiency, as
shown in Fig. 8. To reduce plastic waste, the PCD launch the
Plastic Debris Management Plan (2017–2021) by adopting 3. Infrastructure
the 3Rs approach. The aim is to reduce the impacts of plastic
waste by involving relevant stakeholders.
• Lack of efficient waste-collecting management. Cur-
rently, there are 3 groups, the local government, waste
pickers/scavengers, who collect recyclable waste and sell
Key barriers to plastic waste recycling to waste recyclers/waste shops [12].
and management • The staff of the local government has inadequate knowl-
edge to efficiently operate waste management [13].
The key barriers to plastic waste recycling and management • Slow growth of private investors and understanding from
can be identified as follows: the financial sector [10].
• The final stage of plastic disposal in incinerators requires
1. People high monetary resources [8].

• The consumption patterns of Thai people involve the high Introduce options to improve
use of plastic bags as food containers, which contami- the effectiveness of plastic waste
nates the bags and makes them unlikely to be reused or management
recycled [3].
• No awareness of waste segregation at the source [4]. Legal measures
• Uneducated in terms of recycling and unaware of the
types of plastic bags that are recyclable [12]. Most developed countries have developed procedures, meas-
ures and laws to mitigate plastic waste issues. Canada, Japan,
the United Kingdom, Ireland and Taiwan collect a tax from
2. Legislation/regulation customers or retailers for plastic bag utilization. The United
States has state and local regulations on packaging, dis-
posal and recycling, such as packaging restrictions or bans,
• Lack of regulation for plastic producers to provide a minimum recycled content requirements, the use of plastic
plastic resin identification code (SPI Codes) on plastic resin identification codes, and tax credits or other incentives

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 Table 2  The laws/legislation/regulations related to plastic waste management in Thailand
Responsible agency Law/legislation/regulation Strategy/framework

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

Pollution Control Department National 3R strategy As for plastic waste management, the goal is to recycle 60 percent of
plastic waste by the end of 2021 in which overall scope covers entire
stages of resource life cycle
Step 1: production—resource efficiency (eco-design/CT/CP/environ-
mental labels) is introduced which promote reuse and recycle of
wastes along with the eco-friendly products
Step 2: distribution and consumption
Support community-based recycling activities
Making the capacity building on 3Rs and waste management
Promotion of public and private partnership programs including waste
recycle business
Issuing the standard and guideline for waste disposal
Step 3: reuse, recycle, treatment, and disposal—promote waste separa-
tion at source, encourage the utilization of non-recyclable waste for
thermal recovery, etc.
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2019) 21:10–22

National Solid Waste Management Master Plan (2016–2021) (1) Waste generation and collection system by applying 3Rs into waste
management (to reduce MSW at source and reduce production cost)
and increase efficiency of waste separation and collection (to reduce
disposal waste and impact to environment)
(2) Waste recovery and disposal by applying integrated technologies,
i.e., WTE, biogas, RDF
(3) Law and regulation by law amendment and development (MSW/
WEEE)
(4) Encourage public involvement by education program, awareness
rising, and capacity building
Plastic debris management plan (2017–2021) Aims
Establishing the frameworks and directions for systematic plastic waste
management in Thailand
Development of a guideline of integrated plastic waste management
and promote the cooperation between public sectors and private
sectors
Goals for plastic waste plan by 2021
Reduce the amount of plastic waste (PW) disposal
Increase the number of environmental friendly designs and manufac-
tures for plastic products
Plastic waste will have to be recycled at least 60% before disposal to
facilities by the end of 2021

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 18

Table 2  (continued)
Responsible agency Law/legislation/regulation Strategy/framework

13
(Draft) Act on Management of Waste from Electrical and Electronic (1) Implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
Equipment Waste Management Act B.E.… principle
(2) Determine the type of product being controlled
(3) Developing the responsibilities of the producer
(4) Provide a center for returned product remains. (recovery/storage/
collection)
Provide coordination and dissemination knowledge center
Office of the Natural Resources and Environ- National strategic plan on household solid waste and household (1) Reducing household waste by proactive approach
mental Policy and Planning hazardouswaste (2) Increasing the capacity of local government to manage waste and
to reduce major source of waste generation. The approach mainly
focuses on recyclable materials from its inception to its final disposal
and on specific waste treatment
(3) Increasing the efficiency of local government on waste collection,
transportation, treatment and disposal with respect to academic
guideline
(4) Encouraging public involvement in decision making at the early
stages of planning
Ministry of industry
Department of industrial work The industrial waste managementplan (2015–2019) 1. Regulating factories that are sources of industrial waste through
registering, participating in the industrial waste management system
and notifying permitted operators of transportation of waste for treat-
ment, removal and recycling
(2) Controlling industrial waste transportation by requiring the waste
transporters to install the GPS technology to the transporting vehicles
(3) Auditing and inspecting factories which have permits for treating,
removing and recycling industrial waste by third parties
(4) Inspectors, controllers and licensees to be using the same operation
standards and transferring
National master plan on the cleaner production and cleaner technol- To promote the cleaner production and cleaner technology to minimize
ogy pollutions from the production line and other industrial activities as
well as the pollutions or hazardous substances in the product itself
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2019) 21:10–22
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2019) 21:10–22 19

Fig. 8  Solid waste and plastic waste management in Thailand

for recycling. Some countries have issued laws for plastic The Thai government and related ministry/department
waste such as Japan, the Netherlands, and the EU, which should legislate or revise the laws to improve the efficiency
have resulted in the effective reduction of plastic waste. The and reduce the amount of plastic waste, as done in many
EU has established a European strategy for plastics in a cir- developed countries. For example, fees for plastic bags and
cular economy to support more sustainable consumption and bans on inappropriate plastic bag characteristics could be
production patterns for plastics by improving the econom- implemented. In addition, an extended producer responsibil-
ics and quality of plastic recycling, boosting demands for ity (EPR) policy should be implemented. Producers should
recycled plastics, improving the separate collection and sort- be made responsible for their products after the point of sale.
ing of plastic waste and driving innovation and investment It also encourages producers to design their products to be
towards circular solutions [13]. In Japan, there are several suitable for take back and recycling [20].
laws/legislation for plastic waste management. The Packag-
ing Waste Management Law, which was enforced in 1997,
established a shared responsibility approach to managing Strengthen 3Rs measures
packaging waste and made consumers responsible for sepa-
rating waste for collection, municipalities responsible for its Plastic disposal products have become relevant at the inter-
collection, and industries responsible for recycling the col- national level due to their high impacts on both energy con-
lected materials. The Containers and Packaging Recycling sumption and the environment, especially GHG emissions
Law (2006) selected objectives including the discharge of [21]. However, to relate to the policies and global trends
waste by consumers, separate collection of containers and that there is a high potential to recycle plastic waste due
packaging by municipalities and recycling of containers and to its benefit, such as benefits related to renewable energy
packaging by businesses that manufacture and use them, and pollution [22], many researchers have proposed various
which resulted in the effective use of 62% of plastic waste options to manage plastic waste, which can be divided into 3
as resources [18]. In Thailand, there are several laws/leg- stages: (1) the production stage, (2) consumption stage, and
islation that concern plastic waste management; however, (3) end-of-life stage [9, 23–25].
most measures are in the form of voluntary campaigns,
which are not enforced in terms of legal measures. Tang- 1) Production stage: the closed-loop process. Plastic prod-
wanichagapong (2017) [19] stated that voluntary measures ucts from a single type of polymer can be used as raw
are not sufficient to promote pro-environmental behavior in material for plastic resin production. This strategy can
a developing country. 3R activities should be promoted with have a high impact on plastic production value chains
economic and fiscal measures and a ban on single-use pack- for plastic recycling to achieve green plastic pellet/resin
aging under the framework of a waste management policy. products and eco-design of plastic products as well.

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20 Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2019) 21:10–22

2) Consumption stage: recycle. A sustainable measure to Increase public awareness

reduce plastic waste is to reduce, reuse and recycle plas-
tic. For efficient plastic recycling, people must segregate Educating people on waste separation, including details on
plastic waste at the source. Regulated labeling should be waste management systems and appropriate waste disposal
used to identify plastic products. Generally, the recy- practices, is also an important issue to increase the aware-
cling process is performed by mechanical operations. ness of the decrease in plastic consumption. Tangwanichaga-
The thermal and chemical recycling de-polymerization pong (2017) [19] concluded that the 3Rs waste management
process from plastic waste by monomer recovery is initiation had positive effects on the attitudes of people
another available option that is more suitable for energy regarding resources, waste management and consciousness
sustainability. of the need to avoid waste generation. However, the initia-
3) End-of-life stage: waste to energy. Contaminated plastic tion did not improve the recycling and waste management
waste material can be used for energy recovery in the behaviors. Furthermore, voluntary approaches might not be
incineration process. Plastic wastes have high calorific effective enough to make behavioral changes. To increase
values (37 MJ/kg), so they can be used as RDF to gener- public awareness, incentive measures must be applied to
ate electricity or heat energy at power plants and manu- mitigate the transport of waste to landfills.
facturers or can be directly incinerated for electricity
production via the gasification process. The other alter- Encouragement of plastic waste management
native of converting plastic waste to energy in Thailand research
is the pyrolysis system to recover crude oil from both
landfilled and collected plastic waste. There was a total The encouragement of plastic waste management research
of 15,330 tons of landfilled plastic waste that was fed can enhance cooperation among key stakeholders: central
into the pyrolysis reactor at seven municipalities and governments, local administrations, research institutes,
three private companies in 2010 [8]. NGOs, plastic producers, plastic consumers and waste sepa-
rators/disposers. As a result, more plastic waste can recir-
Upstream measures culate back into the system, which can reduce the resource
consumption and environmental impacts resulting from
The results of various life cycle assessment studies have plastic disposal.
shown that nonrenewable energy and global warming were
the main issues of the environmental impacts of plastic
packaging production from various types of resins, such as Conclusions and suggestions
HDPE, LDPE and LLDPE. Therefore, the recommendations
for reducing the environmental performance of plastic prod- Over the past decade, plastic waste has increased by 12%
ucts should mainly focus on reducing origin materials and every year. The government has undertaken actions to
nonrenewable energy consumption using alternative energy improve the existing relevant laws and develop additional
sources, applying energy conservation measures, recycling regulation measures. The strategy of the Plastic Waste
plastic products and their scraps as raw materials and prop- Management Plan (2017–2021) aims to develop plastic
erly managing industrial waste, which will contribute to the management tools, promote and encourage eco-packag-
sustainable development of products [26–30]. The National ing designs and substitutes for plastic, implement the 3Rs
Plan of the Bio-plastics Industry Development (2008–2014) (Reuse, Reduce, Recycle), and promote education on the
focused on sustainability, and it aims to enable Thailand issue. Meanwhile, immediate actions include removing
to become a bio-plastic hub [31]. Although bio-plastic is marine litter, developing plastic waste reduction methods,
another option for reducing both nonrenewable raw mate- conducting research on the situation and impacts of plastic
rial and GHG emissions, it is costly and still faces problems debris in marine environments, and establishing a national
related to finding a suitable degradation method [32]. Gov- database of marine debris. Although Thailand has policies,
ernments should encourage the plastic industry to imple- regulatory frameworks, and plans for plastic waste manage-
ment circular economy principles in their organization. The ment, the level of participation of waste generators, espe-
initiative brings together key stakeholders to re-think and cially households, in the segregation of plastic waste at the
re-design the future of plastic products. The circular econ- source is low. There is a lack of financial incentives and
omy approach promotes the optimal use of resources, via the infrastructure to support plastic waste recycling. For plastic
reuse, repair, refurbishing, remanufacturing and recycling of producers, there is no legal incentive to use recycled plastics
materials and products [33]. Collaboration among all stake- as raw materials. Moreover, there is a lack of legislation/
holders is a key function to promote the circular economy regulation of plastic packaging management. There is a need
of plastic waste management. to enhance the current legislation/regulations and education

13
Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management (2019) 21:10–22 21

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Acknowledgements This research was financially supported by the Policy and Implementation. https​://hls-esc.org/docum​ents/8hlse​
Ratchadaphiseksomphot Endowment Fund (2016), Chulalongkorn sc/Thema ​ t ic%20C1/Thema ​ t ic%20%20C1%20-%20Tha ​ i land​
University (CU-59-002-IC) and the 100th Anniversary Chulalongkorn %20_%20Sol​id%20Was​te%20Man​ageme​nt%20in%20Tha​iland​
University Fund. The authors would like to thank all organizations that %2C%20Pol​icy%20and​%20Imp​lemen​t atio​n%20by%20Dr.%20
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