ENVIRONMENT / ILLEGAL TRANSPORT OF GARBAGE

Hospital waste dumped in paddy

SUNTHON PONGPAO & CHAIWAT SADYAEM

Ayutthaya _ Provincial officials yesterday found tonnes of possibly infectious hospital waste dumped in a paddy field. The waste, from Sukhothai and Lampang provinces, was illegally brought from the North for incineration in Bang Pa-in district, the officials said.

It was transported by Green Party Partnership, which recently entered the garbage-disposal business, they said.

Company owner Kitanet Pisanworawat admitted he put four tonnes of waste in the field, not far from a community, in tambon Kung Lan.

It was waiting to be burned in his firm's mobile incinerator, he said.

''We were going to ask for a permit in two days,'' Mr Kitanet said.

He admitted he brought the garbage to Ayutthaya without following normal procedures, which are to inform relevant authorities prior to delivery.

He said the garbage had to be brought to Ayutthaya in a hurry because it required quick disposal.

Mr Kitanet said his firm was sub-contracted by Suwana Furnace to burn two tonnes of garbage each day in Ayutthaya.

Suwana Furnace, which operates a 15-million-baht furnace, is based in Kamphaeng Phet.

Mr Kitanet said he started his own business because the amount of hospital waste keeps increasing.

Transporting the waste must comply with the Public Health Act, which requires operators to obtain a permit before making a delivery.

Provincial environmental official Witaya Hatnin said it was unclear whether Mr Kitanet followed acceptable procedures in burning the garbage.

Ayutthaya health official Ratanachai Julnet said the province usually hires General Environment Conservation Co (Genco), which specialises in toxic waste disposal, to collect hospital waste.

Green Party Partnership's presence in Ayutthaya aroused suspicion that it might not have obtained a permit to operate there, he said.

Villagers strongly oppose the burning of possibly infectious garbage near where they live.

Tambon Taling Chan administration organisation chairman Sutep Chuchaiya said landowners in the area have told him they will not sell their property for the construction of garbage disposal facilities.

Mr Kitanet said he would move his mobile incinerator out of the area if the villagers oppose the operation.

Meanwhile, in Prachuap Khiri Khan, villagers in Pran Buri district threatened to close a road if officials failed to stop municipalities and a tambon administration organisation from dumping garbage near their homes.

Tanu Silapatae, chairman of tambon Pran Buri's culture centre, said people in Nong Ka village had complained about the dumping since 1992, but officials had sat on their hands.

Bangkok Post
Wednesday January 31, 2007