The Strategies of Solid Waste Management on Phuket Island

Abstract

The purpose of this study was threefold: Firstly, to study the present situations, problems, as well as the current solid waste management of Phuket; Secondly, to suggest strategies of the solid waste management in Phuket more effififfiiciently into the 3 stages of both mix qualitative and quantitative research designs: Stage I, documentary and survey research studies, sample from 400 residents in the families, locating in the Phuket region, were gathered by a set of questionnaire; Stage II, establishing strategies by using the techniques of in depth interviewing 25 experts; and Stage III, SWOT analysis with the Heinz matrix tabula; and Thirdly, to present the appropriate strategies by organizing the civil society or stakeholders forum with 70 Phuketian participants. Moreover, in the fiffiinal step, discussion and suggestion techniques from 6 experts in both local and country levels were operated. Also, descriptive statistics were computed. Research findings were as follows: 1) Amount of garbage in Phuket was continuously increased 7 percent and had the limitations of problems in terms of garbage sorting plant (not operating), disposing only 250 tons of garbage a day, and no enough spaces for garbage burring. In addition, most of residents did not sort their garbage properly before disposal. This cause made increasingly garbage problems in Phuket at the high level; 2) Strategies of solid waste management in Phuket were presented by the researcher as follows: 2.1) building residential awareness for sorting garbage before disposal, 2.2) encouraging participation of residence for garbage disposal, 2.3) setting up a learning center about garbage disposal in Phuket, 2.4) managing a original region to decrease garbage in Phuket, 2.5) creating innovation for garbage disposal managerial system, and 2.6) developing legislation concerning garbage disposal for supporting economic growth.