Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has joined hands with Parliament to promote the city’s waste-separation campaign, “Mai Te Ruam” (Do not mix food waste).

Governor Chadchart Sittipunt on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Secretariat of the House of Representatives to jointly promote the green and sustainable environmental initiative.

Parliament President and House Speaker Chuan Leekpai announced the “Green Parliament” policy at the Parliament building in Dusit district. The two then visited an exhibition on the BMA’s “Mai Te Ruam” campaign on display at the Parliament building.

Chadchart said that as the country’s economic and transportation hub, Bangkok is rapidly urbanising, resulting in rising waste volume from both households and the industrial sector.

The city typically produces around 10,000 tonnes of garbage per day, he said. This waste is disposed of by several methods, such as using sanitary landfills, composting, mechanical-biological treatment, and fuel for biomass power plants.

The governor added that BMA uses 1,829 trucks and 10,532 workers to collect garbage on over 1,800 routes across all 50 districts. The city’s garbage collection and waste management require a large budget and workforce, he added.

“Among the garbage we collect daily, about 8% is recyclable waste that can be processed into raw materials for products, while 46.6% is food waste which can be turned into fertiliser, animal feed, or biomass fuel,” he said.

The “Mai Te Ruam” campaign promotes garbage separation at community level, especially for food and organic waste, by improving the city’s waste management system and boosting public awareness of proper disposal of food waste.

The campaign also promotes turning food waste into high-quality organic fertiliser to help farmers reduce reliance on agro chemicals. Waste composting machines have been installed at schools, markets, temples, apartments, government agencies and private buildings to help people dispose of their food waste properly.

The city aims to expand the campaign to all 50 districts if it proves successful, added the governor.

The MOU between BMA and Parliament covers measures to promote and facilitate waste separation among employees of both agencies as well as members of the public who use buildings under the Secretariat’s administration. It also covers exchange of information on environmental projects implemented by both agencies via seminars, training, field trips, and similar activities.