PHUKET – Phuket City officials have issued an urgent warning over the island’s escalating waste crisis, which now exceeds local handling capacity, and are calling on other municipal bodies to abandon complacency and join a unified effort to tackle the problem.

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Phuket Mayor Supachok La-ongpetch voiced frustration during a meeting with Governor Nirat Pongsitthithavorn on Thursday, highlighting severe obstacles in managing the island’s garbage as tourism surges. The island currently generates approximately 1,200 tonnes of waste daily, while municipal incinerators can process only 500 tonnes. The remaining waste is sent to overwhelmed landfills elsewhere in the province.

According to the Pollution Control Department, only 10% of Phuket’s waste is recycled, while 60% is organic. Mayor Supachok warned that daily waste could rise to 1,500 tonnes by the end of the month due to increased holiday tourism, further straining an already fragile system.

Although local administrative offices are legally responsible for waste management, the burden in Phuket falls disproportionately on Nakhon Phuket Municipality, which also handles garbage from other local bodies. The municipality serves a permanent population of 72,000, but the provincial population can swell to one million during peak tourist seasons.

Officials in Phuket City are alarmed by the increasing amount of waste that now exceeds its capacity to handle, urging other local administrations to abandon their complacency and join the fight against garbage.

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Mayor Supachok expressed dissatisfaction with the response from other local administrations, stating that despite requests to reduce waste at the source, cooperation has been minimal. The municipality currently charges other local agencies 520 baht per tonne for waste handling—a rate unchanged since 2009. Most administrations have refused to sign new contracts that would raise the fee to 725 baht per tonne, with incremental increases planned to encourage waste reduction.

Governor Nirat pledged to compel other local offices to take greater responsibility, warning they may be required to manage their own waste rather than shifting the burden to the municipality. A follow-up meeting with all 19 local administrative bodies on the island is scheduled for this month to seek a resolution.

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The crisis poses a significant challenge for the municipal council, which was elected on a promise to permanently solve Phuket’s waste problem—a pledge now tested by mounting volumes and limited cooperation across the island’s jurisdictions.

-Thailand News (TN)