Comparative Study of Problems and Guidelines of Garbage Management for Local Administrative Organizations: A Case Study of Nongteng Subdistrict Municipality, Krasang District, Buriram Province

Abstract

The purposes of this research were: 1) to comparatively study the level of public opinions on problems of garbage management, and 2) to investigate the problems and guidelines for garbage management of local administrative organizations: a case study of Nongteng subdistrict municipality in Krasang district, Buriram Province. The sample consisted of two groups. In the first group, 398 informants who were randomly and proportionally selected from the eligible voters in different villages answered questionnaire. The second group which consisted of 15 people selected via a purposive quota was interviewed. The questionnaire items with reliability of 0.961 were then analyzed by using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Moreover, t-test and F-test were used to compare the differences of the data. For analyzing the data obtained from the interview, an inductive approach was utilized. It was found from the study that the problems of all five aspects i.e., reduction of garbage, garbage separation, garbage reuse, garbage recycle, and safe garbage disposal were overall found to be at low level. When considered in each aspect, it was found that garbage separation was at moderate level while other aspects were at low level. Upon comparing the sample’s genders, age and educational level, no differences were found in both overall and each aspect. Having interviewed the sample, three problems of garbage management, namely garbage separation, safe garbage disposal and garbage recycle were found at moderate and low levels. The following suggestions were proposed for solving the management of garbage problems: all sectors should be invited to participate in solving problems and to learn together, awareness of their love of homeland should be raised, their villages should be free from pollution by setting up an agricultural learning center and producing organic fertilizer, and a garbage bank and a group of earthworms raising should be created in all villages in order to manage how to utilize garbage for usage. Moreover, garbage should be regularly collected by the municipalities, and the spaces for the proper garbage disposal should also be provided.