Promotion of public participation in waste separation in Bang Phlat District of Bangkok

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to: (1) study the level of public participation in waste separation activities in Bang Phlat District of Bangkok; (2) study the level of satisfaction of people in Bang Phlat District in terms of efficiency of the operation for waste separation by Bang Phlat District Office; and (3) study the guidelines for promoting public participation in waste separation activities in Bang Phlat District. The sample of this study consisted of 400 community members in Bang  Phlat, Bangkok.  The research instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire. The statistical procedures employed included frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson correlation coefficient. The research findings were as follows: 1) Overall public participation in waste separation activities in Bang Phlat was at a low level. There were two facets of waste separation in Bang Phlat that were at a low level of public participation, namely: cooperation and performance appraisal in waste separation. Whilst, public participation in problem analysis and in planning for waste separation were at the lowest levels; 2) the overall efficiency of waste separation by Bang Phlat District Office was at a low level. Considering each aspect of efficiency of waste separation by Bang Phlat District Office individually, there was one facet that was at a moderate level (i.e. waste transport). In contrast, another two facets of waste separation were at a low level: the campaign encouraging public to participate in waste separation and the budget allocation for waste separation; and 3) the public participation in waste separation activities by people in Bang Phlat had a significant correlation with the efficiency of waste separation by Bang Phlat District Office with a statistical significance at 0.01. From the results of this research, the following suggestions can be made: (1) for the consideration of policies; focusing on promoting participation and motivating waste sorting, including the separation of waste by the Bang Phlat District Office should be an example for the people as well (2) for the consideration of proceedings;  (a) Organize workshops that are can facilitate the sharing of opinions among stakeholders, such as public and private communities, (b) Stakeholders work together to plan for the Bang Phlat District to be a good model for public participation in waste separation, (c) Stakeholders together plan to implement checks and evaluations of waste separation efficiency, (d) Promote access to information on waste separation for stakeholders by using various communication methods, (e) Create incentives for sorting waste, such as revenue generation from waste sorting, (f) Supporting budgets and equipment for waste sorting adequately by promoting good management.