Timeline of the site

second factory will use methane from the current landfill to produce electricity. In 2017 it is being set up.

I: Establishment of the site phase

The Nonthaburi provincial waste treatment site was sited in 1987 (Wiriyanon, 2015). It was a gravel pit before it became a landfill. However, local people are unsure when the site was constructed. Most of them just know that the site existed long ago and continued expanding until it reached its present size. The following interview was conducted with local people who have lived near the waste treatment site since its establishment. It seems that they did not get much information when the site was sited. Below interview of two local people who live next to the site can show us this story.

“Oh the site had been set long time ago. I cannot remember when. It used to be a gravel pit before turning into a landfill. It was a long time ago so when the province [Nonthaburi PAO] set it, people did not care. It was in the middle of nowhere, and most of us did not know what it was. However, it kept getting bigger and smelled terrifying, so people knew that there was a landfill here.” (Participant N1, Retired Teacher, September 13, 2017)

“I lived in the site for my whole life [So your house was in the landfill since you were born?] No. My house was in a rice paddy before, and it was next to the landfill. When the landfill was expanded, my house was in the landfill. So I lived and worked here. [When you lived next to the landfill before it was extended, did you know that there was a landfill?] I know I know, because I saw the trucks and it smelled so bad, but I did not come or work here. Only the provincial government staff entered. We just know here is a landfill, that’s it.” (Phuyai Mu2 and a staff member of the site management company, September 14, 2017)

According to the interviews, both participants did not know much when the landfill was sited, and information regarding the landfill was really limited at the start of the project. Even a participant who lived next to the site had limited access to the site in the past. In the 80s, when political decentralization in Thailand had not been achieved fully yet, local people did not give much consideration to the community’s rights nor were they suspicious of the government’s project. This is why the start point of the site seems vague according to people’s memory.

II: Resistance phase

Before 2009, the site was managed by the provincial government. Between 1987 and 2005, the MSW dumped garbage in the open area of the site (open dump). During this time, the site was severely polluted. For example, research conducted by Chulalongkorn University shows that there was a contamination of leachate in the surface water and ground water (Naimolee, 2002). In 2005, the Nonthaburi PAO reconstructed the site to make it a sanitary landfill. Some facilities such as a leachate treatment system were also provided. Therefore, the site could reduce the problem of the smell and the contamination of water. However, because of a lack of budget, the site could not maintain the system. Therefore, the Nonthaburi PAO started outsourcing the management of the waste treatment site since 2009 (Wiriyanon, 2015).

The participants said that when the site was managed by Nonthaburi PAO, the site was a disaster for their communities. It produced a really bad smell and sometimes, waste water from the site flooded the rice paddies. This situation triggered the people of Klong Kwang to go to Nonthaburi City Hall for a demonstration against the waste treatment site. At the end of the negotiation, the provincial government promised that the site will be managed better and any bad effects from the site will be compensated for. Since 2009, a local company owned by a sub-district leader – Chotamnuaykit Pattanakarn Co., Ltd. – has been the site manager company. The interview provided below is about pollution during that time and also the situation when a local leader became the site manager of the Nonthaburi waste treatment site.

“I can remember that time, the smell was truly stinky. They just pushed garbage in an abandoned gravel pit. That’s it. No cover or anything. We complained to the provincial office several times, but nothing changed. Therefore, we went to demonstrate in front of the city hall. [Did you also join the demonstration?] You might think that I am a big talker, but I am the leader that brought people there.

The provincial officer really hated me that time. We did nothing much: we just sent the letter to the governor of Nonthaburi province. After we set the meeting

several times, the provincial office asked me – if I think I can do it better than them, why I did not do it? After that, I became the site manager. I try to make the site better. You can ask every local if the site is better compared to before. I am sure they will say now it is much better.” (Banjong Thanachot, Leader of Buengkok Sub-district and the site manager, September 13, 2017)

“[Did you join the demonstrations around 10 years ago?] Which one? Against the site? Well it was not a demonstration. We just gathered and went to the city hall.

We just wanted to complain to the provincial governor, so we went there together to show how many people got the bad effects from the site. But we were not a violent mob or anything. [Why did you join the demonstration?] We did not ask for the site to be moved. We understand the necessity of the site. We just want the provincial government to take responsibility for any bad side effects from the site which they created and that’s all.” (Participant N2, Farmer, September 13, 2017)

From the interview, we can see that before 2009, the site created a lot of trouble for the local people, especially in terms of the smell and contaminated water. The contaminated water from the waste treatment site sometimes flooded and destroyed the properties of local people. The smell was always mentioned by every participant during the fieldwork. It is fair to say that the negative health-environmental impacts were the most important factors leading to the local people’s resistance to the site.

III: Coexistence phase

After 2009, the Kamnun (the leader) of Tambon Klong Kwang became the site manager who is in charge of clearing the area for garbage trucks, calculating the garbage fee, sanitizing the landfill, and solving the local complaints. The negative impacts seemed to reduce as a result.

Having a local leader work at the site as the site manager is also a big advantage that local people mentioned when they compared it to their bitter experience before 2009. The interviews given below demonstrate the opinion of the local people regarding the waste treatment site at present.

“ [So today do you think that you appreciate the site?] No one wanted the landfill next to their homes. However, the site is here already, so we want the provincial government to reduce the bad effects for us as much as they can. And now because of Kamnun, the situation is better; the smell is not as strong as in the past. Actually, the site is also good too. Because of the landfill, now Klong Kwang has become

a special area. We might be a rural sub-district, but we have good roads and water supply. You know some areas are closer to city hall but do not have water supply.

The governor always says that we have extra budget because we let the garbage from the whole Nonthaburi province to be dumped here. In 2011, there was big flooding and the whole province was under water except this sub-district, because they did not want the landfill to be flooded.” (Participant N1, retired teacher, September 13, 2017)

The aforementioned interview can demonstrate how the situation has improved in terms of the pollution from the site. There is a lot of trust that the local people have in the waste treatment site, because the site manager is also their leader, so it is not just the trust that local people have in a site manager. We can also see that local people can live more comfortably with the site. There are give-and-take benefits between the site and the local communities in both economic and non-economic senses. Moreover, we can also see the sense of a high level of acceptance of the waste treatment site on the part of the communities from the interview with Participant N3.

From these three phases of waste treatment siting, we can see the development of the relationship between the waste treatment site and local communities. Because of the negative impacts and the improper communication between the provincial government and the local communities at the initial phase of siting, the relationship between the site and local people was characterized by some conflict. However, after the demonstration in 2009 and the management of the site by a local leader, the local people seem to be more accepting of the site. These days, the waste treatment site has become a part of the lives of the Klong Kwang communities. In the next section, the factors that create local acceptance of the Klong Kwang communities toward the Nonthaburi waste treatment site will be discussed. This will allow us to understand how local acceptance in this case is elicited, and how it links to the large size of the waste treatment system and the cooperation of the private company.

3.2 Importance Factors of Local Acceptance in Nonthaburi Provincial Waste