Timeline of relationship between Phitsanulok municipal waste treatment site and local communities

hired as members of the team as well. For example, the Chief of Mu2 village worked in the dumping area before joining the team.

There are other operations on the site; however, they have a temporary status, namely government auditors, private companies, and scavengers. SCG is the company which is setting up the WtE (Waste to Energy) factory near an old landfill. Every day, old waste will be dug up and segregated as burnable waste, non-burnable waste, and organic waste. Burnable waste will be pressed into cubes and sent to the cement factory to be used as fuel. The remaining waste will be dumped back into the landfill. SCG has also established relations with the communities by organising events and giving gifts to the local people. However, in 2017, SCG moved out of the site because the new waste management plan made the legal status of garbage in every waste management site controversial. There are not many scavengers because the size of the landfill and the volume of daily garbage collected is not very large. Moreover, strong 3Rs campaign in the Phitsanulok Municipality reduces number of valuable materials in the landfill. According to the interview of Mu10 community leader, it is not common for locals to work as scavengers at the sites. The outside auditor consists of government officers, educational institutions, and international governmental organization temporarily visiting the site mostly for standard and award purposes.

5.1.3 Timeline of relationship between Phitsanulok municipal waste treatment site and local

situation of the sites. Because of low level of local acceptance to Phitsanulok municipal waste, the presence of the site is unstable. Table 5.3 summaries, timeline of relationship between Bueng Kok people and Phitsanulok municipal waste treatment site. After that, each phase of the relation will be discussed.

Table 5.3: Timeline of Phitsanulok Municipal waste treatment site

Period Event

1999 The site was set from an old gravel pit (sanitary landfill) 2013 The site served multiple cities by order of Pollution Control

Department

2014 Local people demonstrated and shut down the site

2014 Buengkok TAO and Phitsanulok municipality did MOU. Only Phitsanulok municipality was allow to use the site till 2017.

(Phitsanulok governor was the middleman)

2015-2016 SCG start RDF (refuse-derived fuel) project in the waste treatment site

2017 SCG shut down because of uncertainty of Thai waste management laws

2017 There were flash mob before meeting between Buengkok TAO and Phitsanulok municipality

2017 Renew MOU 1 more year (Phitsanulok governor was the middleman)

I. Site setting phase

In 1999, Phitsanulok Municipality set up the waste treatment site Tambon Bueng Kok.

However, the local people don’t clearly remember how the site was set up. Villagers stated that when the site was built, no one in Bueng Kok communities was informed about it. The municipality did not ask for consensus or provide the details about the site. On the contrary, Beung Kok TAO claim that when the site had been set up, the municipality told the TAO that the site will be set as

a recycle centre but they did not mention the landfill. The following interview of Kusumporn, vice president of Buneg Kok TAO, demonstrates the miscommunication between Phitsanulok Municipality and Bueng Kok TAO since the beginning.

“When they came here from the start they told us. The recycling centre will be built here. They said only beautiful things. There would be a parks, jobs, and so on. We are stupid in that time we don’t know what the recycling is. If we knew they will build landfill, we would not allow them to start the project “(Kusumporn Champanguen, Buenkok TAO Vice president, September 21, 2017).

Since the beginning, there was a lack of communication between Phitsanulok municipality, local communities, and the local government. Intentionally or not, because of miscommunication, the site had been set up successfully. Although the site was set without consensus from the local communities, the site did not create much problem in the beginning.

Moreover, there is a lot of cooperation between the municipality and external institutions, thus making the site more stable. However, after 2013, the site had been changed to serve multiple cities and towns in the Phitsanulok Province, and the level of local resistance in Tambon Bueng Kok rose up which led to the resistance period against the municipal landfill.

II. Resistance period

The conflict between local people and the site arose after the landfill had to serve multiple cities in the Phitsanulok Province because the central government shut down other illegal waste treatment sites in the Province. Central government forced 10 cities and towns to send their domestic waste to the Phitsanulok Municipal landfill in 2013. This situation increased the amount of garbage each day from 80 tons to over 200 tons per day (Mongkholchaowarach, 2014). Sudden changes impacted the people of Bueng Kok severely. The odour from the site and number of flies increased. Moreover, more garbage truck created a problem regarding hygiene and security on the road in Tambon Bueng Kok. Further, Phitsanulok Municipality cannot control these cities because

they are not under the authority of Phitsanulok Municipality; therefore, Bueng Kok people have to face negative impacts from the landfill without compensation and protection for almost a year. The shop owner who lives close to the entrance of the village described the terrible time between 2013–

2014.

“The road is really dangerous that time. I did worried for our children. Could you imagine riding a bicycle behind a garbage truck in the morning for going to school? There was one of them had an accident in front of the TAO office. The TAO president was truly angry and call to Phitsanulok Municipality. He said Phitsanulok Municipality cannot do anything because that truck are from another cities” (Participants P2, Food shop owner, September 22, 2017).

This situation led to the consensus among the local people in Tambon Bueng Kok to shut down the site. This then led to a crisis for the Phitsanulok Municipality for waste management.

The crisis was resolved by the governor of the Phitsanulok Province by asking Bueng Kok TAO to wait for three more years before closing down the landfill. The MOU have been signed; now, only the Phitsanulok Municipality can dump their garbage in this landfill, and the rest cities and towns cannot use the landfill (Mongkholchaowarach, 2014, September 26).

III. Coexist Phase

After the compromise between local people and Phitsanulok Municipality, the site reopened. However, local people keep waiting for the day that the site moves out. The bad impact during this period of provincialized system traumatized Bueng Kok people. Although, in 2017, Bueng Kok TAO extended the MOU by another year, there were some flash mob against the extension, and this extension became controversial in Tambon Bueng Kok. Prani, the leader of Mu 10 community and also the leader of local movement against the waste treatment site, narrates the story of local resistance as follows.

“I was the one who hanged the banners against the landfill in the day that the Governor came. The district office got piss off and called me. He said that it is

illegal for any demonstration under this government. A district officers said that I am a local leader I should not be the leader of demonstration. I do not care.

Without the article 44, we had big demonstration for sure” (Prani Markyuu, Mu10 community leader, September 22, 2017).

The interview of Pin, Bueng Kok TAO president, also narrates the beginning of the local conflict over this issue after Bueng Kok TAO continued MOU for Phitsanulok municipal waste treatment site as follows.

“We just extend the MOU. Without the governor I would not do it. Now some people starts asking If I got anything from Phitsanulok municipality why do I allow them to use the landfill 1 more year. This is really awkward situation for me. I told the governor, if you want to extend it one more times come and talk with local people by yourself. I cannot hold this anymore. The funny thing is the governor changes every year here. Therefore, they just want to solve the short-term problem before going back to Bangkok” (Pin Kraiked, Bueng Kok TAO president, September 21, 2017).

However, the Phitsanulok Municipality still cannot find the proper area for new waste treatment site because there is local resistance against this kind of project everywhere.

In conclusion, the site itself has been set up without the local people’s consideration. There is resistance since the beginning of the project; however, it is controllable. The demonstration was ignited after multiple cities shared the site. This sharing was over the capacity of the site and created pollution, such as smell and flies to the surrounding community. Badly organized traffic of the garbage trucks also drove the local people to shoot down the site. This demonstration ended with the temporary extension of the site usage. Accordingly, this usage is a privilege of Phitsanulok Municipality, and other cities cannot use this site. Currently, the Phitsanulok Municipality can still use this site temporarily; however, without the help of the governor, the situation of the site is very delicate.