HIGHLIGHTS

• In 2019, Thammasat University enacted a Policy on Solid Waste management to advance the university towards becoming a sustainable university. The policy provides a direction on systematic and effective waste management within the university and is applied to all parties of the university from students, staff, store owners, as well as individuals who perform other activities related to waste creation in the university area.
• The policy is updated in October, 2024. The item 4 of this policy stresses that each Center Administration Division is tasked with implementing a system to monitor and verify waste disposal methods during the transportation of waste to disposal sites

In 2019, Thammasat University enacted a Policy on Solid Waste management to advance the university towards becoming a sustainable university. The policy provides a direction on systematic and effective waste management within the university and is applied to all parties of the university from students, staff, store owners, as well as individuals who perform other activities related to waste creation in the university area.

The categories of waste included in this policy are the following:

1. Recyclable waste
2. Organic waste, leaves, twigs, weeds, food scraps
3. General waste
4. Chemical waste and Hazardous waste
5. Infectious waste

Thammasat University Policy on Solid Waste Management was updated in October, 2024 with an additional waste management plan and process toward implementing 7R strategy. It states in item 3 that the management of hazardous shall comply with the established protocols for collection, tracking, and disposal across the university, all four campuses, to mitigate environmental health risks as stipulated by the Pollution Control Department.

4.-Policy-on-Solid-Waste-Management

The policy committed to track and measure the amount of waste and its management. It stresses in item 4 that each Center Administration Division is tasked with implementing a system to monitor and verify waste disposal methods during the transportation of waste to disposal sites. This system will track and report the quantities of each type of waste that are recycled and those sent to landfills with a target to reduce waste going to landfills.

The amount of waste generated from Thammasat University was tracked since 2016. Waste amount summary from 2016 until now:

• Recyclable waste collected from the waste bank and Thammasat University sorting plant: 7,559.71 tons
• Non-recyclable waste forwarded to the municipality: 18,807.25 tons
• Total amount of waste: 26,366.96 tons

The non-recyclable waste from the TU waste facilities that is transferred to the municipality’s waste facility is segregated once again and utilized for different purposes. For instance, food waste will be utilized as bio-fuel and organic fertilizer, the rest will be used for Refuse-Derive Fuel (RDF). No waste goes to landfill.

Waste data – amount of waste recycled and sent to landfill

According to the tracked data below, the proportion of recycle waste has significantly increased year on year since 2020. In 2023, the proportion of recycle waste has increased to 36.64% from 35.13% in 2022.

Although Thammasat University has made progress in increasing the proportion of recyclable waste, there is still significant work to be done. The university might benefit from monitoring how the municipality manages its waste and identifying ways to support more sustainable waste management practices.