Project 15 : The Royally-Initiated Waste
Issue – The Sanitary Human Waste Disposal by Fermenting to Convert into Compost to Use for Plants and Trees as a Project Under the King’s Advice and Undertaken by Nonthaburi Province
The Project’s Background
H.M. the King during addressing to well-wishers calling on him on the occasion of his birthday anniversary had mentioned to the human waste disposal project to convert into useful composts as follows:-
|
"….. Around twenty (20) years ago I used to think that the municipalities’ Disposals of human waste from households by pumping out from households then dispose to suitable places was an important issue (to know what the suitable places were?). Wishing to know I told my officers to investigate what were their suitable places and as they pursued the waste trucks at dark nights they found the vehicles stopped at canals or rivers,waited for sometime and then released waste to the waterways. Over the practice the waste trucks were then unloaded and deemed fulfilled duty. That was very convenient, no need to travel long and got ready to render service to the next customer.
Over the event I then got an idea that it would be good if we find a place outside urban to establish tanks or ponds to contain wasted and let them fermented for, say, 10 days to decompose and become clean. For 10 days even germs would be totally killed. For a better result, 28 days would be needed. Any period would be picked if the implementation was carried out determinedly. At the time several dangerous diseases existed(let me not to mention their names here for many of you may feel scared). With the suggested method those diseases would be eliminated and even unfavorable smells would be got rid of. Waste after tank/pond-fermented then would proceed to sun-drying to become a useful compost. Treated waste would consist of solid and liquid and both were fertilizers. The liquid fertilizer was not bad-smelled and so was the solid. If you had many, many tanks/ponds you would have a large capacity for large quantity of wate. As one batch was finished the next could come for more. By this process, human waste could be made to become useful for agriculture.
I then consulted with an expert who carried out such project at Nonthaburi around 20 years ago. He reported me a good result. Two-three months ago I happened to have thinking of the project again and asked him how was the situation at present?
He replied the project still existed but not in Nonthaburi as ever due to the expansion of urbanization. At present the province has been almotly a residential area not being for agriculture as in the past. The expert told me he moved to launch the project in other provinces. One was Hua Hin but not successful because as time went by there were people coming to build houses in the areas around the project and complained why waste was dumped there causing bad smells and bad environment. It was lucky that those people not yet rallied to the (environment) minister but may be someday in near future they will do. Those people said they could not live there despite the fact that when the project was first launched there were no one around. Luckily the project was invested for 2 million baht by Hua Hin Municipality not by the expert himself. For other places, the project are still okay.
Some of you may never hear about the projects like this in fact such the projects are useful and will be ultimately necessary. Now in Bangkok the same human waste problem has arisen. As I have already mentioned Bangkok imports produces from provinces to eat then release out producing problems and the municipality for its responsibility will have to effort to solve the problem….
"
|
|
(Excerpted from the Nonthaburi Province’s royally-initiated projects report)
Motivated by H.M. the King’s advice above and his realization of the King’s kindness to Thai people, Mr.Sarote Kachmataya,then the Nonthaburi’s Governor, had managed to have the project materialized to fulfil the King’s advice including to have the province to have a facility for household waste treatment in line with the sanitary and technical requirements. The Governor then consulted with Acharn Phra Payom Kalayano, abbot of the Wat Suankaew in Nonthaburi.
And as result the abbot allowed the province to use the temple’s approximately 4 rai area as the site for 15-cu.m./day capacity biological waste treatment pond.
Construction of the waste treatment pond started on April 28,2545 B.E. with a cooperation for design from the Region 6 Environments Office(then the Zone 1 Sanitary and Environmental Centre) to ensure the facility will correspond to features of the temple and to the abbot’s intention.
Construction of the project was supported with a 500,000(five hundred thousand) baht fund provided by the province and the remaining fund would be provided by the temple.
Later Khun Duangjai Thittayarak, the Suankaew Foundation’s Secretary, mentioned the project to Khun Uraiwan Pichitpongsechai, a past colleague at Mater Dei School, who appreciated both the abbot’s works and the project and eventually proposed to be responsible for the remaining fund.
At present(2547 B.E.) as the construction of the facility has been completed the project will be administrated by the abbot in collaboration with the Nonthaburi province. |
 |
 |
| The biological human waste treatment project is being undertaken under a close supervision by the abbot. Solid compost to be powdered prior use and distribution. |
|
|
| All treatment processes shall be carried out correspondingly to the technical requirements. The picture above shows compost is being inspected for parasitic worms prior to be used as fertilizer. |
 |
 |
| Solid compost to be powdered prior use and distribution. |
|
