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<March Free Report> Food Waste Problem in Thailand

by Chananan Piriyalertsak | 31-03-2023 08:57 recommendations 0

Thailand is a country with over 70m people with limited land and resources, it is also a developing nation meaning that there is still a disconnect in how we handle our food all the way from agriculture to the copious amounts of food waste we discard.

An example of this is how traditional Thai farmers are using Poor Farming Practices causing Soil erosion such as burning fields. Burning fields is bad as it strips the soil of its healthy microorganisms, and it also creates PM 2.5 which affects major cities such as Bangkok because it drifts down from rural farming areas. There is also a major dependency and overuse of Chemical Fertilizers, this is bad because it causes a Detrimental effect on current farming practice because it reduces the PH of the soil causing it to be acidified which can lead to the destruction of species that is important to the plants growth, growing pests and some emissions of greenhouse gasses. This leads to trends towards an unsustainable future and destructive future for the Thai people.

 Not to mention, Thailand ranked 9th on the Global Climate risk index and food waste is a major contributing factor in Thailand for greenhouse gasses. This is because more than half of all Bangkok waste is food waste. It is estimated that 66m people generate 145 kg of food waste per person per year. Bangkok generates around 5000 tons of food waste per day which is equivalent to more than 20,000 tons of greenhouse gasses per day. To add to that, we only recycle 2% of the food waste and the rest gets transported into a landfill where it is unrecyclable as hygiene is not the priority. The main problem with this is that Thailand lacks a system which is efficient in waste sorting and recycling. Though there is a positive outlook, organizations such as Yindee have been popping up in the Thai market and are contributing to lessen the amount of food transported to the landfill.

 
Everyday GabageYindeeLandfill Waste

ChanananPiriyalertsak

  • Thailand Former E-gen Ambassador Chananan Piriyalertsak
 
 
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4 Comments

James Mentor

  • James Mentor says :
    Hello Chananan! This is your mentor James!

    First of all, so sorry for the late comment.

    I see that you have tackled the waste food management issue in Thailand. Slash-and-burn farming has been a tradition dating back to ancient civilizations, but it is certainly not an ideal way of living. Also, 66 million people each creating 145kg of waste food would cause a devastating result in the future regarding public sanitation and health condition. I hope an innovative solution would soon be envisioned to prevent such catastrophe.

    Thank you for writing such an inspiring report! Let's keep up the good work.
    Posted 05-05-2023 16:12

Baraka E Urio

  • Baraka E Urio says :
    Good informative report.
    Obviously, Food waste problem is existing almost all around the world, We need to place in REDUCE PRINCIPLE-To minimize the production of food wastes through food processing, food process planning, post harvest technologies and other methods to preserve foods.
    Thanks.
    Posted 01-04-2023 14:11

Chananan Piriyalertsak

Yewon Mentor

  • Yewon Mentor says :
    Hello Chananan! This is your mentor Yewon.

    First of all, thank you for sharing about food waste problem in Thailand!

    It was surprising that the half of waste produced in Bangkok was food waste. Food is essential for humans to survive, so managing food is very important. Moreover, food waste also makes greenhouse gases, so it??s needed to reduce food waste.

    I hope people can find out effective solutions to solve problems like soil erosion and food waste! I think it can be good opportunity to share opinions with other ambassadors through comments!

    Thank you again for your great work!
    Posted 31-03-2023 16:18

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