Phuket launches plan to clear landfill and redevelop site as public park
Governor Nirat Pongsitthaworn said the province has launched an urgent effort to remove what he described as a 'mountain of waste', adding that decades of disposal practices have created a serious burden, reports the
Phuket has launched an urgent plan to remove a vast landfill and turn the site into a public park, Governor Nirat Pongsitthaworn said on April 27, 2026. He said decades of disposal practices had created a serious burden, with the province aiming to eliminate the dump within one to two years rather than expand gradual waste sorting.
Waste volume far exceeds treatment capacity
For more than two decades, waste from municipalities, tambon administrative organisations and other agencies across the island has been sent to Phuket City Municipality for treatment, according to the governor.
The island’s waste incinerator can process about 700 tonnes a day, well below the volume generated. That shortfall has left an estimated 1.2 million to 1.4 million tonnes of waste piled at the landfill, while the total likely exceeds two million tonnes when buried waste is included.
Without intervention, the dump will keep growing by 200,000 to 300,000 tonnes a year, he said.
Reclaimed mangrove site raises environmental concerns
The landfill sits on land that was originally reclaimed from mangroves, a factor the governor said has heightened concern over wastewater leakage.
He also warned of pressure on the embankments that separate the landfill from the sea, underscoring the risk posed by the site’s location.
Nirat said the province wants to remove the landfill entirely and redevelop the area into a major public park. He said he wants it to become the most beautiful public park in Thailand.
Source: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-to-turn-landfill-into-a-park-100039.php
