Trash sorting facility opens

PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Town Municipality held a ceremony this morning to officially open its new trash separation facility, next to the incinerator at Saphan Hin. The new facility will cut down on the amount of waste that needs to be burned at the incinerator, which is currently operating at more than its design capacity. The outgoing Mayor of Phuket Town, Phummisak Hongsyok, said the sorting plant should help reduce the current 340 tons/day burned at the facility by about 15%, or 40-50 tons. “We plan to build one more incinerator in the next four or five years because we have already surpassed the rating limit for the existing incinerator – it is designed to take about 250 tons daily. “It is important for a tourist destination such as Phuket to have good waste management practices,” said Mayor Phummisak, who will step down after 10 years as Phuket Town Mayor on December 24.