Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt made a surprise visit to the On Nut garbage disposal facility late last night (Thursday) to watch how garbage collectors do their jobs. He also took a ride on one of their collection trucks.
During the visit, the governor told Thai PBS reporters that, while many people in Bangkok have several days off this week, the city’s garbage collectors, who have to work every day from midnight until 6am, do not.
Dressed in a garbage collector’s uniform, he admitted he had never thought of riding on a garbage truck to gain a first-hand insight into how the garbage collection system functions in the capital.
“Garbage collectors are like magicians. Waste is scattered almost everywhere, but, in the morning, it is gone,” he said, as he praised them for helping to tidy up Bangkok by working every night from midnight until dawn, removing waste from pavements, hotels, condominiums, households and markets.
During his casual conversation with some of the collectors, the governor was told that there are about 400 trucks at the On Nut terminal and the drivers normally arrive before midnight, to take the trucks to their designated garbage collection routes.
Each truck, with a 5 tonne capacity, is manned by four collectors. Each makes just one collection round a day. Hotels and condominiums have been blamed as the biggest waste producers.
The governor also talked to the garbage collectors about how much they earn.
