BMA swats garbage-smuggling fly tippers with criminal charge

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) yesterday took its own waste management officials to court for letting garbage trucks from a nearby province dump waste at the city’s rubbish disposal facility.

The alleged fly tipping activities cost the city around 40 million baht per year.

Chatri Watthanakhechon, head of the BMA’s Environment Office, yesterday filed a complaint of waste smuggling with the Crime Suppression Division against the head of the Nong Khaem Solid Waste Disposal Centre and other individuals.

Those accused include BMA officials, drivers of garbage trucks and officials at the tambon local administration level in nearby Samut Sakhon province.

They are accused of violating Article 157 of the Criminal Code that deals with malfeasance by state officials. If found guilty the accused face between one and 10 years imprisonment and/or a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 baht.

The charges came after Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang Thursday led a team of officials and media in intercepting garbage trucks from Samut Sakhon province sneaking in to dump garbage at the Nong Khaem Solid Waste Disposal Centre.

Nine garbage trucks belonging to local administrations in tambons Suan Luang and Tha Mai were impounded Thursday evening. The BMA says 30 garbage trucks from these two administrations dumped waste at the BMA facility on a regular basis for almost five years, resulting in annual losses of 40 million baht for the city.

One of the accused garbage truck drivers reportedly admitted he and other drivers had been dumping garbage at Nong Khaem every day at 5pm.

“When I reached the centre, I only found a security guard at the gate, who waved us through,” he was quoted as telling a BMA official.