Industrial waste management and management of government networks in the improvement of public service provision: An explanation and suggestion for new ways of industrial waste management supporting sustainable development policy

Abstract

This mixed qualitative and quantitative method research is aimed at the study of industrial waste management, public services and government network operations in Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand. It seeks to examine how government services and systems responsible for industrial waste management in Thailand might be improved. The data collection methods were documentary work, interviews, survey and focus groups. The study found that Thai industrial waste management under the supervision of the Department of Industrial Works places emphasis on only eight international principles of industrial waste management in comparison with the 10 principles of best international practice. Private factories prioritize disposal first and foremost, and recovery least, indicating that such factories do not concentrate on solving the problem of industrial waste management at its primary source. The industrial waste management situations and problems are related to the government agencies’ network for managing industrial waste, inside and outside of the industrial estate, in Samut Sakhon Province. The average score of the efficiency and effectiveness of government services and overall public participation with the agencies remains at a mid-range level. The study concluded that the Thai government requires new ways of service improvement to ensure better efficiency and effectiveness, for example, by establishing networking committees charged with overseeing provincial industrial waste management, and supporting a founding of a joint industrial waste management unit in specific industrial areas among private factories.