Abstract
While the developed countries are engaged in developing new technology for waste avoidance, recycling and reuse, developing countries are still wrestling to decide on the best option to treat and dispose of wastes. This is particularly so in the case of hazardous industrial wastes (HIW). In order to ensure safe HIW management, one policy response has been to make available a central treatment facility for HIW generators. Such a facility was established in Thailand - the Bang Khuntien Treatment Facility (BKTF) - for the HIW generators in the Bangkok region. However, this facility operates much below its capacity. A study was therefore undertaken between April 1996 and April 1997 to investigate the factors that influence the HIW producing factories’ decisions regarding the use of this facility. The survey reveals a distinct pattern: the majority of the non-users of the facility are small- and medium-scale factories, small generators of hazardous wastes, non recipients of Board of Investment (BOI) concessions, and located far away from the facility. The results from a multiple regression analysis show that a factory decision on usage of the facility is positively influenced by its size, amount of wastes generated, knowledge of the facility, pressure from regulators, and consideration of employee and community welfare. It is negatively influenced by distance and costs of using the treatment facility.
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