รู้จัก “กากอุตสาหกรรม” จัดการอย่างไรให้ถูกต้องUnderstanding "Industrial Waste" and How to Manage It Properly

By the Institute of Water and Environment for Sustainability

According to the announcement of the Ministry of Industry, "industrial waste" is defined as "waste or materials that are no longer in use" or refers to waste or materials generated from the operation of a factory, starting from the raw material receiving process, production, quality inspection, pollution control, maintenance of machinery or equipment, to the dismantling or construction of buildings within the factory premises. This includes sludge or residue from those processes, whether in solid, liquid, semi-solid, semi-liquid, or gas form, as well as hazardous waste generated from office buildings and worker accommodations located within the factory area.
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Industrial waste generated in the industrial production process or waste or materials that are no longer in use are divided into two main categories:
1. Non-hazardous Industrial Waste: This refers to waste or industrial by-products that do not pose a threat to the environment, such as bagasse, copper scraps, sawdust, paper boxes, and paper scraps. This type of industrial waste is not hazardous; however, if not managed properly, it may still have a negative impact on living organisms, ecosystems, and the environment. Most industrial factories will recycle non-hazardous industrial waste through methods of sorting for resale or by restoring the quality of used materials to their original standard for further reuse.
2. Hazardous Industrial Waste: This refers to industrial waste that contains hazardous substances or characteristics as specified in Appendix 2 of the Ministry of Industry's announcement regarding the disposal of waste or materials that are no longer in use, B.E. 2548 (2005), except for waste or materials that are non-hazardous from offices, residences, and canteens within the factory. This includes radioactive waste and garbage as per the Public Health Act, B.E. 2535 (1992), and includes wastewater sent for treatment outside the factory through pipelines. These can be classified into the following categories:

• Flammable substances (Ignitable substances)
• Corrosive substances (Corrosive substances)
• Reactive substances (Reactive substances)
• Toxic substances (Toxic substances)
• Substances containing hazardous contaminants as per Ministry of Industry announcements, such as nickel, cadmium, and mercury-containing devices, etc.
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Management of industrial waste requires strict adherence to laws and must be conducted properly and appropriately according to scientific principles to prevent negative impacts on communities and the environment at large. The parties involved in managing industrial waste consist of three main groups, each with specific responsibilities to ensure that industrial waste management is carried out correctly, does not endanger public health and safety, and minimizes environmental impact, which includes:
1. Waste Generator–WG: When industrial waste is generated, the factory is responsible for managing it in compliance with the law by checking the quantity, type, and method of disposal or treatment, and must report the management of such industrial waste. They must also obtain permission for treatment or disposal from the Department of Industrial Works.
2. Waste Transporter–WT: In the treatment or disposal process, the waste generator can carry out the disposal themselves or allow others to manage it on their behalf. If they send it to others for disposal or treatment, the industrial waste must be transported out of the waste generator's facility (WG), and the waste transporter (WT) must be properly registered and comply with standards, filling out the hazardous waste transport documentation or treatment management documents (Manifest Form) every time, to ensure that hazardous industrial waste does not leak during transport.
3. Waste Processor–WP: This refers to an industrial facility registered under types 101, 105, and 106 per the industrial factory classification regulations, which is categorized as follows:
3.1 Type 101 Facility for Central Waste Treatment: The operation of this type includes:

• Central wastewater treatment plants for wastewater from industrial factories: This involves treating the substances present in the wastewater and disposing of the sludge properly.
• Incineration plants for hazardous waste (non-hazardous waste incinerators/specific incinerators/co-incinerators): This uses heat to destroy pollutants and reduce the hazardous nature of certain substances while legally managing air pollution control and ash generated properly. Facilities that stabilize hazardous industrial waste convert hazardous waste into a less harmful or toxic state by neutralizing the acid and base properties of the waste and solidifying it by mixing with cement to encapsulate it, preventing leaching, to maintain stability before safe disposal in landfills.
  

3.2 Type 105 Facilities involve sorting or landfilling waste or materials that are no longer in use. Their operations are as follows:

• Waste sorting facilities: These separate waste material that can be reused from those that cannot, ensuring that reusable waste is sent to other facilities for repurposing while managing the remaining waste properly.
• Waste landfilling facilities: These dispose of waste in landfills, categorized into sanitary landfills and secure landfills.
  

3.3 Type 106 facilities involve the process of transforming unused industrial products or factory waste into new raw materials or products, using industrial manufacturing processes. Their operations include:

• Drying, baking, or removing moisture from agricultural waste.
• Crushing or washing glass products.
• Crushing concrete, bricks, tiles, and ceramic demolition waste into coarse and fine aggregates.
• Crushing slag from metal smelting.
• Creating soil amendments from effluent sludge from biological wastewater treatment systems.
• Producing soil amendments from non-hazardous inorganic materials.
• Filtering or separating contaminants from used vegetable oil to be utilized as raw materials in other industries.
• Producing biofuels (biodiesel) from used vegetable or animal fats or from agricultural industrial waste.
• Producing biofuels (bioethanol) from agricultural industrial waste.
• Producing biofuels (biogas) from the anaerobic digestion of biological sludge or from agricultural industrial waste in digesters.

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It is crucial for waste-generating factories to choose reputable and standardized waste processors, such as those that have been awarded the industrial waste management certification from the Department of Industrial Works, or those achieving at least level 3 certification in the Green Industry from the Ministry of Industry, or those certified as Eco Factories for Waste Processors by the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand in cooperation with the FTI, or specialized waste processing facilities that ensure proper management of industrial waste in accordance with its nature, etc. Additionally, the waste disposal facilities must operate legally.

According to the "Announcement of the Ministry of Industry on Managing Waste or Materials No Longer in Use, B.E. 2566 (2023)" which fully implements the Polluter Pays Principle (PPP), the responsibilities start from the source, the waste-generating factory, until the waste or materials are fully managed. Therefore, waste-generating factories must conduct thorough reviews before choosing service providers.

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References
Department of Industrial Works. Manual for Improving the Standard of Waste Treatment/Disposal Services. Bangkok: Industrial Waste Management Office, 2021.