The data, provided by the waste management firm, says the city generates 450 tons of garbage a day.
That total means the amount of waste had increased by 10% on last year.
“We don’t know whether this is actually the fact,” Pattaya Council president Anan Angkhanawisan said yesterday (Apr 25) after petitioning Maj Gen Phop-anan Lueangphanuwat, who helps the NCPO keep order in Pattaya, for help in verifying the figures.
Pattaya spends more than B300 million on waste removal and disposal per year. On average it pays B1,600 for each ton of garbage.
“Huge damage can occur to state coffers if garbage records are false,” Mr Anan said.
At present, one person is responsible for recording the daily amount of garbage collected. That person is employed by a private waste management firm, he said.
Mr Anan said the employee had assured him the garbage company uses a computerised system to record the amount of daily garbage being loaded onto garbage trucks.
He said the employee also told him the information was secure and the firm has measures in place to prevent tampering with the information. Additionally, Mr Anan was told that city authorities were free to conduct their own checks.
However, Mr Anan was still not convinced. He said what worried him most was how the garbage was weighed.
What happens if water is not removed from soaked garbage before weighing, he added. This is an important issue because it involves budget spending and a detailed waste management plan in Pattaya, according to Mr Anan.
To clear up his doubts, he asked Maj Gen Phop-anan, who is also deputy Pattaya Council president, to send in military officials, thetsakit city inspectors and legal experts to observe the weighing.
The inspection, scheduled to start next Wednesday (May 3), will last a week to determine the average daily amount of garbage.
If the figures turn out to be less than those already provided, Pattaya officials will use the new information for budget spending plans, Mr Anan said.
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