Establishment of a Collaborative Research Hub for Waste Management Research in Bangkok, THAILAND

The Center for Material Cycles and Waste Management Research has since December 18, 2012 established a collaborative research hub in Bangkok, Thailand with King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand (KMUTT) and Kasetsart University, Thailand (KU), in order to strengthen research having the purpose of improving appropriate waste management for Southeast Asia.

The main three aims in establishing a collaborative research hub are as follows:

1. To expedite the progress of appropriate waste management research centered on Thailand for Southeast Asia
2. To collate up-to-date information on the status of, and data relating to, general and industrial waste in Southeast Asia
3. To strengthen the network of researchers and stakeholders in waste management for Japan and Southeast Asia

The purpose of the hub is the consolidation and furtherance of waste management research undertakings in Southeast Asia, and the further development and diffusion of Japanese environmental technologies in the region. It is intended that the hub will facilitate the strengthening of ties not only between academic research institutions, but also with local authorities and industry.

In seeking policies to prevent global warming by means of the adoption of semi-aerobic landfill¹ and equivalent technologies in the Asian region, the Center for Material Cycles and Waste Management research has, since August 2009, carried out collaborative research with KMUTT and KU under an MoU between the three institutions.

Furthermore, after the large-scale flooding in Thailand which occurred in 2011, we held two seminars² relating to support for flood waste management making use of Japan disaster waste management experiences. As a result of collaborative research and frequent discussions with waste management stakeholders in Thailand and neighboring countries in the region, we have become conscious of the necessity for scientific approaches in waste management research in Southeast Asia and the importance of collating reliable data and knowledge.

It is in this context that we have come to establish a collaborative research hub for the waste management field in association with KMUTT and KU on December 18, 2012, in order that the collaborative research we have completed to date might prove useful not only to the relevant Thai institutions and researchers on the domestic front but also to Japanese environmental technology enterprises, local authorities and the people of Southeast Asia.

It is intended that the establishment of the hub will facilitate the consolidation and progress of waste management research undertakings in Southeast Asia and the further development and diffusion of Japanese environmental technologies in Southeast Asia. It is also hoped that the hub will facilitate the strengthening of ties not only between academic research institutions, but also with local authorities and industry.

¹

• Japanese Landfill (semi-aerobic landfill) [JAPANESE ONLY]

²

• 1st Seminar [JAPANESE ONLY]
• 2nd Seminar [JAPANESE ONLY]