ผลงานตีพิมพ์ทั้งหมด

Life cycle assessment of beverage packaging in Thailand: Implications from modeling choices and alternative improvement policies

Parncheewa Kositcharoenkul, Apathorn Prempreeda, Phyo Zaw Oo, Aakriti Deuja, Sujitra Vassanadumrongdee, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Resources Conservation and Recycling · 2024

Life Cycle Assessment of four important beverage packaging types in Thailand —aluminum cans, aseptic cartons, polyethylene terephthalate and glass bottles— applying a spatially differentiated life cycle impact assessment method is carried out to assess the environmental burdens and implications from modeling choices and alternative improvement policies. Packaging wastes are not recycled as high as the demand in Thailand; so the end-of-life recycling model is recommended for promoting recycling and mitigating packaging waste management issues. With the subsequent improvement in the recycling rates, increasing the usage of recycled materials becomes a crucial issue for the raw material acquisition and manufacturing phase, for which the recycled content model is recommended. Our findings recommend prioritizing policies for increasing both end-of-life recycling and recycled content to enhance the environmental sustainability of beverage packaging. Promotion of electrification in manufacturing is not recommended until the electricity is produced from renewable sources.

The role of global waste management and circular economy towards carbon neutrality

Phyo Zaw Oo, Trakarn Prapaspongsa, Vladimir Strezov, Nazmul Huda, Kazuyuki Oshita, Masaki Takaoka, Jun Ren, Anthony Halog, Shabbir H. Gheewala

Sustainable Production and Consumption · 2024

Solid waste management is a cross-cutting issue that significantly influences multiple aspects of sustainable development globally. The waste sector is a major anthropogenic source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Most global GHG assessments of waste management rely on generic data due to limitations in available data. This research used reflective inventory data for municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment systems related to the income levels of countries, resulting in more context-specific and comprehensive assessments of GHG emissions. This study aims to assess life cycle GHG emissions from the global MSW management sector for the years 2023, 2030, and 2050 and then analyses the global and regional waste management goals set by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Union (EU) to identify hotspots in the MSW management systems and critical factors that influence GHG emissions from the waste sector. The study was conducted in accordance with the standards outlined in ISO 14067:2018. The results show that the average global GHG emissions from 1 tonne of MSW in 2023 based on the existing MSW management practices was approximately 89.7 kg CO 2e . The major contributor was the open dumping of MSW, contributing almost 70 % of GHG emissions. The global MSW management sector emitted a total of 173.2 Mt CO 2e GHG emissions in 2023. If no improvements are made to existing systems, GHG emissions from the waste sector are projected to increase to 203.4 Mt CO 2e by 2030, and to 289.5 Mt CO 2e by 2050. Achieving waste management goals can reduce GHG emissions by approximately 1 % to more than 160 %. The implementation of the circular economy in the waste sector has the potential to achieve net zero emissions from the global MSW management sector by 2030 and 2050. This study provides achievable MSW management targets for the world and highlights key factors to achieve carbon neutrality from the waste sector. Prioritising policies such as upgrading open dumps, standardising household-level waste separation procedures, minimising food waste, establishing national recycling targets, and promoting circular economy through a zero-waste approach could substantially reduce GHG emissions from the waste sector. These findings are important for the adoption of circular economy principles in MSW management systems to effectively support the pursuit of carbon neutrality goals.

Soil organic matter in natural and rehabilitated mangroves: Implications for environmental restoration and climate resilience

I Gusti Ngurah Putu Dharmayasa, I Putu Sugiana, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Journal of Ecological Engineering · 2024

Depositions of airborne microplastics during the wet and dry seasons in Pathum Thani, Thailand

Ekbordin Winijkul, Kyaw Zin Latt, Kanokwan Limsiriwong, Tatchai Pussayanavin, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Atmospheric Pollution Research · 2024

Lesson Learned from Yangon to Mandalay on Wastewater Treatment Systems

Kaung Htet Swan, Nawatch Surinkul, Trakarn Prapaspongsa, Suwanna Kitpati Boontanon, Romanee Thongdara

Environment and Natural Resources Journal · 2023

This paper presents a comparative analysis of wastewater management practices in Myanmar’s major cities, Yangon and Mandalay, with a focus on drawing valuable lessons from Yangon’s experiences and proposing recommendations for the improvement of Mandalay’s domestic wastewater management, drawing insights from a SWOT analysis. Both cities are facing challenges due to rapid urbanization, leading to untreated discharge into the environment. The study identifies common challenges in both Yangon and Mandalay, such as limited treatment capacity, environmental concerns, and funding gaps. The decentralized-centralized strategy is a successful approach for Yangon even though the capacity is not high. Results showed that 17.5% of Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) users were highly satisfied and 45% were somewhat satisfied. Yangon’s experience with centralized systems showed that it took several years to cover the entire city for treatment, resulting in issues to cover revenue expenditures. If Mandalay adopts a similar, it will likely encounter the same issues. A recommended approach would be to implement an integrated system with DEWATS, which offers a better solution. The recommendations for sustainable wastewater management in Mandalay include active stakeholders’ involvement in decision-making, promoting community participation, and providing training. Transparency and shared responsibility are crucial for success. Addressing membrane fouling, sludge disposal, and implementing monthly fees are essential for sustainable implementation. An integrated approach along with environmental and social impact assessments are necessary to develop a cost-effective and efficient wastewater treatment system while safeguarding public health and the environment. These insights offer broader implications, guiding developing countries towards more effective and environmentally responsible wastewater management practices.

Health Impacts from PM2.5 Exposure Using Environmental Epidemiology and Health Risk Assessment: A Review

Thanakon Sukuman, Kayo Ueda, Sarunya Sujaritpong, Hirunwut Praekunatham, Kornwipa Punnasiri, Tuangsit Wimuktayon, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Applied Environmental Research · 2023

Exposure to PM2.5 has been known to cause a variety of serious health consequences. Quantifying and investigating the health effects of PM2.5 pollution are imperative to understand and collect scientific evidence for supporting policies and associated actions. In this paper, we reviewed published environ-mental epidemiological studies and health risk assessments evaluating the health impacts of PM2.5 exposure in the PubMed database to identify the attributes of each method and aggregate the health impact results to perform analyses and summaries. Forty-two studies were identified after applying our search strategy, inclusion, and exclusion criteria. The epidemiological studies found an increased risk of several diseases from short- and long-term exposure, such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, lung cancer, stroke, pneumonia, depression, and diabetes. However, several conditions remain to be explored as the associations remain unclear, such as asthma, bronchitis, breast cancer, Parkinson’s disease for long-term exposure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stillbirth, and hypertension for short-term exposure. Health risk assessment (HRA) studies at a global scale found more than 4 million deaths from diseases associated with PM2.5 exposure. These studies also emphasized the importance and benefits of health guidelines that demonstrated to help avoid the number of fatalities significantly, especially guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) that showed the highest benefit. HRA studies in Thailand also showed that the country's air quality needs to be improved to avoid deaths and hospital admission cases. We also found that cohort studies for the Thai population are required to improve the quality of data and limit overestimation from using global estimates. Finally, the benefits and limitations of each study approach were collated to assist future studies in determining the most suited instruments for their purposes.

Life Cycle Toxicity Impact on Human and Ecosystem Health Caused by Pesticides and Related Chemicals in Major Crop Production Systems in Thailand

Phatchari Mankong, Peter Fantke, Tanapon Phenrat, Jitti Mungkalasiri, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Technical University of Denmark, DTU Orbit (Technical University of Denmark, DTU) · 2023

Towards more sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects in Magway Region, Myanmar

Cho Zin Win, Warit Jawjit, Romanee Thongdara, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Environment Development and Sustainability · 2023

Abstract Clean water and sanitation are essential for human development. Governments, international and national aid organizations have implemented water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) projects worldwide, notably in low- and middle-income countries. However, the majority of such projects experience failure. As a result, 2.4 billion people worldwide are deprived of improved WASH services. Research revealing how WASH projects can be sustained and which factors need to be considered is crucial. Despite the gap and its importance, existing studies on the sustainability assessment of WASH projects are limited. This study attempted to assess and compare the sustainability of WASH projects in Myanmar that used the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) and Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) approaches with the “Sustainability Check” developed by The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). This research also evaluated the extent to which WASH projects contributed to the Myanmar National WASH Strategy. The study results show that both CLTS and PHAST project operations fully met the sustainability standards regarding accessibility and intra-village equity. Other sustainability indicators, such as water quality, use of sanitation facilities, and handwashing facilities, were at or above 85% and had already met the 2025 national targets. In contrast, handwashing practices have reached the 2030 national targets. The findings revealed that technical factors, institutional factors (at the community level), social, financial, and sanitation factors contributed to WASH project sustainability. The results also highlight the need for strengthening collaboration with local government to ensure that communities receive post-implementation support from local authorities, to encourage community participation and foster sense of ownership, to empower community-based bodies for O&M and monitoring of water and sanitation facilities, to integrate appropriate behavioral change activities, and to align with the National WASH Strategy. This study would be beneficial for WASH practitioners to ensure the inclusion of factors that support sustainability in the execution of future WASH projects. Graphical abstract

Life Cycle Assessment of Integrated Municipal Organic Waste Management Systems in Thailand

Maneechotiros Rotthong, Masaki Takaoka, Kazuyuki Oshita, Pichaya Rachdawong, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Sustainability · 2022

The majority of municipal solid waste in Thailand is organic waste including food and garden waste. Improper waste management has caused negative impacts on the environment. This study aimed to find a hypothetical municipal organic waste management scenario with the lowest environmental impacts using life cycle assessment (LCA). The system boundary of organic waste management includes collection and transportation; treatment, including centralized and on-site treatment technologies; and by-product utilization. The two main waste management systems considered in this study were centralized and on-site waste management systems. The first two scenarios take into account all the amount of the municipal organic waste collected and transported and then treated by centralized waste treatment technologies (composting, anaerobic digestion, and landfill). The remaining three scenarios are integrated between 10% on-site (home composting, food waste processor, and composting bin) and 90% centralized (composting, anaerobic digestion, and incineration) waste treatment technologies; the scenario combining centralized (food waste anaerobic digestion, garden waste composting, and incineration) and on-site (home composting) systems yielded the lowest environmental impacts (except short-term climate change, freshwater, and marine eutrophication). On-site systems can help reduce collection, transportation, and treatment impacts, particularly photochemical oxidant formation, which was proportional to the amount of waste or distance reduced. Benefits from the by-product utilization can offset all impacts in terms of fossil and nuclear energy use and freshwater acidification, and result in a negative impact score or impact reduction. This research can be used as guidance for developing countries with conditions and waste composition similar to Thailand for making initial decisions on environmentally sustainable municipal organic waste management.

Correction: Characterizing country-specific human and ecosystem health impact and damage cost of agricultural pesticides: the case for Thailand

Phatchari Mankong, Peter Fantke, Tanapon Phenrat, Jitti Mungkalasiri, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment · 2022