ผลงานตีพิมพ์ทั้งหมด

Operational strategies for the transformation of container port logistics systems with automation technologies: sustainability improvements

Punarut Sirichokpokin, Trakarn Prapaspongsa, Junsheng Ren, Duangpun Kritchanchai

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management · 2026

Automation technologies have garnered significant interest to enhance efficiency and competitiveness in maritime transportation ports. However, there is a lack of academic research focused on the sustainability to implementing automation technology as an operational strategy. Therefore, the objective of this study is to formulate comprehensive operational strategies for container port logistics systems (CPLS) in three dimensions: environment, economy and society, with the integration of automation technology. To achieve this goal, the study employs analytic hierarchy process (AHP), importance-performance analysis (IPA) technique, and a scoring matrix measurement to guide the development of operational strategies. The findings of the study highlight the importance of emphasising sustainability indicators that consider both their importance and performance in driving container port sustainability improvements. Additionally, the study underscores the significance of reengineering processes within CPLS and allocating port resources based on the prioritisation of indicators to ensure the successful development of port operational strategies.

Framework for Function-Based Pesticide Substitution

Phatchari Mankong, Pruetthichat Punyawattoe, Günter Günter, Trakarn Prapaspongsa, Cédric Wannaz, Peter Fantke

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026

These are supporting information used in the puplish article "Framework for Function-Based Pesticide Substitution" to derive functionally equivalent scenarios for substituting hazardous pesticides in real-life agricultural applications to reduce human and ecological health impacts as listed below. The Plant Protection Research and Development Office (PPRD), Department of Agriculture, Thailand (http://www.doa.go.th/plprotect), conducts studies and publishes documents annually on crop produced, related pests identified, and pesticides applied in an authoritative study. Plant Protection Research and Development Office (PPRD). Guideline on Pesticide Application Based on Research in 2022 (in Thai). 2022. Plant Protection Research and Development Office (PPRD). Pests of Vegetables, Mushroom, and Flower (in Thai). 2011. Plant Protection Research and Development Office (PPRD). Manual of Vegetable Diseases (in Thai). 2009. Plant Protection Research and Development Office (PPRD). The Use of Insecticides and Acaricides to Solve the Pest Resistant Problems (in Thai). 2021.

Systematic Review of Sustainability Assessment Methodologies, Indicators, and Decision-Making Tools for Municipal Solid Waste Management

Trakarn Prapaspongsa

NRCT Data Center · 2026

Framework for Function-Based Pesticide Substitution

Phatchari Mankong, Pruetthichat Punyawattoe, Günter Brader, Trakarn Prapaspongsa, Cédric Wannaz, Peter Fantke

Environmental Science & Technology · 2026

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Agricultural pesticides can harm humans and the environment, with many current-use pesticides being highly hazardous. Substituting hazardous pesticides with less impactful alternatives comes with challenges related to systematically matching crops, pests, and pesticides, considering regulations, equal efficacy, and combining pesticides to collectively control a wider set of pests across critical crop stages. We propose a quantitative framework to define and assess functionally equivalent scenarios for substituting hazardous pesticides in real-life agricultural applications to reduce human and ecosystem health impacts. Testing our framework on pesticide use in Thailand highlights that particularly hazardous pesticides are applied to certain crops (e.g., tomato, Brassica vegetables) and pests (e.g., tomato leaf miner flies, different thrips species). We found that the number of scenarios combining different pesticides is not an indicator of the variability in scenario impacts: some crop–pest class (e.g., insects) pairs with >10,000 possible scenarios of pesticide combinations vary less in impact performance than some pairs with fewer scenarios. For each crop–pest class pair, we recommend the 10% best-in-class impact performance scenarios for substituting more hazardous scenarios. Our framework can inform policymakers to identify hazardous pesticides for phase out, support ambitions of UNEP’s Global Framework on Chemicals, and aid farmers to reduce their pesticide-related chemical footprint.

Framework for Function-Based Pesticide Substitution

Phatchari Mankong, Pruetthichat Punyawattoe, Günter Günter, Trakarn Prapaspongsa, Cédric Wannaz, Peter Fantke

Open MIND · 2026

These are supporting information used in the puplish article "Framework for Function-Based Pesticide Substitution" to derive functionally equivalent scenarios for substituting hazardous pesticides in real-life agricultural applications to reduce human and ecological health impacts as listed below. The Plant Protection Research and Development Office (PPRD), Department of Agriculture, Thailand (http://www.doa.go.th/plprotect), conducts studies and publishes documents annually on crop produced, related pests identified, and pesticides applied in an authoritative study. Plant Protection Research and Development Office (PPRD). Guideline on Pesticide Application Based on Research in 2022 (in Thai). 2022. Plant Protection Research and Development Office (PPRD). Pests of Vegetables, Mushroom, and Flower (in Thai). 2011. Plant Protection Research and Development Office (PPRD). Manual of Vegetable Diseases (in Thai). 2009. Plant Protection Research and Development Office (PPRD). The Use of Insecticides and Acaricides to Solve the Pest Resistant Problems (in Thai). 2021.

Assessing passenger road transport policies for PM2.5-related health impact and cost reduction

Maywalin Jumsai Na Ayudhya, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Jitti Mungkalasiri, Sirima Panyametheekul, Ekbordin Winijkul, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Transportation Research Part D Transport and Environment · 2025

Health impacts of fine particulate matter or PM 2.5 in the transport sector are a major concern worldwide. To address this issue, it is essential to develop effective transport policies that reduce these health impacts while delivering economic benefits. Existing studies have typically focused on reducing tailpipe emissions, which may inadvertently lead to increased upstream emissions and overall impacts. This study quantified the health and economic benefits arising from various passenger road transport policies. Carpooling emerged as the most effective policy from a well-to-wheel perspective, reducing health impacts by 16,216 Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) (53 %) and generating economic benefits of 12,101 million THB. Under a Tank-to-Wheel perspective (excluding upstream emissions), electric vehicle conversion reduced PM 2.5 emissions by 72 %, resulting in annual economic benefits of 3,643 million THB. The combined implementation of these policies offers a pathway towards sustainability and reduced health impacts in Thailand’s passenger transport sector.

Spatially differentiated life cycle assessment of Thailand's transport: The implications from country-specific factors and alternative technologies

Vitoon Chotanapund, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Vladimir Strezov, Nazmul Huda, Jitti Mungkalasiri, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Sustainable Production and Consumption · 2025

This study proposed country-specific characterisation factors (CFs) for Thailand by modifying the Thai Spatially Differentiated Life Cycle Impact Assessment (ThaiSD) method and introducing monetary conversion factors to express environmental impacts in Thai Baht. Five impact categories were fully parameterised, including fine particulate matter formation (PMF), human toxicity (both cancer and non-cancer) (HT c and HT nc ), freshwater ecotoxicity (FET), and water scarcity (WS). Other spatialised CFs were selected from regionalisation models in ReCiPe2016 and IMPACT World+. When comparing the use of country-specific CFs with global average, the impact scores for PMF, HT c , HT nc , FET, photochemical ozone formation and terrestrial acidification demonstrated notably different levels, ranging from ±25 to ±50 %. The developed method was then applied to assess environmental impacts and costs of Thailand's transport sector, encompassing freight and passenger transport across roadway, railway, waterway, and aviation. Climate change (CC) was significantly attributed to human health and ecosystem quality impacts, while the major contributor to resource scarcity impact was fossil resource scarcity (FS). In some scenarios, non-exhaust emissions, particularly from freight trucks, accounted for 40–60 % of the total PMF impacts. Environmental costs of freight and passenger transport in Thailand were 0.08–3.64 Thai Baht per tonne-kilometre and 0.01–0.81 Thai Baht per passenger-kilometre, respectively. Among transport modes, trains were found to be the most environmentally favourable option for both passenger and freight transport, while aviation had the highest environmental impact for freight transport. In contrast, passenger aviation had a comparable environmental burden to passenger cars due to optimised occupancy rates. Despite the efficiency of modern internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), particularly Euro 5 and 6, employing blended biodiesel was less effective in comparison to conventional diesel. Battery electric and fuel cell electric vehicles offered advantages in mitigating CC, PMF, and FS compared to ICEVs, although trade-offs remained across other impact categories.

Implications of technological improvement and circular agriculture on environmental sustainability of sugarcane production

Aakriti Deuja, Min Hein Khant, Thapat Silalertruksa, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Cleaner Environmental Systems · 2025

The spatially differentiated environmental impacts and associated costs of technological improvement and circular agricultural practices in sugarcane production were assessed. Analysis of the cause-effect relationship between the key processes and substances each helped develop alternative scenarios for impact reduction. PM 2.5 emissions contributed to 92% of the total human health impacts from open burning of field residues. Freshwater ecotoxicity, mainly due to ametryn emissions from pesticide application, contributed to 47% of the total damage to the ecosystem. The environmental costs were 116% higher than the value of sugarcane production, signifying the critical importance of adopting alternative pathways that provide economic benefits from environmental cost reduction compared to the production value. Scenarios considering green cane harvesting and waste management approaches demonstrated high potential for total impact reduction of 99% and 97%, respectively, and economic gains of 202 and 225 billion THB, respectively (5.76 and 6.42 billion USD, respectively). The economic benefits of waste utilization were 137% higher than the value of sugarcane production, demonstrating the potential benefits of product substitution to help mitigate impacts. The core findings highlight the significance of the PM 2.5 impact-related external costs and underscore the benefits of adopting green cane harvesting in conjunction with on-field waste utilization to mitigate the impact of open burning and produce value-added products. Technological improvement and circular agricultural practices coupled with valuation of spatially differentiated impacts can provide useful and more accurate information to policymakers, to prioritize the implementation of mitigation strategies for enhancing the environmental sustainability of sugarcane production. • Improvement technologies for harvesting extend economic benefit of 5.76 billion USD • Circular agriculture yields economic gain of 6.42 billion USD by utilizing waste • Environmental cost of sugarcane production was 116% higher than production value • Economic benefits of waste utilization were 137% higher than production value

Electronic supplementary material for: Life Cycle Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management Systems in the ASEAN Region: Strategies toward Environmental Sustainability

Phyo Oo, Trakarn Prapaspongsa, J. Ren, Jin Wang, Vladimir Strezov, Nazmul Huda, Shabbir Gheewala

Mendeley Data · 2025

This dataset is electronic supplementary material to the publication entitled "Life Cycle Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management Systems in the ASEAN Region: Strategies toward Environmental Sustainability". This study evaluates the life cycle environmental impacts of municipal solid waste (MSW) management systems in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), focusing on three areas of protection, including human health, ecosystem damage, and resource depletion, and translates these impacts into monetary units. Additionally, the study investigates mitigation potentials through the integration of circular economy policies. The supplementary includes life cycle inventory data for MSW management systems, monetary valuation of environmental impacts, calculations, and scenario analysis. The inventory data was sourced from peer-reviewed journals, reports, websites and databases. The findings of this study offer valuable insights for stakeholders, governments, and policymakers by providing detailed information on the environmental impacts and associated costs of MSW management systems in the ASEAN region, which facilitates the development of evidence-based policies.

Environmental impacts and costs of ozone formation in Bangkok Metropolitan Region

Soe Htet Aung, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Ekbordin Winijkul, Sirima Panyametheekul, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Atmospheric Pollution Research · 2025

Ozone formation is an important environmental factor causing impacts on human health and ecosystem. Previous research relating to ozone formation often had limited scopes on direct emissions or focused on limited sectors of cities. This study aimed to quantify environmental impacts and costs due to ozone formation caused by energy generation, industry, agriculture, residential and commercial sectors, transport, fugitive gas emissions and waste treatment in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR) in 2022. The assessment applied spatially differentiated life cycle assessment framework, quantifying impacts on human health and ecosystem using local and global factors for on-site and supply chain emissions. The baseline situation in 2022 revealed that total emissions (on-site and supply chain) were 3.97E+05 tonnes of NO x and 1.15E+05 tonnes of NMVOC. NO x and the transport sector were the main stressor and hotspot causing impacts and costs of ozone formation in BMR. Total impact scores (on-site and supply chain) were 4.39E+02 disability-adjusted life year (human health impact) and 3.50E+01 species.year (ecosystem damage). The impacts were mainly contributed by on-site activities in BMR costing 6 billion Thai Baht. Scenarios were developed focusing primarily on the on-road transport since it was the hotspot causing health impacts and ecosystem damage. The scenarios indicated that upgrading fuel technology from diesel to compressed natural gas and modification of vehicles from diesel to electric were found to be very effective for overall reduction by more than 50% on average for health impacts and by more than 40% on average for ecosystem damage. • Assessed O 3 -related impacts and costs from city production and consumption. • NO X emissions and on-road transport were key stressors. • Changing engine technology from diesel to CNG maximised benefits. • Vehicle modification from diesel to electric improved benefits. • Supply chain impacts were significant for electric vehicles.

Electronic supplementary material for: Life Cycle Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management Systems in the ASEAN Region: Strategies toward Environmental Sustainability

Phyo Oo, Trakarn Prapaspongsa, J. Ren, Jin Wang, Vladimir Strezov, Nazmul Huda, Shabbir Gheewala

Mendeley Data · 2025

This dataset is electronic supplementary material to the publication entitled "Life Cycle Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management Systems in the ASEAN Region: Strategies toward Environmental Sustainability". This study evaluates the life cycle environmental impacts of municipal solid waste (MSW) management systems in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), focusing on three areas of protection, including human health, ecosystem damage, and resource depletion, and translates these impacts into monetary units. Additionally, the study investigates mitigation potentials through the integration of circular economy policies. The supplementary includes life cycle inventory data for MSW management systems, monetary valuation of environmental impacts, calculations, and scenario analysis. The inventory data was sourced from peer-reviewed journals, reports, websites and databases. The findings of this study offer valuable insights for stakeholders, governments, and policymakers by providing detailed information on the environmental impacts and associated costs of MSW management systems in the ASEAN region, which facilitates the development of evidence-based policies.

Supplementary information for a systematic review of sustainability assessment methodologies, indicators, and decision-making tools for municipal solid waste management

Bumyut, Apirak, Trakarn Prapaspongsa, Vladimir Strezov, Nazmul Huda, Witsanu Attavanich, Shabbir H. Gheewala

Mendeley Data · 2025

Supplementary information for a systematic review of sustainability assessment methodologies, indicators, and decision-making tools for municipal solid waste management, including Table S1: Data extraction form; Table S2: Framework for sustainability assessment tools; and Table S3: Data dictionary for Table S1.

Life cycle assessment of agricultural systems toward circularity

Thanakon Sukuman, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Izuru Saizen, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Sustainable Production and Consumption · 2025

Agricultural systems contribute significantly to environmental degradation and health impacts due to conventional practices such as postharvest open burning and the widespread use of chemical fertilizers. This study evaluates the potential for circular agricultural practices to mitigate these impacts in Thailand by repurposing agricultural residues for fertilizer, animal feed, and electricity. Utilizing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, the environmental and economic outcomes of conventional versus circular agricultural practices were quantified, focusing on key Area of Protection (AoP) including disability-adjusted life years (DALY), ecosystem damage (species.yr), and resource depletion (USD 2013 ). The results demonstrate that conventional sugarcane and rice cultivation lead to substantial health impacts (up to 2910 DALY), significant ecosystem damage (up to 4.45 species.yr), and resource depletion costs of up to 14.9 million USD 2013 . In contrast, cassava cultivation, with its existing circular practices, shows comparatively lower impacts, including 415 DALY, 1.47 species.yr of ecosystem damage, and 10.4 million USD 2013 of resource depletion. Circular agricultural scenarios, using crop residues to produce organic fertilizers and animal feed, proved highly effective in reducing these burdens. Circular organic fertilizers reduced total costs by 57 %, while converting residues into animal feed resulted in a net economic benefit of 1.98 billion Thai Baht (THB), representing a 137 % reduction in costs compared to the baseline. The findings highlight the importance of transitioning to circular models, emphasizing the need for policy interventions, improved technology access, and enhanced farmer training to promote circular agricultural practices in Thailand.

Circular economy models of sugarcane biorefinery towards carbon neutrality and environmental sustainability

Shwe Yie Lin, Nicholas M. Holden, Romanee Thongdara, Thapat Silalertruksa, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Sustainable Production and Consumption · 2025

Sugarcane biorefineries convert sugarcane waste into bioproducts, requiring assessment for environmentally viable processing. This study compared the life cycle environmental impacts, environmental damage costs, and circularity of sugarcane biorefinery scenarios: a base case with pre-harvest cane trash burning and sugar and ethanol production; a modified one with improved energy efficiency; and three bioproduct scenarios producing bagasse-based biobutanol or biochar for bioenergy scenario, lactic or acetic acid for biochemicals, and cane trash-derived cellulose nanofibers or soil conditioner for biomaterials. Bioproduct scenarios assumed green cane harvesting. Life cycle assessment followed a cradle-to-gate scope, with a functional unit of 1 t of cane processed (t c ). Damage to human health ranged from 7.72 × 10 −4 to 2.85 × 10 −3 disability-adjusted life years/t c ; ecosystem from 4.85 × 10 −6 to 9.15 × 10 −6 species.year/t c ; resource scarcity from 10 to 60 United States dollar 2013/t c ; total damage costs from 2100 to 5410 Thai Baht/t c , and circularity from 0.44 to 0.52. Bioproduct scenarios, except cellulose nanofibers, had lower environmental damage costs than the base case. Biorefinery circularity aligned closely with the highest-value product in each scenario. Biochemical (lactic acid) was the best overall, with the lowest environmental damage cost and resource scarcity damage, relatively low human health and ecosystem damage, and a high circularity score of 0.5. Biomaterial (Cellulose nanofibers) was the worst due to its highest damage cost from the highest fossil resource scarcity, accounting for over 95 % of resources scarcity damage in all scenarios, and high-water consumption, despite minimum human health damage from the lowest fine particulate matter formation, leading contributor to human health damage mainly from cane burning and biomass electricity, and a high circularity of 0.52. The modified base case was slightly better than the base case across all metrics. Bioproduct scenarios increased circularity; however, higher circularity did not always correlate better environmental performance.

Supplementary information for a systematic review of sustainability assessment methodologies, indicators, and decision-making tools for municipal solid waste management

Bumyut, Apirak, Trakarn Prapaspongsa, Vladimir Strezov, Nazmul Huda, Witsanu Attavanich, Shabbir H. Gheewala

Mendeley Data · 2025

Supplementary information for a systematic review of sustainability assessment methodologies, indicators, and decision-making tools for municipal solid waste management, including Table S1: Data extraction form; Table S2: Framework for sustainability assessment tools; and Table S3: Data dictionary for Table S1.

Life cycle assessment of integrated waste management systems towards carbon neutrality and environmental sustainability

Maneechotiros Rotthong, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Vladimir Strezov, Witsanu Attavanich, Pichaya Rachdawong, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Cleaner Environmental Systems · 2025

This study develops a comprehensive framework for evaluating the environmental impacts of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Thailand using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The framework covers collection, transportation, treatment, and avoided product utilization, considering different cluster sizes and technologies. Four conceptual scenarios were modeled: reference, current, waste management master plan, and improvement scenarios incorporating centralized and on-site systems. Results show that landfilling and incineration are major contributors to global warming, acidification, and eutrophication, while recycling and energy recovery technologies, including refuse-derived fuel (RDF) with waste-to-energy (WTE), substantially reduce impacts. Effective strategies vary by cluster size. For large clusters, optimal integration includes anaerobic digestion, composting, RDF with WTE, recycling, and landfilling. Medium clusters benefit from composting, RDF with WTE, recycling, and landfilling, whereas small clusters are best served by on-site home composting, incineration with WTE, recycling, and landfilling. A diversion of 95% of waste from landfills, combined with a 30% recycling rate, can lower climate change impacts by nearly 200%. Sensitivity analysis indicates that reducing MSW transport distances further decreases impacts. Applying spatial differentiation in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) and using different LCIA methods yielded consistent trends. Overall, the proposed framework supports the development of carbon-neutral MSW management systems by optimizing technology integration, maximizing recycling and energy recovery, and minimizing landfill disposal. The cluster-based approach offers tailored solutions for developing countries, significantly mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts. • Optimized waste strategies lower carbon emissions and resource use • Cluster-based approaches enhance collaboration and efficiency in waste management • Optimized technologies and 30% recycling rate enable carbon-neutral waste management • Recycling and RDF with waste-to-energy by-products are key environmental benefits • Spatial and method variations alter values, not trends

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

Does the electric vehicle promotion policy drive Thailand's passenger transport towards environmental sustainability?

Vitoon Chotanapund, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Vladimir Strezov, Nazmul Huda, Ekbordin Winijkul, Anthony Halog, Jitti Mungkalasiri, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Sustainable Production and Consumption · 2024

Electric vehicles (EVs) are considered an alternative to internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) for promoting sustainable transport, with environmental benefits depending on many local factors. This study performed a comprehensive life cycle assessment of passenger transport in major urban areas of Thailand, encompassing on-road, metro trains, and inland water transport, to determine the benefits of EV deployment. The findings showed that the vehicle life cycle (manufacture, maintenance, and disposal) was a significant contributor to human health and ecosystem quality impacts when comparing across transport life cycle phases in both ICEVs and EVs. Among private vehicles, with the current electricity mix, EVs had impacts on human health and ecosystem quality comparable to small-size ICEVs. At the projected 2037 electricity mix, the EVs will have lower impacts on human health, ecosystem quality and resource scarcity in comparison with the ICEVs. In scenario analysis, when considering only on-site emissions, it was found that private EV promotion had an environmental cost by about 16–43 % lower than the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, depending on the rate of EV adoption, while shifting to public electric buses or metro trains had a lower environmental cost by 21 % and 23 % compared to BAU, respectively. If assessing the full transport life cycle, shifting to public electric buses or metro trains had a lower environmental cost (22–23 %) than the promotion of EVs with current electricity mix (14 %). The effectiveness of environmental impact mitigation through deployment of private EVs might increase to a comparable level with public electric bus or metro train shifts when Thailand achieves the electricity mix target with 34 % of renewable energy in 2037.

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.

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.

Spatially differentiated health impacts and costs of fine particulate matter exposure from agriculture waste management in Thailand

Aakriti Deuja, Peter Fantke, Sirima Panyametheekul, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Journal of Cleaner Production · 2024

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

Towards calorie-adequate diets to mitigate environmental impacts from food consumption in Asia

Shwe Yie Lin, Hnin Nandar Khine, Aakriti Deuja, Romanee Thongdara, Nawatch Surinkul, Nicholas M. Holden, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Sustainable Production and Consumption · 2024

Assessing life cycle impacts from toxic substance emissions in major crop production systems in Thailand

Phatchari Mankong, Peter Fantke, Agneta Ghose, Farshad Soheilifard, Susan Anyango Oginah, Tanapon Phenrat, Jitti Mungkalasiri, Shabbir H. Gheewala, Trakarn Prapaspongsa

Sustainable Production and Consumption · 2024

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.