Promoting waste separation for recycling and local governance in Thailand

It is often assumed that waste separation at source can be had ‘on order’ by developing country city authorities simply through a donor-driven project, without thorough consideration of the significance of distinct socio-political contexts commonly encountered in Third World societies that immensely vary with those found in mature liberal democracies. Through a qualitative research method using a case of failed public participation in waste separation project in Hatyai City in southern Thailand, the paper examines the opportunity structures for participation and development of civic culture among local citizens, focusing in three areas: the state of civil society organizations in Hatyai, style of public administration, and attributes of local officials and community politics. Three interrelated and mutually reinforcing major determinants of lack of civic culture and publicly tested opportunity structures for participation were identified: (1) dearth and weakness of autonomous civil society organizations; (2) dominance of traditional top-down and non-participatory style of administration by the municipal authority; and (3) the deep-rootedness of patron–client relations between local government officials and community people. Separately and in combination, these factors undermined the development of heightened environmental awareness and public education, and the generation of a sense of co-production and partnership in the waste separation project that have been proven to be the determinants of most success cases in developed country cities. It is further argued that when pursued as a project in Third World cities, waste separation at source may have to build into its conceptualization, design and implementation process important mechanisms that will deliberately promote salient local governance reforms in order to enhance its chance of success.