AI tools for Bangkok air and environment
Explore challenges in air quality information, waste sorting and caring for shared surroundings. Builders take on local environmental tools at monthly build days.
- Environment and air
Neighborhood waste collectors and shops can't see recyclable prices and lose income when they drop
A Bangkok collector said recycler payments mostly fall, sometimes by several baht at once, and they cannot just stop trading. Waste paper dropped from about 7 baht to under 2 baht per kilo in early 2019, and a recycler lost over a million baht. About 1.5 million people collect recyclables and sell to roughly 30,000 registered buyers, while some market vendors earn extra by selling sorted recyclables.
No builders or owners yet5 ways to tackle it - Environment and air
Small shops and restaurants face a tripled Bangkok waste fee and don't know how to sort or measure to cut it
From October 2025, shops, restaurants and condos producing over 20 liters a day pay 120 baht per 20-liter unit, three times the old rate. The published registration steps focus on households and community groups, not businesses. Bang Khun Si Market has sorted waste into four types since 2018, cut daily waste from 1,200-1,300 kg to 1,000-1,200 kg, and vendors sell the recyclables.
No builders or owners yet5 ways to tackle it - Environment and air
Residents can't tell if their own room is safe when Bangkok's PM2.5 spikes, even with AC and purifiers
One resident measured indoor PM2.5 of 25 to 33 under central AC while outdoor PM2.5 read 37, and could only get under 8 by turning the AC off and running a purifier. Commenters disagree on whether building AC pulls in outside air. In a January thread residents post an AQI of 181 and say it feels like this half the year.
No builders or owners yet5 ways to tackle it