Today’s Solutions: July 26, 2026

EM in waste processing

Marco Visscher | March 2003 issue
Rubbish in the tropics. It’s just about the most disgusting combination imaginable. In the tropical heat a waste processing plant is not exactly a tourist attraction – if only because the stench keeps visitors away. In Praekkasa, a half-hour outside Bangkok, the smell was so bad it prompted a major strike by the plant’s employees. And now? Now you can stand at the edge of a mountain of rubbish the size of two football fields and still breathe fresh air. This, despite the fact that 1,000 tonnes of waste – from plastic to used clothing – are delivered to the plant every day. The secret lies in an enormous pipe, through which 5,000 litres and 200 litres of EM are disbursed over the rubbish twice a day. EM neutralizes the smell.
It is an experiment initiated by Bangkok’s local government that has only been in place for a year. Shortly, the results will be evaluated to see whether EM will be used at more waste plants. In Myanmar -formerly Burma – EM is already in use on a much broader scale in waste processing.
 

Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim confronts climate crisis with Indigenous wisdom

According to Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, “if you’re born as an Indigenous person, you’re born an activist, because you’re born with the problems surrounding your ...

Read More

From pilot to policy: a closer look at guaranteed income initiatives in the US

Michael D. Tubbs, mayor of Stockton, California, initiated a daring experiment in February 2019. He randomly selected 125 residents at or below the city's ...

Read More

Big Oil to pay for climate change damages in Vermont

Vermont became the first state in the United States to enact legislation mandating fossil fuel companies to pay for climate change-related losses. This unprecedented ...

Read More

A new CAR T-cell therapy for lupus brings hope for a cure

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM A new and promising treatment for lupus could mean the end of lifetime medication for patients suffering from ...

Read More