Disposable Bamboo Chopsticks Waste Generation Rate and Sources: Case study in Khon Kaen University, Thailand

Abstract

Disposable bamboo chopsticks are eating utensils popularly used by Thai people and as a result, they generate a significant amount of a waste, which could cause a problem in waste management. This study focused on elucidating the disposable bamboo chopsticks (DBC) waste generation rate as a guideline for handling DBC from the source. From the survey study within the study area of Khon Kaen University (KKU) which has population around 40,000 students, 470 students were sampled to fill questionnaires. According to the survey, 89.79% of the sample were undergraduate students and 10.21% were graduate students. The average age of the sample was 20 years. The results revealed that 40.85% of students used disposable chopsticks every day which was an average of 0.46 pairs per person/day. The DBC was mostly utilized with noodles and Thai BBQ at 91.28% and 91.06%, respectively. The quantity of used DBC on each day was not statistically significant. An average chopstick quantity used by the population in KKU accounted to 119.6 kilograms per day. The recycling of used of DBC can reduce the amount of waste by 0.39% of total waste generation from KKU.