Implementing Pay-As-You-Throw in Bangkok: Governance, Public Acceptance, and Environmental Prospects and Challenges

Implementing Pay-As-You-Throw in Bangkok: Governance, Public Acceptance, and Environmental Prospects and Challenges | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Implementing Pay-As-You-Throw in Bangkok: Governance, Public Acceptance, and Environmental Prospects and Challenges Apirada Chinprateep This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7977346/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Urban centers in the Global South face mounting pressures to adopt circular economy strategies while maintaining the legitimacy of emerging policy instruments. This study examines Bangkok’s forthcoming implementation of a household waste separation fee, which will make it the first megacity in Southeast Asia to adopt a pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) system in October 2025. Drawing upon household survey data, the analysis investigates how perceptions of fairness, levels of trust in municipal authorities, and environmental awareness influence citizen acceptance. A scenario-based assessment suggests that effective implementation has the potential to reduce municipal solid waste by up to 30% and generate substantial fiscal savings, whereas ineffective rollout would yield marginal environmental gains. The findings highlight the critical role of governance arrangements, institutional credibility, and socioeconomic diversity in shaping compliance with urban environmental regulations. By situating Bangkok’s PAYT initiative within broader debates on urban sustainability transitions, the paper provides timely insights and policy-relevant lessons for other rapidly urbanizing cities in the Global South pursuing circular economy reforms. JEL Classification: Q53; Q58; R11; D62; H23; D04 Bangkok urban governance waste management PAYT circular economy public acceptance Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Conflict of Interest ​ The author declares no conflict of interest. Acknowledgements The author is grateful to the National Institute of Development Administration and the Government of Thailand for their support. Availability of data and materials The datasets analyzed in this study are publicly available from Eurostat, World Bank World Development Indicators, IMF World Economic Outlook, OECD Policy Instruments for the Environment, UNEP databases, Environmental Performance Index, and the International Disaster Database. No new data were generated. Analysis code is available from the corresponding author upon request. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7977346","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":537775902,"identity":"8136162d-b5e5-4860-aa2e-ed4f93b90745","order_by":0,"name":"Apirada Chinprateep","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACxgYGBjYGBgN2IM1gYEGKFp4DIC0SxNoE0iKRAGIRoYV/dnPbhx9ldvLmks+vbvhRIMHA396dgFeLxJ2DzTN7ziUb7pydU3azB+gwiTNnN+C35kZiMwNvG3OCwe2ctBs8QC0GErn4tcgDtTD+batPMLh5Ju3mH2K0GAC1MPO2HU4wuMF+7DZRthgC/cIsc+644YYzOWy3ZQwkeAj6Re52+2PGN2XV8gbHjz+7+eaPjRx/ey8B7yMigscATOJXjqqF/QFh1aNgFIyCUTAiAQAHWkmw4IfxxAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"National Institute of Development Administration","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Apirada","middleName":"","lastName":"Chinprateep","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-10-29 08:23:18","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7977346/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7977346/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":95072648,"identity":"9e2b8885-6648-4b01-9615-3e5e5cdd36de","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-04 03:46:15","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":501854,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"CTEPwithTitlepagesubmission.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7977346/v1/029a88714fedd8244c8a9608.pdf"},{"id":95072647,"identity":"f07c1ba5-3e9e-4a44-bbdd-31fa5b381e95","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-04 03:46:15","extension":"json","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":3666,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"601465795eae4e34810100504a84b1b4.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7977346/v1/c839c2b25d7b19890374d835.json"},{"id":95072649,"identity":"b1c71a70-5793-4026-98bd-4d04ef9a8c8b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-04 03:46:15","extension":"pdf","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":126145,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"TitlepageCTEP.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7977346/v1/b4cfda0e445b9cdefc523a5a.pdf"},{"id":96252776,"identity":"8b966660-2415-4e1d-a217-77ac096abf6d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-19 07:41:28","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":594572,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"CTEPwithTitlepagesubmission.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7977346/v1_covered_1867a842-5f32-4008-be3c-f211ce855ab6.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cp\u003eNo competing interests reported.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConflict of Interest\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e​\u003c/strong\u003eThe author declares no conflict of interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe author is grateful to the National Institute of Development Administration and the Government of Thailand for their support.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailability of data and materials\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe datasets analyzed in this study are publicly available from Eurostat, World Bank World Development Indicators, IMF World Economic Outlook, OECD Policy Instruments for the Environment, UNEP databases, Environmental Performance Index, and the International Disaster Database. 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