In Thailand, household rubbish is collected by the local authority, and in Bangkok it has cost 60 baht a month per household since 1 October 2025, or 20 baht if you sort your waste and register with the city. In a condo you simply use the bin room; batteries, bulbs and old medicines go separately, and cardboard, bottles and cans can often be sold rather than thrown away.
For a newcomer the system looks informal: bags on the pavement, trucks at odd hours, and people on tricycles buying old newspapers. Underneath it are a few clear rules, especially in Bangkok, where the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) changed its fees in 2025 to reward sorting. This page explains how collection works, what to separate, where hazardous and bulky items go and how to report a problem. Most of the detailed rules below are Bangkok's; other provinces and towns set their own, so check with your local municipality or condo office.
Household waste in Bangkok (October 2026)
- Monthly fee, standard
- 60 baht per household (up to 20 liters or 4 kg a day)
- Monthly fee, sorted and registered
- 20 baht per household
- How to register
- BKK WASTE PAY app or website, or the district office's cleaning section
- Hazardous waste
- Orange hazardous-waste bins, or hand it to a BMA rubbish truck
- Bulky items
- BMA bulky-waste collection on Sundays (check it still runs)
- Fees in force since
- 1 October 2025
Bangkok's rubbish fee: 60 baht, or 20 if you sort
A new BMA waste-fee ordinance took effect on Wednesday 1 October 2025, after the city council approved it in October 2024. For a household producing up to 20 liters, about 4 kg, of rubbish a day, the fee is 60 baht a month: 30 baht for collection and 30 for disposal. That replaced a household charge of 20 baht that many older websites still quote.
Households that sort their rubbish and register pay 20 baht a month instead (10 plus 10). Larger producers pay more: 120 baht a month for each 20 liters a day between 20 liters and one cubic meter, and 8,000 baht per cubic meter a day above that. Those higher bands are aimed at shops and businesses rather than homes.
| Daily rubbish (Bangkok) | Monthly fee from 1 Oct 2025 |
|---|---|
| Up to 20 liters (4 kg), sorted and registered | ฿20 |
| Up to 20 liters (4 kg), not registered | ฿60 |
| 20 liters to 1 m³ | ฿120 per 20 liters a day |
| Over 1 m³ | ฿8,000 per m³ a day |
Who pays depends on your home. In a house, ask the district office how the fee is collected. In a condo or housing estate, the building's management handles collection; ask the juristic office whether the fee is included in the common fee or billed separately. Our guide to renting a condo or house covers what the lease and the building rules say about such charges, and the cost of living guide puts the fee alongside your other monthly bills.
Registering for the 20-baht sorted rate
The BMA calls the sorting scheme "baan nee mai tae ruam", roughly "this house does not dump it all together". You register through the BKK WASTE PAY app or website, or at the cleaning section of your district office. According to Thai press reports on the scheme, you need:
- The 11-digit house ID of your home, shown in its house registration; our page on the yellow house book explains how registration works for foreigners.
- Your name and phone number.
- Photos showing your waste sorted into food waste, recyclables, hazardous waste and general waste.
Registered homes received bags for food waste in their first year, and the city spot-checks sorting every three months. Since 1 August 2025, condos and housing estates run by a juristic person can register as a group, so a condo resident should ask the office whether the building has done so.
Sorting saves 40 baht a month in Bangkok. That is 480 baht a year per household for keeping food scraps, recyclables and hazardous items apart from general rubbish, which most people with a kitchen bin and two extra bags can manage.
Condo bin rooms and house collection
Most condos have a bin room on each floor or a central refuse area on the ground floor. Building rules usually say what goes where and when, and the juristic office can tell you. Tie bags tightly; in Thailand's heat, food waste smells within a day and draws ants and cockroaches, which our page on household pests deals with. If you employ a cleaner, show them how you sort; our guide to hiring a maid or cleaner covers the rest of that arrangement.
In a house, rubbish is left in bags or a bin outside for the collection truck. Collection days and times vary by district and town, so ask a neighbor or the local office rather than guessing. Do not leave bags out days early; dogs, cats and rats will open them. Do not burn rubbish in the garden: the smoke is a health problem for you and your neighbors, especially in the dry season; see our page on PM2.5 air pollution.
Selling recyclables: saleng and buy-back shops
Thailand has a long-standing informal recycling trade. Saleng, collectors on motorbike or tricycle carts, go from street to street buying recyclables, and small buy-back shops pay by weight for cardboard, paper, plastic bottles, glass and metal. In many buildings, cleaners or other staff also collect bottles and boxes to sell.
We do not print buy-back prices, because they change with commodity markets and nobody publishes an official list. For a household, the amounts are small; the real benefit is that clean, dry recyclables kept separate are worth something to someone, and stay out of landfill. Flatten cardboard, rinse bottles and cans, and keep them in a separate bag. If you receive a lot of parcels, the boxes add up quickly.
Give recyclables to the person who collects them. If a cleaner in your building or a saleng on your street collects bottles and cardboard, leaving them out separately for that person is often the simplest way to recycle in Thailand.
Batteries, bulbs, medicines and spray cans
Hazardous household waste should not go in the ordinary bin. In Bangkok, according to the BMA's sorting guidance as reported in 2025, that means batteries, light bulbs and tubes, expired medicines, and gas or spray cans. Put them in a clear or labelled bag and either leave them at an orange hazardous-waste bin in your community or at the district office, or hand them to a BMA rubbish truck, which has a separate compartment for hazardous waste.
Outside Bangkok, ask the municipality or your condo office where to take them. Gas cylinders for cooking are a separate matter; our guide to cooking gas at home explains how cylinders are delivered and exchanged.
Bulky items: furniture, mattresses and appliances
Large items, such as a sofa, mattress or broken fridge, do not fit in the normal collection. The BMA runs a bulky-waste collection every Sunday, according to a 2025 report on its sorting scheme; we could not confirm on the BMA's own site that it still runs on the same day, so call your district office to arrange it. A condo office may also know a collection route or a contractor the building uses.
Working appliances and furniture in good condition are often easier to sell or give away, through condo notice boards, local community groups online or a second-hand dealer, than to throw away. If you are leaving Thailand, start early; items left behind in a rented unit can lead to a dispute over your deposit, which our renting guide covers.
Reporting overflowing bins and dumped rubbish
For problems in public areas, such as an uncollected pile, illegal dumping or a broken bin, Bangkok and several other provinces use Traffy Fondue, a complaints platform developed by Thailand's National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), according to the Bangkok Post. Residents use it to report everyday problems, from cleanliness to broken pavements, so that the responsible office can deal with them. The Bangkok Post reported in 2023 that Phuket had added an English-language version for foreign residents and visitors. Inside a condo or housing estate, report problems to the juristic office first.
If a pile of rubbish is attracting snakes or rats close to your home, our guide to a snake in your house explains who to call.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the rubbish fee in Bangkok?
Since 1 October 2025, a household producing up to 20 liters of rubbish a day pays 60 baht a month. If the household sorts its waste and registers through the BKK WASTE PAY app or the district office, the fee is 20 baht a month.
Where do I throw away batteries in Bangkok?
Batteries count as hazardous waste. Put them in a clear or labelled bag and leave them at an orange hazardous-waste bin in your community or at the district office, or hand them to a BMA rubbish truck, which has a compartment for hazardous waste.
How do I get rid of an old mattress in Bangkok?
Bulky items go to the BMA's bulky-waste collection, which a 2025 report said runs every Sunday. Contact your district office to arrange it, or ask your condo's juristic office how the building handles large items.
Does Thailand recycle plastic bottles?
Yes, largely through an informal trade. Saleng collectors and buy-back shops pay by weight for clean plastic bottles, cans, glass and cardboard, and building staff often collect them too. Keep recyclables clean and separate from food waste.
Sources
- Thansettakij – Bangkok's new waste fee takes effect on 1 October 2025 (Thai) (checked October 2026)
- InfoQuest – BMA Council approves waste-fee ordinance, October 2024 (Thai) (checked October 2026)
- Amarin TV – Bangkok waste fees from 1 October 2025 (Thai) (checked October 2026)
- The Standard – Bangkok waste-sorting incentives and registration (Thai) (checked October 2026)
- InfoQuest – Registering for Bangkok's sorted-waste rate (Thai) (checked October 2026)
- Bangkok Post – English Traffy Fondue app aids foreigners (23 August 2023) (checked October 2026)