Thailand Solid Waste Management - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2026-2031)

The Thailand solid waste management market size is expected to increase from USD 19.85 billion in 2025 to USD 21.55 billion in 2026 and reach USD 32.67 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 8.67% over 2026-2031. This report is segmented by Service Type (Collection Services, Transportation & Logistics, Recycling & Material Recovery, Treatment & Disposal, Waste-To-Energy, Others), by Waste Type (Municipal Solid Waste, Industrial Waste, Hazardous Waste, Agricultural Waste, and More), and by Source (Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional). The Market Forecasts are Provided in Terms of Value (USD).

Thailand Solid Waste Management Market Trends and Insights

National Roadmap on Plastic Waste Management: Accelerating Recycling Infrastructure

Thailand’s Action Plan on Plastic Waste Management Phase 2 for 2023-2027 targets diverting 5 priority plastic types from landfills. It also targets a 50% reduction in marine plastic leakage by 2027 and proper management of 80% of municipal solid waste. These goals support new sorting and mechanical recycling capacity in the Thailand solid waste management market. A 2025 material-flow study found that Thailand generated 4.4 million tons of plastic waste each year, with 27% released to the environment. The same study found that uncontrolled and controlled landfill sites accounted for 85% of these releases. As landfill restrictions become more binding, certified sorting and recycling facilities can obtain stronger pricing for targeted material streams.

Expansion of Waste-to-Energy Projects Under Thailand’s Alternative Energy Development Plan

Thailand’s Alternative Energy Development Plan 2024 targets 900 MW of installed waste-to-energy capacity by 2037. The National Energy Plan 2024 also sets targets of 975 MW of electricity and 495,000 tons of oil equivalent of heat from waste energy. These targets strengthen the long-term project pipeline in the Thailand solid waste management market. Waste-to-energy facilities can provide a regulated outlet for material that would otherwise be landfilled or openly dumped. Long-term power purchase arrangements can provide operators with more predictable revenue than spot disposal. The draft Power Development Plan 2026 is expected to place waste-to-energy within longer-term electricity planning aligned with Thailand’s net-zero objective.

High Capital Requirements for Advanced Recycling and Waste-to-Energy Facilities

Advanced recycling, material recovery, and waste-to-energy (WtE) facilities require substantial upfront investment that many provincial municipalities continue to struggle to finance on their own. Thailand's waste management policy recognizes that low waste collection and disposal fees often fail to recover the full cost of environmentally compliant treatment infrastructure, reducing the financial viability of replacing open dumping with sanitary landfills, engineered treatment facilities, and resource recovery plants. As a result, the Thailand solid waste management market continues to face a significant gap between the cost of compliant infrastructure and the fees many local governments and waste generators are able or willing to pay. High capital requirements for lined landfill cells, leachate and landfill gas management systems, air pollution control equipment, continuous environmental monitoring, hazardous waste treatment units, and advanced material recovery technologies further increase project costs. Limited municipal budgets, uneven access to long-term financing, and lower waste generation volumes outside major urban centers continue to delay infrastructure upgrades, leaving many smaller municipalities and private operators dependent on lower-standard disposal practices.

Other drivers and restraints analyzed in the detailed report include:

• Eastern Economic Corridor Industrial Expansion Driving Hazardous and Industrial Waste Management Demand
• Rapid Tourism Growth Increasing Municipal and Commercial Solid Waste Generation
• Low Source Segregation Rates Limiting High-Quality Material Recovery

Segment Analysis

Collection services accounted for 44.7% of Thailand's solid waste management market by service type in 2025. Municipal contracts provide recurring demand across Bangkok and provincial areas. Tiered household fees introduced in Bangkok in 2025 strengthened the link between waste separation and the economics of collection. The collection base remains important for transporting waste to certified facilities for sorting, treatment, and disposal. Thailand’s 2025 taxonomy identifies sorting, material recovery, waste-to-energy, and hazardous waste treatment as activities that can qualify for green finance instruments.

Recycling and material recovery are forecast to grow at an 11.5% CAGR between 2026 and 2031, making it the fastest-growing service type. The Thailand solid waste management market size for recovery services benefits from policy support for circular material use. Better separation can improve the quality and value of materials sent to recovery facilities. Transport and logistics are becoming more important, as enforcement requires waste to reach certified facilities rather than nearby informal sites. The Thailand solid waste management market is likely to reward operators that combine collection networks with material sorting, treatment, and recovery outlets.

Complete Report Scope:

• By Service Type
  • Collection Services
  • Transportation & Logistics
  • Recycling & Material Recovery
  • Treatment & Disposal
  • Waste-to-Energy
  • Others
• By Waste Type
  • Municipal Solid Waste
  • Industrial Waste
  • Hazardous Waste
  • Construction & Demolition Waste
  • Agricultural Waste
  • Medical Waste
  • Others
• By Source
  • Residential
  • Commercial
  • Industrial
  • Institutional

List of Companies Covered in this Report:

• Better World Green Public Company Limited (BWG)
• Wongpanit International Co., Ltd.
• Earth Tech Environment Public Company Limited
• Akkhie Prakarn Public Company Limited (AKP)
• GENCO Public Company Limited
• TPI Polene Power Public Company Limited (TPIPP)
• N15 Technology Co., Ltd.
• Siam Cement Group Public Company Limited (SCG)
• Veolia Thailand
• Green Environment Technology Co., Ltd. (GET)
• TES-AMM (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
• SK tes (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
• SCG Packaging Public Company Limited (SCGP)
• PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited (GC)
• Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited
• Union J. Plus (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
• Recycle Engineering Co., Ltd.
• Eco Blue Ltd.
• Thanachok Oil Light Co., Ltd.
• Biffa Thailand Co., Ltd.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support