Economic Assessment of Medium and Large-Scale Landfill Mining Business: Case Study Thailand

¹ The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand
² Center of Excellence on Energy Technology and Environment (CEE), Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI), Bangkok, Thailand
³ Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
⁴ Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand

^* Corresponding author: komsilp.wan@kmutt.ac.th

Abstract

Thailand produces over 25 million tons of waste yearly, while only a third is utilized. The waste disposed of in the landfill is rarely utilized, and research on the utilization of landfill waste in Thailand is limited. The information regarding the business model and the profitability rate of landfill mining is limited and generally was not displayed to the public. This paper examined the landfill mining business of medium and large-scale businesses in Thailand. Both sites’ business operations were analyzed, and the net present value was presented. The NPV results show that landfill mining is profitable and gives more sustainable waste management. The large scale is highly profitable but requires more investment extensively, while the medium scale is easily adopted and still provides a reasonable profit. Furthermore, to understand the business operation and sensitivity of the operation, this paper uses sensitivity analysis to analyze the factors influencing business profitability. Even though the result displays that both projects are easily profitable, the large-scale operation tends to be simpler as the expense has a lower influence on the business.