Waste‐merit management: How adapting Buddhist environmental ethics can help – A qualitative case study of Buddhist temples in Khon Kaen, Thailand

Abstract

Thailand needs to manage trash disposal due to the country's growing urban community. This study argues that waste management in the city of Khon Kaen can benefit from adopting Buddhist environmental ethics. We conducted a qualitative case study with purposive sampling of 24 key informants for in‐depth interviews. We used the ATLAS.ti programme to apply content analysis techniques (theme, coding and quotation). Our case study argues for an optimistic practice of waste management in temples by integrating the Buddhist principle of merit‐making. This approach shapes waste management, such as donating waste, garbage‐free funerals and waste disposal. The waste merit‐making in the temples reinforces application of 3Rs (reuse, reduce and recycle). The study suggests that waste‐merit management model could be replicated in other communities but its success is not guaranteed due to variations in the level of support and collaboration between community and temple.