Thailand Announces Ban on E-waste, Plastic Imports

In an effort to stop amassing garbage in Thailand, the government announced it plans to ban imports of plastic and electronic waste. The initiative comes after massive amounts of e-waste from the U.S., European Union, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan had been shipped to Thailand.

This announcement comes on the heels of the implementation of China’s import ban. The Thai government reported there would be a two-year timeline for banning plastic, but it did not specify a timeline for banning hundreds of different types of e-waste.

DW has more details:

Thailand will stop importing cheap electronic and plastic waste in order to alleviate the severe ecological problems in the country, Environment Minister Surasak Kanchanarat told the daily Nation in an article published on Thursday.

"We need to prioritize good environment and the health of our citizens over industrial development," Kanchanarat told the paper.

The initiative comes after Thai media reported on massive amounts of e-waste from the US, the EU, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan being shipped to Thailand. Scrapped electronic components are a source of valuable metals and other materials, but also contain harmful elements such as lead and cadmium.

Read the full article here.