The government of Thailand is banning the imports of e-scrap and plastic waste. According to the National News Bureau of Thailand, the country's Department of Industrial Works (DIW) forbade imports of electronic and plastic waste last week, effective immediately.
Earlier in the month, the government-owned news service reported that the Customs Department would also be ramping up inspections of shipping containers in the wake of numerous incidents of hazardous waste smuggling. As a result of the intensified inspections, customs officers would be x-ray screening all containers rather than relying on random sampling.
Earlier in the month, the government-owned news service reported that the Customs Department would also be ramping up inspections of shipping containers in the wake of numerous incidents of hazardous waste smuggling. As a result of the intensified inspections, customs officers would be x-ray screening all containers rather than relying on random sampling.
Waste plastic imports had reached 120,000 tonnes in 2018 and 357,000 tonnes since the beginning of 2017. Direct exports from the EU accounted for only a fraction of the total at around 16,000 tonnes of waste plastics in 2017. However this figure excludes any material imported by way of Hong Kong or other Asian ports. What is more, exports of waste plastics from the EU to Thailand were up sharply this year. The EU sent nearly as much material to Thailand in the first quarter of 2018 as in all of the previous year.
Read the full article in EUWID Recycling & Waste Management 14/2018, out next week.
