Thailand’s cabinet approved a policy to restrict plastic waste imports from this year to 14 manufacturers located in Thailand’s free trade zone that use the scraps as raw materials, as reported by Bloomberg on February 21. In 2021, 40 to 50 companies were permitted to import foreign waste in the free trade zones across Thailand. The government spokesman noted that the introduction of this policy would result in a 50% reduction in waste inflow next year, although exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis. Ultimately, the Thai government aims to prohibit plastic waste imports from 2025, in a move to safeguard people’s health and improve air and water quality.

Plastic waste imports to Thailand and some other Southeast Asian countries surged after China, the world’s largest plastic producer and waste importer, announced a strict import ban on solid waste in 2017. Specifically, Thailand imported 552,912 and 323,167 tons of plastic waste in 2018 and 2019, compared to 152,737 tons in 2017. Although the high-quality raw materials collected from imported waste fueled China’s industrialization, the severe environmental pollution forced China to abandon this unsustainable economic model and invest in environment governance. In response to China’s ban on trash imports, Thailand approved The Roadmap on Plastic Waste Management (2018-2030) in 2018, planning to achieve 100% reuse of plastic waste by 2027. The roadmap outlined three strategies, including reducing plastic at production, curbing the consumption of single-use plastic, and managing plastic waste effectively after use.

Sources:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-21/thailand-to-ban-plastic-waste-imports-from-2025-to-cut-pollution?srnd=green

https://chinadialogue.net/en/cities/thai-saleng-trash-collectors-livelihoods-threatened-by-waste-imports/