Plastic waste imports to be banned in 2025

Reduce and reuse: A volunteer from Trash Hero Bangkok sorting plastic waste from a mangrove area in the coastal province of Samut Prakan during World Cleanup Day in this 2022 file photo. — AFP

THE country is restricting plastic waste imports and will ban scrap shipments of the material starting in 2025, as officials seek to halt a flood of refuse from rich countries that has impacted the health of its citizens and polluted its air and water.

From this year, plastic waste imports will be restricted to 14 manufacturers located in Thailand’s free trade zone that use the scraps as raw materials, the government said in a statement after the Cabinet approved the policy. Inflows will be cut by half next year, although exceptions may be made on a case by case basis, a government spokeswoman said on Tuesday.