Thai officials said they have seized 238 tonnes of illegally imported electronic waste from the United States at the port of Bangkok, one of the biggest lots they’ve found this year.
The waste, which came in 10 large containers, was declared as mixed metal scrap but turned out to be circuit boards mixed in a huge pile of metal scrap, said Theeraj Athanavanich, director-general of the Customs Department. It was found in a random inspection on Tuesday.
A UN report last year said electronic waste is piling up worldwide. Some 62 million tonnes of electronic waste was generated in 2022 and that figure is on track to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030.
It added that only 22% of the waste was properly collected and recycled in 2022, and the quantity is expected to fall to 20% by the end of the decade due to higher consumption, limited repair options, shorter product life cycles and inadequate management infrastructure.
Theeraj said Thai authorities are looking to press charges including for falsely declaring imported goods, illegally importing electronic waste and planning to return the waste to its country of origin.
“It’s important that we take action on this kind of goods,” he said. “There are environmental impacts that are dangerous to the people, especially communities around factories that might import these things for processing, then recycling.”
Thailand passed a ban on the import of a range of e-waste products in 2020. The Cabinet in February approved an expanded list of the banned waste.
Sunthron Kewsawang, deputy director-general of the Department of Industrial Works, said officials suspected two factories in Samut Sakhon province are involved in importing the waste. — AP
