Thailand has prohibited the import of plastic waste because of concerns about dangerous pollution.
As per The Guardian, experts warn that if countries don’t agree on a global treaty to reduce plastic waste, it could lead to serious health problems.
A new law in Thailand, which bans the imports of plastic waste, went into effect this month following years of activism.
The ban is being implemented while ongoing discussions aim to finalize the global plastic waste treaty.
Thailand is one of several Southeast Asian countries that received plastic waste from wealthier countries in exchange for payments.
After China, the largest importer of household waste, imposed a ban in 2018, Thailand became a major destination for plastic waste exports from Europe, US, UK and Japan.
Penchom Sae-Tang, the director of the NGO Ecological Alert and Recovery, said, “The ban on all plastic scrap imports should be seen as a triumph for civil society in preventing hazardous waste entering Thailand. Vigilant monitoring and robust cooperation with authorities would be vital to make sure the ban was enforced.”
In Thailand, plastic waste imports were often handled poorly, with many factories burning the waste instead of recycling, which resulted in harm to both humans and the environment.
