Experts have expressed concerns that Thailand's ban on importing plastic waste will cause this type of waste to "spill over" into other countries in the Southeast Asia region.

Experts have expressed concerns that Thailand's ban on importing plastic waste will cause this type of waste to "spill over" into other countries in the Southeast Asia region.

Thailand banned the import of plastic waste starting January 1st of this year, preventing the country from becoming a global plastic waste dump. This effort began in 2021 by the Citizens’ Network Against Plastic Waste, with the support of 108 civil society organizations and 32,000 people who signed an online petition.

While the policy is a significant step forward, much remains to be done, according to Punyathorn Jeungsmarn, a researcher at the Environmental Foundation. "The current law does not address the prohibition of plastic waste transportation, meaning Thailand could be used as a transit point for this waste to neighboring countries. The Thai government needs to be vigilant about this," Punyathorn said.

A woman works at a recycling plant in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 11, 2020. Photo: Reuters.

History shows that similar bans often only shift the problem rather than solve it, redirecting waste flows to other countries, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Countries receiving redirected waste will not have the capacity to handle the increased plastic volume or the accompanying environmental and health crises.

In fact, when China banned plastic waste imports in 2018, Thailand became a top destination for this waste from Europe, the U.S., the UK, and Japan. Between 2018 and 2021, Thailand imported more than 1.1 million tons. Japan is one of the largest exporters of plastic waste to this Southeast Asian country, with 50,000 tons sent in 2023.

Plastic waste imports are poorly regulated in Thailand. Many factories burn waste rather than recycle it, which negatively impacts human health, the environment, and the livelihoods of small-scale waste pickers.

To address this crisis, Amy Youngman, a legal and policy expert at the Environmental Investigation Agency, believes the world needs a binding global plastic treaty. This treaty should hold the largest producers and waste-generating countries accountable. "They must take responsibility for their waste domestically, rather than addressing it under the guise of recycling," Amy said.

A draft of the global plastic treaty has outlined legally binding commitments to reduce global plastic production (currently over 400 million tons per year) and phase out certain chemicals and single-use plastic products. However, at a meeting in Busan, South Korea, late last year, over 100 countries failed to agree on the final content of the treaty due to oil-producing nations rejecting a reduction in production.

The failure to agree on a treaty to end plastic pollution is a threat to human health, according to Professor Steve Fletcher, Director of the Plastic Pollution Coalition at the University of Portsmouth. There is currently no specific timeline for the next round of negotiations on the treaty.

Bảo Bảo (according to The Guardian, EIA International)