The Commerce Ministry is to announce a ban on the import of 432 used electronic items in the next six months in a bid to combat a rise in electronic waste, according to the government sub-committee dealing with the issue.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Gen Surasak Karnjanarat, who chairs the sub-committee on the systematic tackling of electronic waste and plastic imports, said the panel yesterday decided the ban on the import of 432 used electronic items will go ahead.
The ban will be announced by the Commerce Ministry within the next six months. It will limit the hazardous impact on the environment caused by improper management of used-electronic waste such as television and computer screens and refrigerators.
According to current practice, imports are permitted for the purpose of removing precious metals such as gold and copper from electronic waste.
However, in many cases, this process is not carried out safely or professionally. Local people are hired to melt the precious metals from the waste in a fire often in an open field.
The work -- which is carried out mostly in the northeastern provinces, particularly in Buri Ram -- pollutes the environment, according to the sub-committee which has ordered a special panel be set up to find measures to deal with the problem.
According to the Department of Industrial Works (DIW), the country imported 2.83 million kilogrammes of used electronic items last year and 5.04 million so far this year.
Some were left in landfills and are exposed to the environment.
Imports of certain second-hand electronic products, including photocopy machines, are permissible provided the imports remain in operable condition with a long use life and that they must be disposed of outside the country when after their use expires, according to the sub-committee.
The panel has also agreed to revise down the import quota on used plastic bags for industrial use. This is in line with the government's aim to ban all used plastic imports after 2020.
The DIW suggested that the import quota of 60,000 tonnes in 2019 and 30,000 tonnes in 2020 could be lowered. The reduction is achievable because the country currently uses less industrial plastic bags than the quota limit anyway, according to the panel.
It insisted the quota revision was reasonable.
