Government tackles electronic waste at local level

Electronic waste has become a major environmental problem in Thailand, such that the Government is now getting Tambon chiefs and kanmans to help educate locals and tackle the problem at the community level.

At a deserted factory outside Bangkok, skyscrapers made from vast blocks of crushed printers, Xbox components and TVs tower over black rivers of smashed-up computer screens.

This is a tiny fraction of the estimated 50m tonnes of electronic waste created just in the EU every year, a tide of toxic rubbish that is flooding into south-east Asia from the EU, US and Japan.” The Guardian

The Provincial Administration Department director-general Arthit Boonyasophat is instructing all district chiefs to dispatch teams led by kamnans (tambon officials) and village heads to check electronic waste-recycling factories.

It is part of a bid to tackle the issue of illegal electronic waste smuggling for recycling or disposal, a source said. The teams, which were also instructed to search for those in possession of hazardous items, were to report to district-level agencies like the industry office which could pursue legal action. The district chiefs were also told to raise public awareness about the issue of illegal electronic waste smuggling for recycling or disposal so residents could report suspected factories.

SOURCES: The Nation, The Guardian