The cabinet on Tuesday endorsed a bill to force electronics manufacturers to take responsibility for high-tech waste and design more environmentally friendly gadgets.
The government also put its stamp of approval on a second bill expanding the list of sexual offences to encompass the digital realm.
Deputy government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the electronic-waste bill requires better management of electric and electronic garbage, as the quantity of such waste was growing fast without laws to regulate it.
Disused computers, mobile devices and other electronic gadgets pose dangers because they contain several kinds of heavy metals, including lead, mercury and cadmium, which must be disposed of properly, Maj Gen Sansern said.
The bill would require manufacturers of electronic and electrical products to pay for their disposal and push them to design products to be more environmentally friendly and include recyclable components, he said.
The amendment to the sexual offence law expands on existing sections of the Criminal Code to cover sexual offences inflicted through speeches, gestures, sound, pictures and electronic information that annoy, frighten or embarrass others, Maj Gen Sansern said.