The cabinet's decision last week to announce a ban on the import of plastic waste into the country, effective as of Jan 1, 2025, is good news. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether the ban on this type of plastic waste will be implemented.
According to the latest cabinet decision, 14 plastic-recycling facilities in the Free Trade Zone will be allowed to import only 372,994 tonnes of plastic waste, equivalent to their total production capacities this year, and half of this amount next year. Other facilities outside the Free Trade Zone will only be allowed to do so when there is a shortage of supplies locally.
With two years to go, anything can happen given the track record of the government and industry ministry when confronted with fierce opposition and calls for the postponement of similar bans in the past.
Indeed, plastic waste imports should have ended on Sept 30, 2020, as ruled by a government in September 2018. That deadline was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Without strident opposition from the conservation groups, the government, following heavy lobbying from the Federation of Thai Industries, would have succeeded in deferring the ban to January 2027.
The postponement was part of the Prayut government's promotion of the recycling industry, which has seen invites issued to local and foreign companies to open businesses in the Eastern Economic Corridor. Several Chinese facilities have relocated there after the Chinese government decided to ban plastic waste imports.
The moratorium had ripple effects. The import of plastic waste, which is cheaper than local plastic waste, has rendered thousands of so-called Sa Leng, or rubbish collectors, redundant and prompted the closure of a number of scrap dealing businesses.
During the two-year period from September 2018 to September 2020, Thailand saw a sharp rise in plastic waste imports, from an average of 50,000 tonnes per annum between 2012 and 2016 to more than 525,000 tonnes in 2018, and 323,000 tonnes the following year. Thailand has literally become a big dumping ground for plastic waste from as many as 40 countries around the world, with the biggest big three exporters being the US, Japan and China. This pollution does not bode well for the nation's aspiration to be the medical and tourism hubs of the region.
The reprieve only benefits the plastic waste recycling industry and, perhaps, some officials who helped lobby for the delay to the import ban. This begs the question of whether the government is more concerned with the environment and public safety or with the survival of the plastic recycling industry.
Hopefully, the next government will show its commitment by respecting the Jan 1, 2025 timeline. The onus is on the next administration to be more active in dealing with rising levels of waste and introduce recycling policies that benefit society as a whole instead of trying to appease investors.
Speaking of a commitment to protecting the environment, Thai policymakers should look to the Feb 14 example set by the government of Sri Lanka, which -- despite an economic meltdown and mounting debts -- announced it would ban the use of single-use plastic items starting from June, in a bid to protect its elephant population following a number of recent animal deaths from the consumption of plastic. In the face of a fragile economic situation, that decision demonstrates how a government that is serious about saving the environment should act.