The Customs Department has seized and will push back more than 400 containers containing electronic waste and plastic scrap at Bangkok Port, department spokesman Chaiyuth Kamkun said on Tuesday.
The department has seized four containers of e-waste – declared as metal scrap – shipped from the United States, he said.
Eighty-nine containers of plastic scrap have also just arrived at Bangkok Port, also known as Khlong Toei Port.
There are another 339 containers already parked at the port, bringing the total to 428 containers of plastic waste awaiting customs clearance, the spokesman said.
If importers are found to be violating import and environmental rules, they have to ship these containers back to their ports of origin, he explained.
The has launched a campaign against e-waste and other toxic garbage exported to Thailand following communities’ complaints about toxic gases leaking from factories that operate the illegal recycling of e-waste.
