Environmental Groups Call for Thailand to Ban Haz Material

Greenpeace and the Basel Action Network  called on Thailand to ban the import of all toxic wastes into Thai territory and furthermore, join Malaysia, Brunei and China in the Asian region in ratification of a global agreement that prohibits the export of hazardous wastes from industrialized countries to developing countries or countries in transition. The environmentalists condemned the United Kingdom for its role in contributing to the dumping by not better enforcing its own laws forbidding toxic waste exports.

The demands follow recent discoveries that Thailand is becoming a target for international toxic waste traders. In recent days it has been revealed that the Thai ports of Klong Toey in Bangkok, and another private port in Samut Prakan province have been the recipient of about 20 metric tons of hazardous computer and electronic waste, unspecified amounts of hazardous battery and medical wastes, and about 1,000 old tires. 

Some of this waste has been traced to the UK and is now in the process of being returned. However most of the waste has no traceable origin and will likely not be able to be returned, and will remain to be disposed of in Thai territory at Thai expense.

"While the Thai government has made a lot of noises lately about toughening up rules to deal with this immoral and environmentally harmful trade, they glaringly have failed to state the obvious that Thailand has to date not ever bothered to adopt a total domestic ban on the importation of hazardous wastes, nor has the government taken the steps to ratify the Basel Convention's Ban Amendment that would prohibit countries like the United Kingdom or United States from exporting their toxic effluent to us," said Tara Buakamsri, Toxics Campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

Just two months ago in December at the 6th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Basel Convention on the Control of the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, all Parties to the Convention were urged to ratify the Basel Ban Amendment at the earliest possible date so that it could enter into legal force as soon as possible. 

The Basel Ban Amendment, once it is ratified by 62 Parties, will become part of the Basel Convention and will effectively place a global prohibition on the export of hazardous wastes from member states of the European Union, or the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development to other countries. 

So far, the amendment has received 36 out of the 62 necessary ratifications.  While Thailand has ratified the Basel Convention, they have not ratified the Basel Ban Amendment.