Outlook Business Desk
Thailand is facing a hidden crisis. At an industrial site in eastern Thailand, Inspector Thitipas Choddaechachainun, head of a special task force under the Ministry of Industry, uncovers how the country is becoming a global dumping ground for e-waste—driven by smuggling, pollution and profit.
E-waste includes discarded phones, computers and appliances. It often contains toxic metals like mercury and lead—making its disposal a major environmental threat if not handled safely.
China was once the world’s top destination for e-waste. But after Beijing banned imports in 2018, exporters have turned to Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries as alternative destinations to dump their e-waste.
Thailand banned e-waste imports in 2020, but inflows surged from 3,000 to 60,000 tonnes annually. Most of it comes from the US and EU, where high gadget turnover is fuelling the global e-waste dumping trend.
Western laws ban e-waste dumping, but exporters exploit loopholes by mislabelling discarded electronic products as “second-hand goods.” Once shipped, it's illegally smelted—a toxic yet lucrative process that yields gold, copper and other valuable metals.
"Thailand is not getting anything from these illegal e-waste businesses," Thai Industry Minister Akanat Promphan told the BBC in Bangkok. "They bring no economic value, damage the environment, and threaten people's livelihoods. That’s why I’ve created a special task force to launch a full-scale crackdown on these operations."
57-year-old Seng Wongsena, a farmer in eastern Thailand, says polluted water from a nearby smelter has damaged his cassava crop. Environmentalists call the plant illegal and warn that toxic e-waste imports are contaminating land and lives — reflecting a much larger global crisis.
According to the United Nations, over 60 million tonnes of e-waste is generated globally each year — double the volume from 15 years ago. Less than 25% is responsibly recycled and the gap continues to grow.
Several countries require tech companies including Apple, Samsung, Dell and Hewlett Packard, among others to manage the collection and safe disposal of old devices. Thailand plans similar laws, aiming for enactment by year-end or early next year. Minister Promphan is committed to cracking down on illegal e-waste businesses to protect the environment and public health.