Thailand's Electronic Waste Growing, But Lacks Proper Disposal

BANGKOK, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- Thailand still lacks an electronic waste disposal system which meets international standards. This is despite the increase in such waste, says the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB). According to a consumers’ behavior survey, 25 per cent of households kept the electronic waste while 16 per cent disposed it with regular waste. This consequently caused problem of improper waste disposal, making it unable to be reused or recycled effectively, said NESDB. It said the Pollution Control Department found that last year, electronic and electrical product waste was 368,314 tons, accounting for 65.4 per cent of all community toxic wastes, increasing from 359,070 tonnes in 2012. In addition, the Department of Industrial Works reported an electronic waste of more than 20 million machines in 2013, with an average increase of 10 per cent per year. -- BERNAMA