Thailand issues draft plan for integrated management of WEEE

On July 19, the Pollution Control Department (PCD) of Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment published on its website a draft action plan for integrated management of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) for 2022–2026 to solicit comments. In April, the PCD also published on the website the latest version of the long-discussed WEEE bill with the aim of accelerating the efforts to properly manage WEEE.

Overview of the draft action plan for integrated WEEE management

The table below shows the objectives of the draft action plan.

(*) This figure is probably an error. It should be “10” percent.

In addition, the PCD proposed specific measures in the following four areas to achieve these objectives.

1. Improve the efficiency of waste product management
   1. Develop laws and regulations for waste product management
      1. Draft a WEEE management bill
      2. Develop regulations, standards and methods for (1) waste product collection centers, (2) the transfer, collection, storage and transportation of waste products, and (3) the dismantling and recycling of waste products
      3. Review the regulations on permission for the import of used electric and electronic equipment into Thailand
      4. Review the regulations banning the import of electronic waste into Thailand
   2. Develop a database to support waste product management that stores the numbers of manufacturers, numbers of importers, quantities of production, quantities of collected waste products, etc., and ensure the connection of the database
   3. Develop a product quality approval system to manage low-quality products

2. Develop a waste product management system
   1. Support the establishment of waste product collection centers
   2. Provide local governments with technical support to establish waste product collection centers that collect waste products from various locations across their communities
   3. Support the private sector in developing a system for the waste product collection and environmentally sound recycling and disposal of waste products
   4. Implement financial policies to provide consumers with incentives for waste product management
   5. Support the private sector and local governments in cooperating in the separate collection and transportation of waste products

3. Build capacity for the dismantling and recycling of waste products
   1. Implement financial policies involving tax incentives to establish waste product recycling plants or expand plant operations to include recycling
   2. Through networking, promote comprehensive and efficient integration of waste product collection businesses and recycling plants that use less polluting technologies
   3. Promote registration of legal waste product dismantling businesses other than plants
   4. Build the capacity of dismantling businesses to dismantle WEEE by appropriate, environmentally sound methods based on scientific knowledge
   5. Qualitative monitoring and follow-up studies on aspects of the environment and public health that are affected by waste product dismantling and recycling businesses

4. Develop knowledge of and accelerate research and development (R&D) for technology and innovation
   1. Develop knowledge and communicate it to the public
      1. Develop knowledge of waste product management and communicate it to the public
      2. Review the components of the curriculum related to waste product management at each level of education
      3. Promote the establishment of learning centers for waste product management
   2. Conduct R&D for technology and innovation
      1. Conduct R&D for waste product management
      2. Support R&D for recycling technologies efficient and harmless to the environment
      3. Support R&D for manufacturing and design of reusable products that generate a smaller amount of hazardous substances

The full text of the draft plan is available at
https://www.pcd.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/pcdnew-2021-07-19_06-41-36_736367.pdf.