Environment and natural resources
Pollution and waste
Customs enacts urgent waste smuggling measures
The Customs Department has implemented urgent measures to prevent smuggling of electronic and plastic waste into the country after Bt17.5 million worth of the waste shipments were intercepted, the department chief said.Customs Department director-general Krissada Jinawicharana said 103 cases of smuggling the undesirable waste were ...
The Nation Reporter
Curbs slash imports of plastic, e-waste
Imports of plastic and electronic waste have declined sharply after the government curbed imports of foreign waste, says the Customs Department.Plastic waste imported to Thailand fell to 174,000 tonnes during the five months to May from 571,000 tonnes for the full year of 2018, while ...
Wichit Chantanusornsiri
Drowning in a sea of plastic
Thailand is more aware than ever of the threat posed by plastic waste to the ecosystem and environment, especially trash in the oceans. As seen on the news, marine life is ingesting plastic waste and suffering immeasurably.Other countries are also hurting from the deluge of ...
Yuthana Praiwan & Lamonphet Apisitniran
Curbing the waste crisis
The 34th Asean Summit culminated last week with the ratification of two green initiatives that should bode well for the future of the planet.The Bangkok Declaration on Combating Marine Debris and the Asean Framework of Action on Marine Debris aim to strengthen regional cooperation to ...
Wassayos Ngamkham
Pollution in Thailand at ‘stable’ level for past five years
Though millions of people across the world succumb to ailments caused by air pollution every year, Thailand’s situation has been described as “stable in the past five years”. This is despite the fact that pollution in the North was worse than ever this year, officials ...
The Nation Reporter
'Litter traps' a success blocking trash from the sea
Jatuporn Burutpat, chief of Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, said four such traps tested in canals in Samut Songkram were each catching 7.7 kilograms of garbage per day. Five more will be set at the mouth of the Rayong River and Samut Sakhon canals ...
The Nation Reporter
Public discussion on forest fires, PM2.5
The Council of Engineers and its network partners have held a public discussion on the causes of forest fires and PM2.5 particles. The event was being held for the fourth time, with the intention of providing further information on policies and the strategies being used ...
Praphorn Praphornkul
Plastic reduction efforts 'a success'
The Pollution Control Department (PCD) says the first year of the country’s effort to reduce plastic waste has been successful and has received cooperation from the business sector. “Our plan to reduce plastic waste is in its early steps and voluntary, but we received strong ...
Apinya Wipatayotin
Thailand to ban three kinds of plastic by end of this year
By the end of 2019 Thailand will be free from three types of plastic – microbeads, cap seals and oxo-degradable plastics.Then by 2022 four other types of single-use plastics will also be banned – lightweight plastic bags less than 36 microns thick; styrofoam food containers ...
Health of locals ‘seriously affected by contamination from gold mine’
People living in the vicinity of the Akara Resources gold mine in Phichit province are complaining that they still have to put up with the contaminated environment, as neither the company nor the authorities have worked to clean up the heavy metals contamination from the ...
Pratch Rujivanarom