From January 1, 2025, Thailand banned the import of plastic waste.
Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Trade issued the regulation in early December and it was published in the Royal Gazette on December 16, 2024 to become law.
The provision allows for a bidding period between December 17 and 31, allowing carriers until the end of 2024 to complete outstanding imports.
In 2021, Thailand generated 5.68 million tons of plastic waste with a recycling rate of 19%. The country is stepping up its efforts to strengthen its plastic waste management strategy and accelerate the realization of Thailand's sustainable development goals. In fact, Thailand has already regulated plastic waste imports from 2023. The 14 recycling stations located in duty-free zones are not allowed to import more waste than their total capacity of 372,994 tons in 2023. In 2024, the amount of plastic waste imported by these plants must be reduced to half of their capacity. If processed plastic waste is imported outside the duty-free zone, the importer must prove that the import is necessary due to supply shortages. Imported plastic waste must be used as a raw material in the production process without being cleaned up. Prior to Thailand's action, other Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Vietnam, had already banned the import of plastic waste. China had already banned the import of 24 types of foreign waste in four categories, including plastic waste, back in January 2018 and shut down a number of highly polluting waste treatment plants.
