National strategies/policies

On 3 November 2006, the Prime Minister of Thailand had presented the government policy delivered to the National Assembly. As to the Natural Resources and Environment, the Government need to create the equilibrium between the conservation and the utilization of sustainability of natural resources in order to raise the good environmental quality in correspondence with the national economic by using the integration of economic measures and the environmental management for public participation and fairness.

In addition, based on the integrated waste management and life cycle approach, Thailand has also developed the strategic plan on special wastes, such as packaging wastes and waste from electrical and electronic equipments, which has introduced the Polluter Pays Principle by taking into account the responsibility of producer, importer and consumer and the promotion of 3Rs as a vital tools for the environmentally sound management.

 

Legislation, regulations and guidelines

According to the Notification of the Ministry of Industry B.E. 2548 (2005) issued pursuant to the Factory Act B.E. 2535 (1992) on Disposal of Wastes or Unusable Materials, Factory operators having hazardous wastes which have such characteristics and properties as defined in the notification must carry out the disposal of the wastes or unusable materials as defined as follows:

       - Wastes and unusable materials shall not be stored in the factory longer than 90 days without prior approval by the Department of Industrial Works (DIW). The storage of wastes and unusable materials in the factory shall comply with the provisions in the Notification of the Ministry of Industry B.E. 2547 (2004) on Manifest System.

       - Wastes and unusable materials shall not be taken out of the factory except with prior approval from the Director-General of DIW or the person assigned by the Director-General to take them out to disposal or recovery by method and at the place according to the criterion and the method defined in Annex 4 of the Notification and only by the permitted waste collector, transporter, and processor. If the treatment and disposal of wastes and unusable materials within the factory shall comply with the provisions provided in section 4, article 17 and article 21-24 of the Notification.; and

       - Details on type, quantity, characteristics, properties and storing place of such hazardous wastes or unusable materials concerned as well as method of storage, detoxification, disposal, discarding, landfilling and transport according to "Form Sor Kor 3", attached to the notification must be yearly notified to the Department of Industrial Works within the third of March of the next calendar year.

Additionally, the separation, collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of infectious wastes generated from hospitals, clinics and health care service centers have been complied with the Regulation of the Ministry of Health on the Disposal of Infectious Waste B.E. 2545 (2002).

 

Economic instruments/ initiatives

Tax differentiate, e.g. the different excise tax rate for recyclable batteries production which is rebated 5% of the excise tax, unleaded gasoline (ULG);

       Tax exemption, e.g. equipment for the control, treatment or eliminate pollutans;

       Deposit-refund system, e.g. bring-back program, this system will be used as a tool for subsidizing the consumer to return the remains of products containing hazardous substances such as batteries for final disposal or recovery;

       The environmental fund is established for the environmental sound management activities in accordance with item 2 "Environmental Fund" of the Enhancement and Conservation of the National Environment Quality Act B.E. 2535 (1992); and

       The Thai green label scheme project is established for developing the criteria on the clean or waste minimized products (e.g. no mercury added dry cell batteries, recyclable plastic products, etc.).

 

Measures taken by industries/waste generators

In cooperation and support from relevant authorized agencies, 6 categories including plastics, agro, pulp and paper, electroplating, dyeing and tannery industries have been in the process of developing clean technologies and waste minimization methods.

The co-incineration of wastes in cement kilns as one optional waste disposal other than landfilling, since 2001. The benefits of this program are both energy and material recovery. The program also included the energy replacement for coal/coke and the material replacement for raw material used in the cement kiln process. There are currently seven cement manufacturers expanded their capability in co-incinerators of hazardous wastes. 

Currently, pilot project on waste exchange programs are being conducted in Thailand to encourage recycling in industries. This program is based on the premise that one industry’s waste is another industry’s raw material. Companies match their waste disposal and their raw material needs through a computerized database, and subsequently exchange waste. For the supplier of the waste, these types of transactions avoid disposal costs, while the user; the purchase of used raw materials can be done at lower prices than that of new materials and can be reduced the energy needed during the manufacturing processes. As of 2004, over 400 industries had registered on the waste exchange database established by Ministry of Industry.

Additionally, at the local level many successful programs have been implementing, for example. Some local communities have conducted their own waste management program based on the 3Rs, such as source separation program, waste recycling in school. Such programs can reduce more than 30% of total waste generated in the community.

 

Others

The following methods have been used as support tools to reduce and/or eliminate generation of wastes:

       ISO 14000s, ISO 18000, Life cycle Assessment and Greening of Supply Chain etc.;

       Research on clean technologies and waste minimization e.g. research on cleaner production in the dyeing and synthetic rubber industries; and

Technical guidelines on the environmental sound management of hazardous wastes generated from communities e.g. laboratory waste, commercial waste, infectious waste, vessel and port waste.