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After a long struggle by environmental activists, Thailand has made a historic decision to completely stop importing plastic waste, gazeta.ru reports, citing The Guardian.
Until recently, the kingdom was one of the key plastic recycling centers in Southeast Asia, receiving significant volumes of waste from developed countries. Since 2018, the main suppliers have been the United States, Great Britain, the European Union, and Japan, with the latter leading in terms of supply volumes – about 50 million kilograms of plastic waste were imported from Japan in 2023 alone.
However, the system for monitoring the disposal of imported plastic turned out to be ineffective: instead of proper recycling, many enterprises resorted to burning waste, causing serious damage to the environment and public health. Environmentalists welcome the new law as significant progress, but emphasize the need for strict control over its implementation and the prevention of illegal import of plastic waste into the country.