News
Court orders Win Process to pay 1.7 billion baht for environmental restoration
EARTH REPORT 2 September 2567
Rayong Provincial Court has ordered the Win Process Company, a hazardous waste recycling company based in Rayong province, Thailand, to pay 1.7 billion baht (nearly US$50 million) in environmental damages. The case was sued by the Pollution Control Department (PCD) in a civil lawsuit after the agency found that since the recycling plant of the company started its operation in 2011, hazardous substances had accumulated inside and outside the factory.
IPEN and WHO Roundtable on Health in the International Legally Binding Treaty on Plastics Pollution
Bangkok, Thailand 28 August 2024
As negotiations on a UN Global Plastics Treaty continue, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) held an ad hoc intersessional in Bangkok for expert groups from 24–28 August 2024. The meeting provided a unique opportunity for experts worldwide to gather, share knowledge, and advance efforts to create a legally binding global instrument for preventing plastic pollution.
Tackling a toxic waste crisis
Bangkok Post 07 July 2024
When the cadmium waste scare erupted in early April, the government attempted to allay public fears by returning the waste from Samut Sakhon to its original landfill in Tak province. However, recent soil inspections in Samut Sakhon show the impact of the pollution caused by the toxic waste might be more serious. Just moving the toxic waste out of the area is not enough, and more must be done to mitigate the pollution risks.
Groups Champion Children’s Environmental Rights amid the Triple Planetary Crisis
PRESS RELEASE 28 June 2024
Quezon City, Philippines. As the effects of the triple planetary crisis of climate emergency, collapse of biodiversity and pervasive pollution are brought to light, civil society groups called on duty-bearers, governments and industries in particular, to take decisive measures that will protect and advance children’s environmental rights with the meaningful participation of children and their supporters.
Smouldering ruins of Rayong factory emitting cancer-causing compounds: EARTH
The Nation 25 April 2024
People living near the burned-down chemical waste recycling factory in Rayong are being advised to stay away as the air within a 3-kilometre radius is extremely dangerous to health.
This advisory issued by Ecological Alert and Recovery – Thailand (EARTH) is in sharp contradiction to the announcement of the Pollution Control Department (PCD) issued on Thursday.
Civil society groups call on DIW and PCD to back PRTR bill in preventing and solving pollution problems
EARTH REPORT 17 April 2024
Thai civil society organizations led by the Ecological Alert and Recovery – Thailand (EARTH), Environmental Law Foundation, and Greenpeace Thailand met with directors of the Department of Industrial Works (DIW), and Pollution Control Department (PCD) this month, urging two agencies to join forces backing the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) to become a law.
ASEAN Leadership Key to the Success of Global Plastic Treaty to End Plastic Pollution
CSOs call upon ASEAN leaders to take a strong stance in the ongoing negotiation to develop an international legally binding instrument to address plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.
Between 23-29 April 2024, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet with other countries in Ottawa, Canada, for the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) meeting to develop text for an international legally binding instrument known as the Global Plastics Treaty to address plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, through a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastics. The prospective instrument is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to solve the plastic crisis.
Fast-track law on pollution
EDITORIAL, Bangkok Post 16 February 2024
On Wednesday, environmental groups submitted a draft of the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) law to parliament. This is not the first time the groups -- comprised of EnLAW, Ecological Alert and Recovery-Thailand and Greenpeace Thailand -- have been trying to push this crucial piece of legislation into law.
Over 12,000 signatures urge PM Thavisin to make Thai PRTR Law a reality
Bangkok | 14 February 2024
Thai civil society led by the Environmental Law Foundation, Ecological Alert and Recovery, and Greenpeach Thailand submitted 12,165 signatures to lobby for the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) law. Gathering in front of the Parliament House, representatives held a jigsaw banner with a message "A healthy environment requires PRTR" urging Prime Minister Srettha Thavisinto table the proposed PRTR law to the House of Representatives meeting.
Activists call for PFAS chemicals ban
Bangkok Post 8 February 2024 | APINYA WIPATAYOTIN
Activists have called on the government to ban Per-and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS), hazardous chemicals in the textile industry and other commodities, saying it would raise awareness among consumers who need green products for their health and the environment.