News

Bangkok Post 06 August 2021  

Don't postpone ban, green groups ask

More than 100 environmental groups have called on the government to prohibit the import of plastic waste and instead encourage the use of domestic plastic waste for recycling as a way to safeguard the environment and promote the circular economy.

Press Release 04 August 2021 | EARTH

While governments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have individually taken action to address incidents of illegal waste shipments from affluent and more developed countries, the 10-member bloc has yet to unify and boost up efforts to protect the region from the drawbacks and hazards of the global waste trade.

Bangkok Post 02 August 2021 | Suwitcha Chaiyong

Environmental groups are urging the Thai government to stop importing other countries' toxic garbage

"E-waste contains heavy metals and plastic, which contain toxic components. If waste management is not controlled properly, hazardous components, which contain carcinogens, can be released into the environment," said Penchom Saetang, director of Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand (EARTH).

Thai PBS World 13 July 2021

Thailand’s Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit has been urged, by an environmental advocacy group known as Ecological Alert and Recovery – Thailand (EARTH), to investigate why Ming Dih Chemical, whose factory exploded last week, was allowed to increase its production capacity of Styrofoam pellets, despite the fact that it is surrounded by communities and is not far from Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

PRESS CONFERENCE (in Thai): 13 July 2021 | Organised by EARTH

You are invited for the press conference organised by EARTH. We will submit the demand to the Minister of Industry to prosecute the offenders in the case of the chemical explosion and a fire at the factory of #MingDih Chemical Co., Ltd. which caused death and more than 60 people injured. Moreover, it incident also caused toxic pollution in a large area and damaged houses and people's properties the nearby neighbourhood.

Bangkok post 11 July 2021 | Pratch Rujivanarom

Hazardous substance laws have barely improved since last tragedy

Thirty years after the deadly blast at a chemical storage venue at Klong Toey Port, the recent explosion at a plastic pellets factory is a wakeup call that Thailand's laws to regulate hazardous substances have not improved much from three decades ago, academics say.

EARTH 25 June 2021

Representatives from environmental NGO Ecological Alert Recovery – Thailand (EARTH) submitted letters to the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment and the Minister of Industry, calling on the Thai government to ratify the Basel Convention Ban Amendment, which will end the imports of toxic plastic wastes and e-wastes into the country and for government agencies to strictly regulate dirty recycling industries that cause pollution.

Thai PBS World 17 June 2021

Pollution Control Department is demanding that a hazardous waste processing and recycling company in Rayong province pay compensation of more than 1.3 billion baht for damage caused to the environment and a community near its factory within 15 days, or face litigation.

Founded in 2010, Win Process engages in the business of sorting and recycling hazardous waste. Its factory is located in Village 4, Bang But sub-district of Ban Khai district of Rayong province.

PRESS RELEASE | EARTH  07 June 2021

The villagers of Nong Phawa sue Win Process company for releasing pollutants into local waterways, causing widespread damage to local environments and farmlands. The villagers demand polluters compensate for the damage they cause and be held responsible for restoring the environment to its original condition.

Bangkok Tribune 05 June 2021  

In recognition of World Environment Day, global anti-hazardous waste campaigners from EARTH and Czech based Arnika have called for an end to global hazardous waste exports and  recycling industries which they brand as “dirty” through the “universal” ratification of the Basel Ban Amendment