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By Edward Tang, The Straits Times (Singapore)

BANGKOK, 17 August 2002 -- Concerns that the country is becoming a global dumping ground have led to aban on bulk imports of used PCs and TVs

Thailand has slapped an import ban on old electronic equipment such as personal computers which are shipped in bulk and recycled for resale, following reports the country is fast becoming a dumping ground for toxic waste. But an Industry Ministry official told The Straits Times customs officers would be flexible in enforcing the ban. 'Our officials will carry out random inspections. If the equipment is too old to be of use, we will not grant an entry permit,' he said. The move is expected to hurt what has become a thriving industry in recycled electronic goods here. Second-hand dealers in Thailand import used electronic items such as PCs, televisions and video players in bulk every month. The used items are restored and resold. The recycled equipment is also exported to China and neighbouring Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The goods are cheap - a TV monitor costs US$2 (S$3.50) - hence the strong demand from Thais and poorer communities in the region. But most of the equipment sold in Thailand is discarded after being used for a few months. Thousands of second-hand computers and outdated TV sets are dumped every month by users upgrading to new models. Most of the used equipment is believed to come from America and Europe. There have been unconfirmed reports that exporters in these countries have paid Thai middlemen to dispose of the electronic junk. The reports have fuelled concerns that Thailand could become a dumping ground for toxic waste. A Thai government spokesman said: 'We are concerned that the lifespan of some imported products is about to expire, which turns them into garbage.'

Thailand does not have adequate disposal facilities for toxic waste such as car batteries, mobile phones and cathode-ray tubes. Many such items end up among landfill spoil, their toxic components posing a health and environmental hazard. According to government statistics, 700,000 personal computers sold in Thailand last year will become obsolete in the next couple of years and about 500,000 television sets are likely to be discarded. The problem is expected to worsen in the wake of recent moves by China to ban imports of old computers. Shipping containers full of used PCs originating from a Western country are stranded at a Thai port after they were apparently rejected by Chinese officials. Poor Chinese villagers are paid meagre wages to prise open computer monitors and printer cartridges to extract silver from the circuit boards. Thai officials are investigating whether the exporter had violated international rules on the dumping of electronic waste. The Basel Convention on the control of hazardous wastes prohibits such export. The potentially deadly waste can include used medical equipment, phone batteries and almost any electronic household product. Efforts to build waste treatment plants for these materials in Thailand have been stalled by bureaucracy.