Volume of plastic waste imports Thailand 2013-2023

In 2023, Thailand imported over two hundred million metric tons of plastic waste, pairings, and scrap. Within the examined period, the year with the highest number of plastics waste imports was 2018, accounting for over 552 million metric tons.

Thailand’s waste imports

The influx of electronic waste from abroad has worsened Thailand’s sting waste management problem. In 2022, Thailand ranked 13th among the countries importing plastic waste globally. In the same year, the export volume of plastic waste from Japan to Thailand amounted to approximately 49 million kilograms. The purpose of imports varies from recycling for reuse to simply relocating non-recyclable items from their countries of origin. However, from 2025, Thailand will completely ban imports of plastic scraps. Starting in 2023, the government limited the plastic waste import, allowing only 14 Thai factories in free trade zones to import around 372,000 metric tons and half of the amount for the following year.

Single-use plastic ban

According to a poll on the recycling rate of single-use plastic bottles among consumers in Southeast Asia, Thai respondents led with the highest percentage for always recycling single-use plastic bottles. Aiming to tackle the proliferation of single-use plastic waste in Thailand, the Thai government prohibited single-use plastic bags at supermarkets and department stores in 2020. Since April 2022, polystyrene foam containers and single-use plastics have been banned from 155 national parks around the country, as it was deemed necessary to protect the ecology and wildlife.