(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Thailand next Asian nation fully banning plastic trash from US & other dumpers. [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']

Date: 2022-10-05

The first phase of the ban, starting in 2023, will limit the amount of imported plastic scrap based on production capacities at the plants that process the material. In 2024, only half of imports will be allowed, and the total ban will start in 2025, the Bangkok Post reported.

The U.S. ranks second only to Japan in plastic-scrap exported to Thailand — just under 4,700 metric tons in 2021, if distinctly an improvement over nearly 107,000 metric tons in 2018.

Under the impetus of Asian bans and other international policies, [some of the latter nearly involving US military live fire on behalf of US shippers blockading small-nation harbors to force acceptance of shipments despite bans in place*], most American plastic waste exports currently go to Canada and Mexico,

..Some U.S. lawmakers and activists are calling for the Biden administration to crack down even more on plastic scrap shipments — especially the export of low-value scrap plastic to developing countries — by ratifying the Basel Convention. The U.S. is one of the few countries that is not a party to the international agreement, which aims to ensure certain waste is handled responsibly. A recent amendment added some types of mixed and contaminated plastic shipments to its control procedure as a move to curb plastic pollution. As of Jan. 1, 2021, countries party to the Basel Convention cannot trade these materials without a special arrangement.



Separately, Thailand was named in a now-rescinded 2015 report by the Ocean Conservancy as one of the top four countries in the world with the most ocean plastic pollution. The group recently said the report’s framing did not accurately discuss the role developed nations, especially the United States, have had on ocean plastic pollution due in part to shipping. Thailand is among the countries signed on to a United Nations treaty to end plastic pollution, a legally binding agreement signed in March and that is scheduled to be ratified in 2024 after a UN working group hashes out both binding and voluntary approaches to the issue….

* Report of one such event was linked and described in a dk post a few years back; it’s not touched upon in today’s source article at https://www.wastedive.com/

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/10/5/2127195/-Thailand-adds-to-Asian-countries-banning-plastic-scrap-imports-dumps-from-US-amp-others

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.