Thai officials seize over 200 tons of electronic waste illegally imported from the US
apnews.com
Thai officials say they have seized 238 tons of illegally imported electronic waste from the United States, one of the biggest lots they've found this year.

The waste, which came in 10 large containers, was declared as mixed metal scrap but turned out to be circuit boards mixed in a huge pile of metal scrap, said Theeraj Athanavanich, director-general of the Customs Department.

The waste was found on Tuesday after the containers became the subject of a routine random inspection, officials said.

A U.N. report last year said electronic waste is piling up worldwide. Some 62 million tons of electronic waste was generated in 2022 and that figure is on track to reach 82 million tons by 2030, the report said. It said only 22% of the waste was properly collected and recycled in 2022 and that quantity is expected to fall to 20% by the end of the decade due to higher consumption, limited repair options, shorter product life cycles, and inadequate management infrastructure.

  • LostWon@lemmy.caEnglish
    50·
    2 days ago

    Yikes, proper waste handling could use more attention in the news, despite the seemingly endless flow of other problems. (Lots of good news too, but that gets even less attention.)

    • maccentric@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      3·
      1 day ago

      Lots of good news? Lots?? If I see one good thing amidst the endless torrent of horrifying horseshit in a day I feel like that’s an outlier, where are you coming up with lots?

      • LostWon@lemmy.caEnglish
        2·
        1 day ago

        I had to actively seek sources out for my own sanity. The people compiling it don’t cover every area I’d like, but there’s good news happening too. Two sources I know of are Sam Bentley and Good News.

      • Wilco@lemm.eeEnglish
        3·
        2 days ago

        Hope in one hand and shit in the other, then see which one gets filled up first.

      • 11111one11111@lemmy.worldEnglish
        42·
        2 days ago

        Logistic liability is determined in most purchasing agreements. Liability of the seller for international shipments usually ends at pickup. The buyer is usually liable for arranging how its picked up and how it is shipped. This is anecdotal to my experiences in the manufacturing industry but I’ve never seen at any company I was with a scenario where the company who picked up our scrap would have an arrangement where we (the manufacturing company) would be liable for what happens to out scrap after it was picked up.

        • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
          41·
          2 days ago

          Selling to an overseas operator whose country’s laws forbide importing certain items - using a forged/illegal bill of lading - would be a good place to start.