MP Demands National Action on Illegal E-Waste Imports
MP Boonruang Yamjinda has urged Prime Minister Anutin to declare illegal electronic waste imports a national agenda after toxic e-waste from China was found flooding Prachinburi and Rayong provinces. Rayong authorities recently shut down a factory and seized massive e-waste stockpiles, while investigations in Chonburi uncovered hazardous waste being processed into fertilizer. Boonruang warns that heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury threaten soil, water, agriculture, and public health across multiple provinces.
Party-list MP Boonruang Yamjinda, leader of the Chart Pattana Kla Party, has urged Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and relevant agencies to investigate and crack down on the illicit import of electronic waste from China. The issue has already caused severe problems in Prachinburi province, where Chinese e-waste has flooded the area. In Rayong, authorities discovered massive piles of e-waste at Rayong Industrial Co. in Nikhom Phatthana district. Rayong Governor Thirapong Wongthirat ordered the factory's immediate closure and seized all waste, equipment, and machinery as evidence, while banning any removal — a decisive response that deserves commendation.
"Previously, the Chart Pattana Kla Party received complaints from residents in provinces such as Chonburi and Rayong about toxic electronic waste being illegally dumped by burying it outside industrial estates," Boonruang said. "Most recently, officials raided a private warehouse in Chonburi and found industrial waste mixed with soil and animal manure, intended for sale as fertilizer to farmers. This constitutes a severe disaster threatening the environment and public health."
Boonruang added that beyond enduring toxic dust and foul odors, local communities face risks from hazardous heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury, which can leach into soil and water sources, causing widespread impacts on agriculture, livelihoods, and public health. He called on the government to take serious, urgent action and elevate the issue to a "national agenda" to protect the environment, preserve agricultural livelihoods, and safeguard the safety of Thai farmers. The party leader emphasized that designating e-waste as a national agenda would enable systematic, inter-agency solutions, because what must be protected extends beyond warehouse perimeters to the land, water sources, and the lives of farmers who may be affected unknowingly.
