Background:
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), supports a wide range of initiatives, including e-waste policy development. With the generous contribution from the Government of Australia - DITRDCSA, this activity was organized under the project titled ‘Creating a Circular Economy for Electronics and Electricals in Thailand’.
In Thailand, recent consultations indicate that 90% of e-waste is managed outside of formal collection and recycling channels. Compounding the issue of locally generated e-waste, Thailand also faces significant challenges from rising quantities of imported e-waste.
To address this, the draft Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act is being drafted to establish an extended producer responsibility EPR framework. In this regard, ITU is supporting the Government of Thailand to develop a technical proposal with sound recommendations for a comprehensive EPR system, encompassing the necessary legal regime, administrative arrangements, and financing mechanisms for e-waste governance in Thailand.
Workshop
Objectives
This final multistakeholder validation workshop represents the culmination of a year-long consultation process—spanning government agencies, the private sector, and logistics partners like Thailand Post, aimed at addressing Thailand's e-waste management challenges.
A validation workshop was convened to present, review, and validate the final technical recommendations for the legal regime, administrative arrangements, and financing mechanisms that will govern e-waste management in Thailand. Its main objectives were:
- To present the finalized ITU technical recommendations to all stakeholders for final review and consensus.
- To bridge the operational realities of the private sector with the regulatory expectations of policymakers.
- To solidify the administrative and financial structures, specifically the proposed responsibility models and fee mechanisms, before the official submission of ITU recommendations to the Thai Government.