[BANGKOK] THAILAND - the latest country to feel the impact of China's crackdown on imports of high-tech trash - has become a dumping ground for scrap electronics from around the world, say police and environmentalists.

Police at Laem Chabang port south of Bangkok, showed on Tuesday seven shipping containers, each packed with about 22 tonnes of discarded electronics, including crushed game consoles, computer boards and bags of scrap materials.

Electronic refuse, or e-waste, is turning up from Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, police said, some of it imported by companies without the required permits.

Deputy Police Chief Wirachai Songmetta, who was showing the containers to reporters, said: "This ... shows that electronic waste from every corner of the world is flowing into Thailand."

While "e-waste" - defined as any device with an electric cord or battery - can be "mined" for valuable metals such as gold, silver and copper, it can include hazardous material such as lead, mercury and cadmium.

Police said they filed charges against three recycling and waste processing companies in Thailand. Those convicted can be jailed up to 10 years. "The companies that we have filed charges against don't have a quota to import even a single tonne of electronic waste," said Mr Wirachai.

China imposed a ban on overseas trash last year, telling the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it would stop accepting imports on 24 types of foreign waste, leading some to fear that this waste could end up in neighbouring countries.

The ban has upended the world's waste-handling supply chain and caused pile-ups of trash from Asia to Europe, as exporters struggled to find new buyers for the garbage.

China's state media estimated last year that more than 70 per cent of the world's 500 million tonnes of electronic waste entered China in 2016.

Environmentalists say waste once destined for China is being re-routed to South-east Asia, and new laws are needed or existing laws better enforced to prevent illegal imports.

Penchom Saetang, director of Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand, said: "Especially after China's ban, Thailand could become one of the biggest dumping grounds for e-waste."

Thailand ratified in 1997 the Basel Convention, which aims to control trans-boundary movements of hazardous waste. But the convention does not completely prohibit these exports from more developed to less developed countries.

Mr Penchom, calling for an amendment to ban these shipments, said: "The Basel Convention cannot prevent what is happening in Thailand because it has its limitations."

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed this week to step up nation-wide inspections under a plan to combat illegal electronic waste. But environmentalists say they have not seen the details of how it will work. "It isn't clear how he will do this," said Mr Penchom.

REUTERS