Dr. Atavit Suwannapakdee presents the “Skewer Stick Theory” regarding the draft Industrial Waste Act and related issues.
On February 26, 2025, Dr. Atthawich Suwannaphakdi, Advisor to the Minister of Industry, attended the 2025 Annual General Meeting of the Waste Management for the Environment (FIT) Industry Group on the Industrial Waste Act and related issues at the Federation of Thai Industries.
He said that the Ministry of Industry is currently drafting the Industrial Waste and Related Problems Act to reform industrial laws, environmental standards, and products or products from industrial factories and households, such as electrical wires, circuit boards, and car wrecks, will be included in the same category as industrial waste. This Act will be more stringent than before, using the meatball skewer theory. Dr. Atthawich will use it to integrate each issue to be consistent from the beginning to the end of disposal.
If this Act is enforced in the management, most of the e-waste from households will only be collected. If there is to be dismantling, it must be sent to a proper disposal plant. The Ministry of Industry will look at the end because we are the ones who have to dispose of it. The factory licenses 101, 105, and 106 will be issued by the Ministry of Industry. Therefore, if we change the Act, we will be able to look at the end of every piece of this industrial waste to create clear standards for proper disposal.
This law will prohibit the import of industrial waste, except for the use as raw materials only. If there is still an offense, we will be punished with 10 years in prison.
Currently, the smuggling of industrial waste is the responsibility of the Customs Department to seize it, but in the future, this will not be the case anymore, but will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry to directly supervise it, which will increase the speed of management, both in pushing it out of the country or destroying it.
And we will establish a fund called the Sustainable Industry Fund that will come in to manage and take care of the impacts caused by this illegal dumping more quickly, reducing the impacts that will occur more quickly. This money will come from the insurance fund of the factories, and if any factories have problems, this money will be used to manage first and will be returned later. If this law is enforced, it will help reduce the problems that will occur from the beginning to the end, according to the meatball skewer theory that Dr. Atthawich used.
