Warawut proposed the idea of turning waste into raw materials, joining forces with four ministries to establish a war room to tackle the shortage of plastic pellets and preparing recycling solutions for the long-term problem.
On 8 April 2026, Warawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Industry, revealed the outcome of a meeting discussing strategies to manage plastic pellets. The meeting was held with Supachai Sutthumpun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, amid the Middle East crisis directly affecting the petrochemical supply chain, causing plastic pellets in Thailand to become scarce and their prices to rise rapidly.
The meeting resolved to establish a joint task force involving four key ministries: Commerce, Industry, Public Health, and Interior. This group will integrate efforts with the private sector to urgently address the upstream raw material shortage.
Warawut stated the urgent mission of this task force is to invite entrepreneurs and relevant parties to thoroughly review data on current plastic pellet stocks, actual import costs, and market prices to prevent opportunistic hoarding or price manipulation. This aims to avoid impacts on production costs of essential consumer goods and medical supplies, with the ultimate goal of controlling final product prices to prevent increased living costs for the public during this crisis.
Beyond immediate measures, the Minister of Industry emphasized a long-term solution by upgrading the recycling industry. He pointed out that Thailand currently produces 2.7 million tons of plastic waste annually but recycles only 25%. This presents a significant opportunity for all sectors to focus properly on recycling, transforming waste into substitute raw materials for the scarce new plastic pellets. This will substantially reduce production costs and create sustainability for Thailand’s industrial sector. He affirmed that effective recycling management will stabilize market prices and relieve businesses from bearing global market fluctuations.