“Warawut” orders a complete purge of illegal industrial waste dumping operations in the EEC area, enforcing strict criminal and civil actions, applying anti-money laundering laws to seize assets, disrupt networks, and impose maximum penalties.
On 8 Sep 2026 GMT+7, at the Parliament Building, Warawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Industry, announced an escalation in efforts to combat illegal industrial waste dumping, especially in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) area.,and Prachinburi Province after detecting organized networks involved, impacting public health and the environment. The Ministry of Industry will take decisive legal action against offenders without exception.
He assigned the Department of Industrial Works (DIW) and provincial industrial offices to shift from reactive problem-solving to proactive law enforcement. They will coordinate with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division (NRCS), Pollution Control Department, and local governments to inspect high-risk factories, rented warehouses, and abandoned sites, especially in the EEC and nearby areas. When violations are found, the strictest laws will be applied.
“The Ministry will take decisive action, including ordering business suspensions, requiring improvements, or factory closures, alongside criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits to claim full compensation for industrial waste management and restoration costs as mandated by law. The DIW will accelerate revising factory laws to raise criminal and fine penalties to deter businesses from risking violations. The Polluter Pays Principle will be enforced to hold offenders legally responsible until waste is properly treated or disposed of.”
The Ministry is also working with the Pollution Control Department and the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) to classify offenses related to illegal industrial waste dumping, factory law violations, and hazardous substances as predicate crimes under anti-money laundering laws. This expands financial tracking, asset seizure, and dismantling of criminal networks.
On the technology front, the DIW enforces the E-Manifest system combined with GPS to monitor every industrial waste transport vehicle in real time. They are also accelerating the development of an alert system to notify authorities immediately if vehicles deviate from routes or enter high-risk areas, helping to prevent illegal dumping en route and track waste from origin to destination.
For sustainable solutions, the Ministry promotes a circular economy by shifting the perspective of waste to resources through the End-of-Waste framework. This encourages reclaiming industrial waste for reuse as raw materials or new products, relying on cooperation among government, private sector, and academia.
The Ministry has opened a 24-hour reporting center and hotline 1564 for tips on illegal industrial waste dumping and has built networks with citizens and local authorities to monitor and report incidents for faster official response. It also supports businesses to operate with good governance and social responsibility, aiming for Thai industry growth alongside environmental protection and improved public quality of life sustainably.