The Thai Police have started a crackdown on illegally imported electronic waste, or E-Waste. Heavy metals in circuit boards are very hard to extract, and can do huge environmental damage when buried or burned. In the past, much of this waste went to China for recycling. But since Beijing introduced a ban, more and more has been directed to Southeast Asia, as Tony Cheng reports.  

Thai police open a shipping container of contraband, but they're not searching for drugs or smuggled goods. Inside, piles of old arcade games. The plastic is a problem, but the real danger is the circuit boards. And the Police are cracking down on the illegal import of electronic waste, this consignment alone 22 tonnes from Hong Kong Singapore and Japan.

Thailand's deputy police commissioner says this waste is so hazardous, it poses a great danger that can't be ignored.

GENERAL WIRACHAI SONGMETTA DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER "According to the regulations, after the waste has been sorted, hazardous material should be sent back overseas. But our investigation shows they didn't do it. They buried it or burned it in Thailand."

At another site an hour outside Bangkok, even more illegal waste. Heavy metals and other dangerous chemicals like mercury and cadmium are commonly used in the production of electronic goods, but are very hard to dispose of. When these elements leak into the environment, they're highly toxic. Stacks of hard drives, laptop computers, desktops and flatscreen TV's, all the trappings of modern life, but ironically all of this has come from overseas.

But the import of electronic waste is banned under the Basel Convention, signed by most major States in the world. So how are hundreds of tonnes finding their way into Thailand? This environmental NGO lays the blame at the feet of Thailand's military government. Using their self appointed autonomous powers, they recently relaxed regulations regarding the import of waste to attract investment. And enforcement of existing regulations and fines for those that transgress are easily ignored.

PENCHOM SAETANG, DIRECTOR ECOLOGICAL ALERT AND RECOVERY - THAILAND (EARTH) FOUNDATION "So this is the big question that I would like to ask our government. Do they really want Thailand to be the garbage bin of the world community or not?"

And it might already be too late.

TONY CHENG SAMUT PRAKAN "Most of this e-waste has come from overseas. The laptop casing you can see from the sign on the back has come from Morrisville in the US. And some of the boxes having shipping manifests showing they've come through Japan and Singapore, despite the fact that shipping this type of waste is banned by international treaties. That has clearly made no difference at all."

So the next time you throw away your old phone, TV or laptop, think about where it's going to end up. It may be worthless to you, but someone, somewhere is going to have to pay the price. Tony Cheng, CGTN, Samut Prakan, Thailand.