SCYCLE

The final installment of the 2025 International Workshop Series on E-waste Statistics was held in October in Bangkok, Thailand. It saw the UNITAR SCYCLE team deliver a capacity-building workshop on e-waste statistics in collaboration with the National Statistical Office of Thailand. The workshop forms part of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) project Enhancing countries’ capacities for measuring progress on the transition towards a circular economy (2024-26).

The workshop focused on strengthening institutional and technical capacities of agencies in Thailand to regularly collect, compile, and publish authoritative statistics on e-waste, one of the fastest-growing waste streams globally. It came at a time of the Thai draft Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Act being under development.

The workshop also provided a forum to pilot test changes proposed in the draft third edition of the global E-waste Statistics Guidelines.

The two-day in-person workshop built on two online training sessions held in September and attracted over 20 participants each day. Attendees represented a range of organizations, including the Pollution Control Department, Thai Customs Authority, Electrical and Electronics Institute, National Economic and Social Development Council, Chulalongkorn University, and international partners such as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Telecommunication Union.

Participants explored global trends in e-waste and links to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and engaged in hands-on exercises using UNITAR’s Excel toolkits to calculate key indicators, including electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market, e-waste generated, and quantities formally collected and treated. Discussions emphasized data needs for national legislation, inter-agency coordination, and long-term strategies for ongoing e-waste monitoring and reporting.

Follow-up engagement, including to support international reporting and develop a National E-waste Monitor for Thailand, is ongoing. Further information on the workshop is available on the UNEP project website.