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4.3.7 Regulation on waste handlers
In order to make it clear who is responsible for what kind of actions, the law also prescribes responsibilities and duties of the key stakeholders in the system, particularly waste generators, governmental agencies in charge, and service providers in waste collection, transport, treatment and disposal. One feature of the waste sector is its transition towards a process industry with increased pre-treatment of waste prior to the disposal of residues and the co-location of several technologies at a single site, often combining resource recovery with residuals management. This makes the job of a legislator more complex than in a situation in which facilities focus on a single method of waste management.
65 Ramaswamy, V. & H.R. Sharma (2012). Plastic bags – threat to environment and cattle health: Retrospective study from Gondar city in Ethiopia. IIOAB Journal-India 2(1):
7-12. Available at http://www.iioab.org/SPI-1(EBT)/Ramaswamy-IIOABJ-2%20(1)-(SP1)-7-12p.pdf
66 Box 1.1 presents an example of flooding in Accra, Ghana; plastic bags are one contributor to marine litter – see Topic Sheet 9, found after Chapter 3.
67 An overview of measures undertaken to reduce use of plastic bags per country can be found at http://www.earth-policy.org/plan_b_updates/2013/update123 An overview of measures in various U.S. states is available at http://plasticbagbanreport.com
68 Wilson, Velis & Rodic (2013), listed in Annex A, Chapter 1, Waste management, and references therein 69 http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/Waste/PlasticBags/
70 http://www.valorlux.lu/en/operation-eco-bag
A particularly important part of the laws and regulations on waste handlers concerns specific requirements for waste tracking ‘from cradle to grave’, usually focusing on hazardous waste, in order to ensure that the waste materials do not get ‘lost’ en route. This is not dissimilar to controls on the transport of dangerous goods and chemicals in other stages of their life cycle.71 Due to the high costs involved with environmentally sound waste treatment and disposal, in combination with ever-increasing waste amounts and public protests against siting waste facilities, the 1980s saw numerous scandals involving the export of hazardous waste from high-income countries, where stringent regulations had just been introduced and enforced, to countries where this was not the case. This was the primary driver leading to several international agreements on the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes (Box 4.13). If a country has expressed its consent to be bound by an international treaty such as the Basel Convention, then it has the obligation to implement the treaty at the national level by adopting and enforcing adequate legislation. There are many examples of good legislation in place to oblige waste generators to record their waste and send it to appropriately licensed facilities. Despite the Basel Convention having 183 Parties (as of 2015), the sheer volume of the international container trade poses practical difficulties with policing it. With the world largest shipping terminals receiving in the order of 50,000 containers every day, it is impossible for the regulator to inspect each container. In some places the problem is exacerbated by the corruption of the custom officers.72 All this means that the control of waste trafficking is an on-going issue.73
BOX 4.13 MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS (MEAs) ON TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENT OF HAZARDOUS WASTES AND OTHER WASTES
74The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is the only global treaty specifically focused on hazardous and other wastes. It was adopted in March 1989 and came into force in May 1992.75 As of August 2015, 182 States and one integration organization are Parties to the Basel Convention. In order to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects of hazardous wastes and other wastes, the Basel Convention places obligations on the Parties to reduce generation of these wastes; ensure their environmentally sound management, including adequate disposal facilities; control and reduce their transboundary movements as much as possible; and prevent and punish illegal traffic.
Under the umbrella of the Basel Convention, and in collaboration with other international institutions, an array of valuable normative tools have been developed and their use is promoted in order to achieve effective and coherent implementation at the global level, including technical guidelines, manuals, interactive tools, and others.76
Capacity building, in particular for developing countries, is an important element facilitating implementation of the Convention through the operations of a network of 14 Basel Convention regional centres and the establishment of public-private partnerships.77 Based on the Basel Convention, the Bamako Convention and the Waigani Convention have been elaborated among the countries in their respective regions. Both these conventions contain provisions similar to those of the Basel Convention but go beyond it by prohibiting the import of specific waste streams, including radioactive wastes.
As an African regional treaty, the Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import to Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa came into force in April 1998.78 According to the latest update, it has 25 Parties. The Bamako Convention prohibits the import of hazardous wastes into Africa from non-Contracting Parties.
71 UNEP (2013b), listed in Annex A, Chapter 1, Precursors of the GWMO.
72 As a result, goods such as household appliances and computers are officially exported for reuse, whereas they may actually be heading for environmentally unsound recycling, polluting local environment and impacting health of workers and local residents. Or waste materials that are officially destined for recycling may in fact be sent for cheap dumping overseas.
73 See Section 5.3.4 on waste crime.
74 Text is in part provided by the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.
75 http://www.basel.int
76 http://www.basel.int/TheConvention/Publications/TechnicalGuidelines/tabid/2362/Default.aspx http://www.basel.int/TheConvention/Publications/GuidanceManuals/tabid/2364/Default.aspx 77 http://www.basel.int/Implementation/TechnicalAssistance/Partnerships/tabid/3235/Default.aspx
78 http://www.au.int/en/content/bamako-convention-ban-import-africa-and-control-transboundary-movement-and-management-hazard
Waste governance 149
As a South Pacific regional treaty, the Waigani Convention to Ban the Importation into Forum Island Countries of Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes and to Control the Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within the South Pacific Region entered into force in October 2001.79 According to the latest update, it has 13 Parties. The Waigani Convention prohibits the import of all hazardous and radioactive wastes from outside the South Pacific Forum80 Island Countries.
The 2014 Minamata Convention on Mercury is a new international treaty, with its Article 11 on mercury wastes.81 This Article stipulates that mercury wastes should be treated in an environmentally sound manner, taking into account the guidelines developed under the Basel Convention and in accordance with requirements to be adopted by a Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention. The Minamata Convention will enter into force when 50 countries have ratified it. As of August 2015, it has 12 Parties.
Rotterdam Convention and Stockholm Convention
Together with the Basel Convention and the Minamata Convention, the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade82 and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)83 provide the international legally binding framework governing the environmentally sound management of hazardous substances (including wastes) throughout their life cycles. The Rotterdam Convention was adopted in 1998 to address a dramatic growth in chemicals production and global trade since the 1970s. Among other provisions under the Rotterdam Convention, a list is established of hazardous pesticides and industrial chemicals that are subject to an informed consent procedure prior to their international trade. The Stockholm Convention was adopted in 2001 in response to the urgent need for global action to protect human health and the environment from POPs, as these chemicals are not only highly toxic to both humans and wildlife but also persistent and transported long distances in the environment, bioaccumulative in tissues of living organisms and increasing in concentration along the food chain.
The four Conventions enable and require the effective coordination of local, national, regional and global environmental policies for effective implementation and enforcement of their provisions, to strengthen institutional frameworks and ensure policy coherence among parties, for maximum effectiveness. Under the Basel Convention, import or export restrictions and prohibitions strengthen the ability of Parties to only accept wastes if they have the capacity to manage them in an environmentally sound manner.
Defining illegal traffic in hazardous wastes and other wastes as a crime, as provided for by the Basel Convention, increases the chances of detection of illegal shipments, thereby preventing inadequate disposal of hazardous substances – illegal shipments are those most likely to be disposed of in a manner that can later pose risks to human health and the environment.
Through promotion of environmentally sound management of wastes, including their treatment, recovery, reuse and recycling, the four Conventions contribute to protection and preservation of natural resources and thereby to sustainable development.
Notwithstanding the benefits achieved, challenges for the coming period include further implementation and enforcement of the Conventions as well as active promotion of waste prevention, minimization and resource recovery. The use of cleaner technologies and production methods is particularly important so as to find appropriate alternatives to POPs and reduce use of hazardous substances, taking into account social, technological and economic concerns.
In order to further the implementation and overcome the challenges, current efforts are directed toward further improvement of institutional and technical capabilities, as well as developing or strengthening mechanisms for monitoring and promoting implementation and compliance with the Conventions. This includes the establishing of effective cooperation mechanisms and partnerships between government authorities and key stakeholders, including industry and businesses, NGOs, academic institutions, international and regional organizations, such as regional centres; development of opportunities for technical assistance (enhancing industry support for knowledge-sharing and capacity building); and development and subsequent use of procedures and mechanisms for promoting compliance. The Conventions are also contributing to broader societal efforts to enhance information exchange, education and awareness raising about these important issues.
79 https://www.sprep.org/attachments/Publications/FactSheet/Waigani_Convention.pdf 80 The South Pacific Forum changed its name to the Pacific Islands Forum in 2000.
81 http://www.mercuryconvention.org 82 http://www.pic.int
83 http://chm.pops.int