INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT

The Basel Convention was designed to eliminate the risks from transboundary movements of hazardous and other wastes. Article 6 Number 1 of the Convention states: ‘The State of export shall not allow the generator or exporter to commence the transboundary movement until it has received written confirmation that: (a) the notifier has received the written consent of the State of import; and (b) the notifier has received from the State of import confirmation of the existence of a contract between the exporter and the disposer specifying environmentally sound management of the wastes in question’. In its initial version, the Convention covered several categories of waste, including wastes collected from households, but did not include the movement of solid plastic waste (including scrap plastic of non-halogenated polymers and co-polymers, cured waste resins or condensation products, and fluorinated polymer wastes) as listed in B3010 of Annex IX. Table 1 shows the status of adoption of the Basel Convention by the ASEAN+3 countries.

* ‘Signature’ authenticates and expresses the willingness to ratify or accept. ‘Ratification’ defines the international act whereby a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty. ‘Accession’ is the act whereby a state accepts the offer or the opportunity to be bound to a treaty which has been negotiated and signed by other states. ‘Acceptance’ has the same legal effect as ratification and consequently expresses the consent of a state to be bound by a treaty. In certain states, ‘Acceptance’ is used instead of ‘Ratification’ when, at a national level, constitutional law does not require the treaty to be ratified by the head of state. Source: UN (1980).

Source: UN (1989).

In 1995, the Ban Amendment was adopted by the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties. It provides the prohibition by each Party included in the proposed Annex VII (Parties and other States which are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the European Community, Liechtenstein) of all transboundary movements of certain hazardous wastes intended for final disposal, as well as destined for reuse, recycling, or recovery operations, to States not listed in the Annex VII. The Ban Amendment should enter into force between Parties who have accepted it on the 90th day after the receipt by the depositary of their instrument of ratification, approval, formal confirmation, or acceptance by at least three-fourths of the Parties who accepted the Amendment. Table 2 lists the status of adoption of the amendment by the ASEAN+3 countries.

* ‘Signature’ authenticates and expresses the willingness to ratify or accept. ‘Ratification’ defines the international act whereby a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty. ‘Accession’ is the act whereby a state accepts the offer or the opportunity to be bound to a treaty which has been negotiated and signed by other states. ‘Acceptance’ has the same legal effect as ratification and consequently expresses the consent of a state to be bound by a treaty. In certain states, ‘Acceptance’ is used instead of ‘Ratification’ when, at a national level, constitutional law does not require the treaty to be ratified by the head of state. Source: UN (1980).

Source: UN (1995).

The Fourteenth Conference of Parties of the Basel Convention, held on 14 May 2019, amended Annexes II, VIII, and IX of the Convention. Y 48, on plastic wastes that are a mixture of multiple types of plastics and/or contaminated with other kind of waste, was added to Annex II, which classifies wastes requiring special consideration. Mixtures of plastic waste, consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, and/or polyethylene terephthalate are excluded from Annex II. Added to Annex VIII (list of hazardous waste) was listing A3210, which concerns plastic wastes, including mixtures of such wastes containing or contaminated with Annex I constituents to an extent that they exhibit an Annex III characteristic. In Annex IX, which lists wastes not under control of the Basel convention, B3011 is replaced with B3010. B3010 states as follows:

• Plastic waste listed below, provided it is destined for recycling in an environmentally sound manner and almost free from contamination and other types of wastes:
• Plastic waste almost exclusively consisting of one non-halogenated polymer, including but not limited to the following polymers:
• Polyethylene (PE)
• Polypropylene (PP)
• Polystyrene (PS)
• Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
• Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
• Polycarbonates (PC)
• Polyethers
• Plastic waste almost exclusively consisting of one cured resin or condensation product, including but not limited to the following resins:
• Urea formaldehyde resins
• Phenol formaldehyde resins
• Melamine formaldehyde resins
• Epoxy resins
• Alkyd resins
• Plastic waste almost exclusively consisting of one of the following fluorinated polymers:
• Perfluoroethylene/propylene (FEP)
• Perfluoroalkoxy alkanes:
• Tetrafluoroethylene/perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether (PFA)
• Tetrafluoroethylene/perfluoromethyl vinyl ether (MFA)
• Polyvinylfluoride (PVF)
• Polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF)
• Mixtures of plastic waste, consisting of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and/or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), provided they are destined for separate recycling of each material and in an environmentally sound manner, and almost free from contamination and other types of wastes.

The amendment will be effective in January 2021.

References

Basel Convention (2019), BC-14/12: Amendments to Annexes II, VIII and IX to the Basel Convention. http://www.basel.int/TheConvention/ConferenceoftheParties/ReportsandDecisions/tabid/3303/ctl/Download/mid/22087/Default.aspx?id=7&ObjID=22064 (accessed 24 October 2019).

United Nations (UN) (1980), Vienna Convention on the law of treaties (with annex). UN. https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%201155/volume-1155-i-18232-english.pdf (accessed 24 October 2019).

United Nations (UN) (1989), Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVII-3&chapter=27&clang=_en (accessed 24 October 2019).

United Nations (UN) (1995), Amendment to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVII-3-a&chapter=27&clang=_en (accessed 24 October 2019).