The global pandemic has placed unprecedented pressure on waste management systems worldwide, posing grave risks to human health and the environment. It will be necessary to develop ambitious waste reduction and management plans to build a more sustainable post-pandemic world. As the legal framework on waste and the waste trade, the Basel Convention and its next Open-Ended Working Group can provide a pivotal opportunity to enhance such ambitions ahead of the 2021 Conference of the Parties.
The Waste Problem: Compounded by the Pandemic
Over the past several months, more and more single-use plastic products have littered the streets, from disposable masks and gloves to plastic bags and cups, even while studies show that single-use items are not necessarily safer than reusables. But that trash isn’t just visible in the streets. It’s also piling up in landfills, as waste infrastructure is overwhelmed by the sheer amount of single-use plastic.
Burning all that waste may seem like a way to dwindle down the mountains of trash, but incineration is far from a solution. For one, highly toxic substances often leach into the air and soil throughout the incineration process, polluting the air and increasing risks of cancer, respiratory symptoms, congenital abnormalities, and hormonal defects.
The pandemic’s resurgence of single-use plastic may have exacerbated the waste problem, but this problem extends far beyond the current situation. Electronic waste, in particular, has been increasingly problematic: Referred to as “e-waste,” electronic waste is often shipped to developing countries, where its hazardous components can pose harmful health risks, threaten human rights, and contaminate the environment.
The OEWG-12: A Chance for the Basel Convention to Deliver on Its Promises
In the context of these harmful waste flows that have been further compounded by the pandemic, Parties to the Basel Convention are now tasked with discussing how to move forward in tackling plastic waste and e-waste during the next Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG-12), which begins in September. Both plastic and e-waste, and their chemical components, are long-lasting, ubiquitous, and potentially highly toxic, thus presenting unique challenges.
The Basel Convention can bring transformative change: Its last Conference of the Parties (COP14) set a landmark victory with an amendment that subjected most mixed plastic waste to a prior informed consent procedure, meaning importing countries must consent to receive such waste. Now, in the lead-up to the Basel Convention’s COP15 in 2021, Parties must ensure that this Basel Plastic Amendment upholds the Convention’s commitment to protecting human health and the environment from the adverse effects brought by the generation, management, transboundary movement, and disposal of hazardous and other wastes.
One element of the Basel Plastic Amendment up for discussion at the OEWG-12 concerns the types of plastic waste subject to the prior informed consent procedure. Currently, certain types of plastic waste, including those containing fluorinated polymers, cured resins, and additives, are exempt from the procedure, meaning countries do not need to give consent before such plastic waste is dumped on their shores. But these products present severe health and environmental risks, including their links to cancer and respiratory problems and their long-term toxicity to the environment. If such exemptions are allowed to remain in the Basel Plastic Amendment despite research demonstrating their environmental and health risks, this inherently goes against the Convention’s integrity.
E-waste is another topic on the OEWG-12 agenda, following Ghana’s and Switzerland’s proposal to include e-waste under Annex II of the Basel Convention, which addresses “wastes requiring special consideration.” In particular, they’re asking for all e-waste to be treated as either “hazardous” or to be labeled as “other waste” (and therefore subject to the more rigorous control procedures of the Convention). Unfortunately, solving this classification problem alone would still be insufficient. In addition, Parties must address the main problem behind the toxic e-waste trade: the “Repairables Loophole.” Under this loophole, the United States and the European Union (which together contribute to nearly 50% of the world’s e-waste) export their e-waste as “second-hand goods” to developing countries — under the guise of being “repairable electronics” rather than waste. To successfully halt the flood of e-waste to developing countries, the Basel Convention must address this clear loophole, as well as e-waste classifications.
In addition to these specific agenda items, this OEWG-12 offers a chance to bring further clarity to implementing the Basel Convention and shepherding a bolder review process. Parties will have a chance to discuss several important technical guidelines, specify the Convention’s terminology, and review the annexes defining what is considered hazardous and non-hazardous waste.
Challenges to Effective Participation
Critically, and particularly during these remote times, the discussions and decisions made during the OEWG-12 must guarantee broad and effective participation. The initial virtual format of this meeting, originally scheduled for June 2020, was widely and understandably criticized by NGOs (such as the Basel Action Network) and states (particularly the African Group of States) for hindering fair and equal participation of all Parties and observers. Among other issues, the original format’s decision-making mechanism included a mere 48-hour window for comments, translations were missing, and the time zone proposed was entirely Eurocentric.
Ultimately, these criticisms were heard: The Bureau of the Convention decided to remodel and postpone the OEWG-12, this time with measures to reinforce democracy and equity in the decision-making process. While some barriers to remote participation still exist, the new meeting structure is an improvement. It will take place through both an online segment in September 2020 and a face-to-face segment in March 2021 in Nairobi, Kenya, immediately following the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5). Moreover, in response to critiques on the remote procedure for providing comments, no substantive decisions will be adopted during the online sessions. While still imperfect, these changes represent a critical step toward stronger democratic processes during these challenging times.
Turning the Tide on Plastic
The Basel Convention addresses a vital component of the plastic crisis, the plastic waste trade. But the plastic crisis is much larger than just a waste issue; the entire lifecycle of plastic, from production, to use, to disposal, is harmful to human health and the environment. Ultimately, a global agreement is necessary to tackle the full plastic crisis, albeit in close coordination with existing instruments like the Basel Convention.
While this month’s OEWG-12 meeting is a chance to reinforce the Basel Convention, the upcoming UNEA-5 meeting also provides an opportunity to address plastic’s full lifecycle by adopting a critical mandate for a new global agreement on plastic. To effectively turn the tide on plastic, these meetings will need heightened ambition and a commitment to tackling every stage of plastic’s destructive lifecycle.
By Suzanne Astic, Legal Intern, Geneva
Originally posted on August 31, 2020