IPEN

Ratification by Croatia Seals Entry into Force of Basel Ban Amendment

Seattle, Washington, USA. Croatia's 6th of September deposit of ratification of the 1995 Basel Ban Amendment has allowed this global waste dumping prohibition to finally enter into the force of international law. The Ban Amendment, adopted by the parties to the Basel Convention in 1995, prohibits the export of hazardous wastes from member states of the European Union, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and Liechtenstein to all other countries.
 

National and international environmental health organizations are urging the Canadian government to ratify the BAN Amendment to the Basel Convention and end the exportation of waste to developing countries. One of the primary objectives of the Basel Convention is to have countries take responsibility for their own wastes in their own country and, in particular, stop the practice of exporting wastes to developing countries.

The Prime Minister’s announcement and COAG support for a ban on waste exports should be cautiously welcomed and is long overdue following the embarrassing revelations of Australian illegal waste dumping in South East Asia. However, it seems certain that the announcement is designed to distract from a major government push to burn Australia’s waste in polluting incinerators: an industry it quietly supports. As noted by some media reports on the announcement, the government “was exploring using waste in energy plants to power Australian homes.”

NGOs want Mexico, a member of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to lobby for the OECD to incorporate Basel Convention plastics amendments into the OECD Decision. By doing so, OECD countries will be required to use the prior informed consent procedure for hazardous and mixed/contaminated plastics wastes with each other. This is particularly important for Mexico, because it borders the United States, the main generator of plastics in the world.