A decision that will impact toxic waste dumping in developing countries, as well as the amount of Persistent Organic Pollutant (POPs) waste allowed in the circular economy, will be made by delegates from the Parties to the Basel Convention (Geneva, Sept. 3-7, 2018).
Threshold limit concentrations that define POPs waste – the most toxic form of waste that exists— determine whether a toxic substance is considered a POP and must be destroyed, or is considered “clean” and can re-enter the recycling stream. If a high level is set of one specific POP, Short Chained Chlorinated Paraffins (SCCPs), known to cause sever health and environmental impacts, it will result in increased hazardous waste dumping in developing countries and more contamination of products made of recycled materials, such as children’s toys.
Several NGOs wrote a letter directed to the Executive Board of the Interamerican Development Bank and the InterAmerican Investment Corporation (BID Invest) to deter the approval of a $200 million dollar loan for a Termo AP Project this Tuesday.
The loan would support the building of a waste incinerator for the next 20 years in Mexico City, incinerating millions of tons of solid waste to produce energy. This project has been opposed by a wide range of NGOs in Mexico City, and the new elected city government has expressed strong opposition to this project. In this time of transition for the new elected government, which will be formally instated on December 5th, 2018, the letter is asking officials to reconsider the support of this project.
Environmentalist group Ecowaste Coalition has launched a program called e-Waste to promote safety management and proper disposal or recycling of waste electrical material and electronic equipment.