The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, often called the Basel Convention, is an international agreement created to reduce the movement of hazardous waste between countries. It specifically limits the transfer of hazardous waste from developed countries to less developed countries. The treaty does not cover radioactive waste, which is managed by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Basel Convention also aims to reduce the amount and harmfulness of waste produced, ensure waste is handled safely and properly as close as possible to where it is created, and help developing countries manage their hazardous waste in an environmentally responsible way.
The convention was signed by countries on March 21, 1989, and officially started on May 5, 1992. As of June 2024, 191 countries had joined the treaty. Haiti and the United States signed the agreement but did not officially approve it.
In May 2019, after a global petition signed by over a million people, most countries agreed to update the Basel Convention to include plastic waste as a regulated material. The United States is not part of the treaty, but exporting plastic waste from the United States is now considered illegal once the waste is on the high seas, according to the Basel Action Network. Carriers of such shipments may face legal consequences, as nearly all other countries prohibit the transportation of plastic waste.
History
In the 1970s, environmental laws in developed countries, such as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), became stricter. This caused the cost of disposing of hazardous waste to increase greatly. At the same time, shipping became global, making it easier to move waste across borders. Many less developed countries needed foreign money, so trade in hazardous waste, especially to poorer nations, grew quickly. In 1990, countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) sent about 1.8 million tons of hazardous waste. Most of this waste went to other developed countries, but several well-known cases of illegal waste dumping led to calls for new rules.
One event that helped create the Basel Convention was the Khian Sea waste disposal incident. A ship carrying ash from burning waste in Philadelphia, United States, dumped half of its load on a beach in Haiti before being forced to leave. The ship changed names many times and traveled for months without finding a port to unload its cargo. It is believed that the crew later dumped most of the waste into the ocean.
Another event occurred in 1988, when five ships transported 8,000 barrels of hazardous waste from Italy to the small Nigerian town of Koko. In exchange, a Nigerian received $100 each month for allowing the waste to be stored on his farmland.
At a meeting held from November 27 to December 1, 2006, members of the Basel Agreement discussed problems related to electronic waste and the breaking down of old ships.
The increase in trade of recyclable materials has created a large market for used items, such as computers. This market is worth billions of dollars. A key issue is deciding when used computers are no longer useful and become waste.
As of June 2023, 191 countries and groups have joined the Basel Convention. These include 188 United Nations member states, the Cook Islands, the European Union, and the State of Palestine. Five United Nations member states are not part of the treaty: East Timor, Fiji, Haiti, South Sudan, and the United States.
Definition ofhazardous waste
Waste is covered by the convention if it is listed in Annex I and has one of the dangerous traits described in Annex III, such as being explosive, flammable, toxic, or corrosive. This means the waste must be on the list and show one of these traits. Another way waste can be covered by the convention is if it is considered hazardous waste under the laws of the exporting country, the importing country, or any country through which the waste is transported.
The term "disposal" is defined in Article 2, paragraph 4, and refers to Annex IV, which lists operations that are considered disposal or recovery. Examples of disposal include activities like recycling and reusing materials.
Alternatively, waste can be covered by the convention if it is listed in Annex II, which includes other types of waste, such as household waste and waste from burning household materials.
Radioactive waste that is already controlled by other international systems and waste from normal ship operations are not included under the convention.
Annex IX tries to identify wastes that are not considered hazardous and would not be covered by the Basel Convention. However, if these wastes become contaminated with hazardous materials to the point where they show a dangerous trait from Annex III, they are still not excluded from the convention’s scope.
Obligations
In addition to rules about importing and exporting certain wastes, strict requirements apply for giving notice, getting permission, and tracking waste movement across borders. The Basel Convention generally stops countries from sending or receiving wastes between nations that are part of the agreement and those that are not. An exception exists when the waste is covered by another treaty that does not conflict with the Basel Convention. The United States is not part of the Basel Convention but has agreements that allow hazardous waste to be sent to countries that are part of the convention.
The OECD Council has its own system to control the movement of hazardous materials between member countries. This system allows OECD countries to trade wastes with countries like the United States, which are not part of the Basel Convention.
Countries that are part of the Basel Convention must respect import bans set by other member countries.
Article 4 of the Basel Convention requires reducing waste production overall. By encouraging countries to keep waste within their borders and near where it is created, this approach aims to reduce waste and prevent pollution. Countries that are part of the convention are usually not allowed to send or receive covered wastes from countries that are not part of the convention.
The convention says that moving illegal hazardous waste across borders is a crime, but it does not include rules for enforcing this.
According to Article 12, countries must create a protocol that sets rules for holding people responsible if damage occurs from moving hazardous waste across borders.
Currently, it is agreed that space is not considered a "country" under the definition used, so sending e-waste to non-terrestrial locations is not covered by the convention.
Basel Ban Amendment
After the first agreement was made, some least developed countries and environmental groups said the rules were not strict enough. Many nations and organizations wanted a complete stop to sending all dangerous waste to developing countries. The original agreement did not stop waste from being sent anywhere except Antarctica, but it required a process called "prior informed consent" (PIC), where countries must be notified and agree before waste is sent. Some waste traders used the idea of recycling to justify sending waste to other countries. Many people believed a full ban was needed, including waste sent for recycling. These concerns led to local bans on waste trade, such as the Bamako Convention.
In 1995, during a meeting called the Basel Conference, developing countries, Greenpeace, and some European nations like Denmark pushed for changes to the agreement. This led to an update called the Basel Ban Amendment, which was accepted by 86 countries and the European Union. However, the amendment has not officially started being used yet because it needs approval from three-fourths of the countries that are part of the Basel Convention. On September 6, 2019, Croatia became the 97th country to approve the amendment, and it will officially begin on December 5, 2019, after 90 days. The amendment stops developed countries (mostly from the OECD group) from sending hazardous waste to developing countries for any reason, including recycling. A major concern was the export of old ships for breaking down, a process called shipbreaking. Some industry groups and countries, like Australia and Canada, strongly opposed the amendment. There is still debate about how many countries need to approve the amendment for it to take effect: whether it is three-fourths of the countries that were part of the Basel Convention when the amendment was created or three-fourths of all current members. Details about the approval process can be found on the Basel Convention’s website. The European Union made the Basel Ban legally required in all its member countries through its Waste Shipment Regulation. Norway and Switzerland also included the Ban in their own laws.
Because of delays in officially starting the Basel Ban Amendment, Switzerland and Indonesia started a "Country-led Initiative" (CLI) to discuss ways to prevent dangerous waste from being sent to developing countries or countries with transitioning economies, where waste management may not be safe. This discussion focuses on finding solutions to why hazardous waste continues to be sent to countries that lack the ability to handle it safely. The goal is to help achieve the Basel Ban Amendment’s goals. Progress on this initiative is reported on the Basel Convention’s website.
Regulation of plastic waste
In May 2019, most countries around the world, except the United States, agreed to change the Basel Convention to include plastic waste as a material that must be controlled. Scientists estimate that the world's oceans contain about 100 million metric tons of plastic, with up to 90% of this coming from land-based sources. The United States produces more plastic waste than any other country, about 42 million metric tons each year, but it did not support the change. Since the United States is not part of the treaty, it could not vote to stop the change. Reports about animals, such as seabirds, eating plastic and scientific studies showing that tiny plastic particles can pass through the blood-brain barrier helped increase public support for international rules to manage plastic waste. Over one million people worldwide signed a petition asking for official action. Even though the United States is not part of the treaty, sending plastic waste from the United States to other countries is now considered illegal once the waste is on the open ocean, according to the Basel Action Network (BAN). Companies that transport such waste may face legal consequences because the updated Basel Convention, as agreed in May 2019, bans sending plastic waste to nearly all other countries.
The Basel Convention includes three sections in its Annexes II, VIII, and IX that address plastic waste. The changes to the convention are now required for 186 countries. The agreement aims to make the trade of plastic waste more transparent and better controlled. Governments must also work to manage plastic waste in ways that protect the environment and reduce the amount of plastic waste created.
Basel watchdog
The Basel Action Network (BAN) is a nonprofit group that helps the public by ensuring the Basel Convention is followed. BAN's main goal is to stop the movement of harmful waste, such as plastic waste, from developed countries to developing countries. BAN is located in Seattle, Washington, United States, and has a partner office in the Philippines. BAN works to reduce international trade in dangerous electronic waste, land dumping, burning waste, and the use of prison labor.