The Basel Action Network (BAN) recently teamed up with SERI for a webinar to discuss the Basel Convention amendments and to help those in the industry understand what the changes mean for electronics processors.
Adopted by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Basel, Switzerland, on March 22, 1989, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal is an international treaty that controls the management and trade of waste worldwide. It was first implemented in 1992 to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects of hazardous waste. In 2021, the Basel Convention published several proposed alterations to the convention itself that would dramatically change how some end-of-life exports are managed.
In addition to hazardous waste, the Basel Convention classified “other waste” (wastes for special consideration) as wastes collected from households and incinerator ash from incinerating household waste. The amendments add mixed/contaminated plastic wastes, which went into effect in 2021, and non-hazardous e-wastes, set to go into effect in 2025. According to Jim Puckett, BAN’s founder, mixed/contaminated plastic waste was added as a ”first step to better control plastic waste generally” after multiple revelations of the degree of plastic pollution found in oceans raised global alarm, and a ban on plastic imports in China that took place in 2018 and created a significant market disruption.
The webinar also discussed the single exception of Prior Informed Consent (PIC), which is defined in Article 6. It noted that all actions taking place without PIC procedures are considered illegal traffic, as defined in Article 9. The PIC procedures were set in place to ensure control and transparency for exports and imports of plastic wastes that are most likely to cause harm, particularly to developing countries and the marine environment, including after recycling.
All plastic wastes are to fit into three listings:
- Non-hazardous plastic waste (B3011)
- Hazardous plastic waste (A3210)
- Plastics waste for special consideration (Y48)
Four types of non-hazardous plastic wastes are exempt from control if they are uncontaminated and not going to waste-to-energy or final disposal. They can be found listed in the Basel Annex II. Anything outside the four exempt categories must be controlled as A3210 or Y48. Typically, the control is PIC, but three key instances result in a full ban, the most notable being imports and exports involving the U.S. by Basel Parties except Canada.
The second amendment to the Basel Convention is an addition to the PIC prohibitions, a ban on trade between parties and non-parties without an “Article 11” agreement. There are currently 191 parties to the Basel Convention, with the U.S. being one of five countries that are not. Because the U.S. is not a party to the Basel Convention, all exports of devices covered under the convention from the U.S. to Basel-party countries will be considered illegal starting Jan. 2025, which will largely disrupt the U.S. industry and change the competitive landscape for the U.S. on a global scale.