This updated publication is intended to promote understanding of the procedures and mechanisms for promoting implementation and compliance with the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (“Basel Convention”), the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (“Rotterdam Convention”) and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (“Stockholm Convention”). It presents a snapshot of the terms of reference of the three mechanisms under the conventions. The terms of reference of the mechanisms are set out in the annexes to the publication.
National reports submitted in the framework of the Basel Convention suggest that nearly 180 million tonnes of hazardous and household wastes are generated annually around the world. According to the same reports, at least 9.3 million tonnes of these wastes move from country to country each year, and this waste is presumably received as a welcome source of business. This leaves some 170 millions tonnes of hazardous and household wastes that are assumed to be disposed of nationally in an environmentally sound manner. But is this the case?
Many countries complain that they are receiving shipments which they never agreed to or that they are unable to properly dispose of. From Brazil to Singapore, from Belgium to Ghana, or from Canada to Russia, it would be challenging to find a single country that has never suffered a case of illegal traffic of waste.