Prohibition against introducing hazardous waste

Act prohibiting the introduction of hazardous wastes

J. Illicit trade in hazardous waste

Illegal trade in hazardous waste continues to occur in violation of the 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.

Strongly condemning the attempts by some developed countries to export their hazardous and radioactive wastes for dumping in developing countries, and appealing to Member States to sign the Basal Convention on Dangerous wastes,

UNEP, The Hazardous Wastes and Chemicals Conventions (2002), http www.gdrc.org uem waste all3 overview.pdf.

Hazardous waste shipments made without such documents are illegal.

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal mandate

Article 14 of the Basel Convention recommends the establishment of regional or sub regional centers for training and technology transfers regarding the management of hazardous wastes and other wastes and the minimization of their generation.

Definitions for hazardous waste and waste management were necessary and a section on public education was essential.

Strongly condemning the attempts by some developed countries to export their hazardous and radioactive wastes for dumping in developing countries,

Article 32 of the same Act also prohibits the importation of hazardous waste and the granting of permission for its entry into or transit through the territory of the State. The passage of ships carrying hazardous waste through the territorial waters or the exclusive economic zone without a permit from the competent administrative authority is also prohibited.

Recalling decision VI 16 on guidance elements for detection, prevention and control of illegal traffic in hazardous wastes,

The reality is that waste has become one of the global public health problems of modern society today, particularly when it comes to hazardous (medical, radioactive, pharmaceutical) and potentially dangerous waste.

Guidance elements for the detection, prevention and control of illegal traffic in hazardous wastes draft training manual for the enforcement of laws implementing the Basel Convention

Yemen is also a party to environmental conventions on Biodiversity, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, and Ozone Layer Protection.

By its decision VI 16, the Conference of the Parties adopted guidance elements for the detection, prevention and control of illegal traffic in hazardous wastes.

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and Their Disposal, 22 March 1989, http www.basel.int text documents.html.

It should be mentioned that the explanatory note to the said Act provides that, in view of the dangers involved in the handling of hazardous waste, the importation of such waste and the granting of permission for the introduction or passage thereof into or through the Arab Republic of Egypt are absolutely prohibited.

Report of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, UNEP CHW.7 33 (2005), http www.basel.int meetings cop cop7 docs 33eRep.doc.

Waste any substance which cannot be disposed of at public rubbish dumps or into the sewerage system, owing to its dangerous characteristics, its harmful impact on the environment and the risk to the safety of living beings, and the treatment and elimination of which call for special means.

Decree No. 875, 19 July 1993, ratifies the text of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal.

The tightening of environmental regulations in industrialized countries in the late 1980s led to a dramatic rise in the cost of hazardous waste disposal there.

Each shipment of hazardous waste or other waste must be accompanied by a movement document from the point at which a transboundary movement begins to the point of disposal.

Many companies in these countries began shipping hazardous wastes to developing countries and Eastern Europe as a way to get rid of them more cheaply.

An executive decree of 30 May 1989 prohibits the introduction of hazardous wastes of any kind, in any form or under any regime, into areas under national jurisdiction.

Uganda deplores the dumping of hazardous wastes off the coast of Somalia and calls upon the culprits to clean up their mess.

Minimization of hazardous wastes would be enhanced by national planning and policies, awareness raising and protection of handlers, while contaminated sites would be subject to identification and remediation.

The Convention also developed criteria for environmentally sound management of wastes, which require members to take practical steps to minimize the generation of hazardous waste by controlling the storage, transport, treatment, reuse, recycling, recovery and final disposal of the waste.

Aware of the increasing rate of illicit movement and dumping by transnational corporations and other enterprises from industrialized countries of hazardous and other wastes in developing countries that do not have the national capacity to deal with them in an environmentally sound manner,

Reference is made to decision VII 12 on the work programme of the Open ended Working Group) of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal and to decision VII 22 on the harmonization of lists of wastes and related procedures.

measures to reduce or eliminate releases from wastes

At its seventh meeting, Refer to decision VII 4 on the Mobile Phone Partnership Initiativethe Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal adopted decision VII 4 on the Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative

Transboundary movements of hazardous wastes or other wastes can take place only upon prior written notification by the State of export to the competent authorities of the States of import and transit (if appropriate).

Report of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and Their Disposal, UNEP CHW.6 40 (2003), http www.basel.int meetings cop cop6 english Report40e.pdf vi01SAP.

according to the specific needs of different regions and subregions, regional or sub regional centres for training and technology transfers regarding the management of hazardous wastes and other wastes and the minimization of their generation should be established.

Act No. 17,220 of 30 October 1999 prohibits the introduction of hazardous wastes of any kind, in any form or under any regime, into areas under national jurisdiction (article 1).

Moreover, it requires consideration of the establishment of a revolving fund to assist in emergency situations to minimize damage from accidents arising from transboundary movements of hazardous wastes.

This note is being presented to the Open ended Working Group of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal at its fourth session, under agenda item 8.

Waste materials

The Expert Group notes that two processes (cement kiln co incineration and hazardous waste incineration) are already covered in the current draft guidelines on best available techniques and provisional guidance on best environmental practices.

The secretariat has included elements relating to the Stockholm Convention and the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal in the information that it provided to participants at the workshops held to facilitate implementation of the Rotterdam Convention.

The objectives of the Basel Convention are to reduce the generation and transboundary movement of hazardous wastes to a minimum and ensure that such wastes are treated and disposed of as close to the source of generation as possible and in an environmentally sound manner.

(c) Solid waste All wastes are sampled and segregated to determine the correct waste stream for disposal or long term storage.

Takes note of resolution CM Res.1356 (LIV) of 1991, adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, on the Bamako Convention on the Ban on the Import of Hazardous Wastes into Africa and on the Control of Their Transboundary Movements within Africa