New Plastics Border Control: Why Basel Convention Amendments Could Backfire

New Plastics Border Control: Why Basel Convention Amendments Could Backfire

From all reports, the adoption of this amendment is unprecedented. It moved quickly and with passion. There is a wide recognition of the imbalance in power and development that has enabled developed countries to offshore their waste liabilities, mainly by shipping them to Asia. Yes, the United States abstained, but this is because they are one of the few countries which has never been a signatory to the Basel Convention in the first place. Their absence in global engagement on this topic was overwhelmingly countered by support from virtually all other countries in the world.

With this momentum, determination, and shared vision across governments, there seems little doubt that there will be greater transparency on the cross-border movement of plastic waste, with a dramatic reduction in dumping to go along with it. However, time is still critical, for while the amendment was agreed, there is still a detailed process of technical scoping and protocol development to be undertaken. Industry insiders say that this could take in excess of two years.

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