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"UNEP: Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, 1989" [2005] ELECD 274; in Tully, Stephen (ed), "International Documents on Corporate Responsibility" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005)

Book Title: International Documents on Corporate Responsibility

Editor(s): Tully, Stephen

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781843768197

Section: Chapter 51

Section Title: UNEP: Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, 1989

Number of pages: 11

Extract:

51. UNEP: Basel Convention on the Control of
Transboundary Movements of Hazardous
Wastes and Their Disposal, 1989

Commentary: The Convention (28 ILM 652 (1989), entry into force 1992) seeks
to prevent uncontrolled movements and dumping of hazardous wastes in developing
States by companies from developed countries. Such a practice was undertaken by
`toxic traders' during the 1980s in response to tighter environmental regulations
within industrialised States. The Cairo Guidelines and Principles for the
Environmentally Sound Management of Hazardous Wastes introduced notification
systems for receiving or transit States and it was the exporter's responsibility to
ensure that disposal sites met specified safety requirements: UNEP Governing
Council Decision 14/30 (1987).
The Basel Convention addresses hazardous waste at source and espouses envi-
ronmentally sound management and an integrated life-cycle approach. In addition to
the extracts below, Article 7 provides that Article 6(1) applies mutatis mutandis to
transboundary movements of hazardous wastes from Parties to non-Parties. Article
10 contemplates international cooperation to harmonise technical standards and
waste management practices as well as implementing new environmentally sound
low-waste technologies. Article 13 contemplates information exchange. Article 16
provides that the Secretariat may receive information from NGOs and can provide
governments with information on consulting firms possessing the necessary technical
competence.
Annex I lists categories of waste streams to be controlled and wastes with partic-
ular constituents. Annex II identifies categories of waste requiring special considera-
tion. Annex III lists hazardous characteristics (explosive, flammable, oxidising,
poisonous, infectious, corrosive, toxic, ecotoxic) corresponding ...