Chapter 7 Amendments to Annexes VIII and IX of the Basel Convention on the
Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal
Introduction
7.1
The Amendments to Annexes VIII and IX of the Convention on the
Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal
(the Amendments) clarifies certain provisions of Annex VIII and Annex IX of the
Basel Convention.[1]
Background
7.2
The Amendments are a result of the seventh meeting of the Conference of
the Parties to the Basel Convention in Geneva from 25 to 29 October 2004 and the Amendments entered into force for all Parties, including Australia, on 8 October 2005.[2] The Amendments were
tabled in Parliament on 28 March 2006.
7.3
As a result, the Committee did not have the opportunity to consider the
Amendments before they had entered into force.
7.4
The Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator the Hon Ian Campbell, wrote to the Chair of the Committee to inform him that the Amendments were not
tabled in the Parliament when they should have been. The Minister also informed
the Committee that there are now procedures in place within the work area which
will ensure sufficient time for future treaty actions to be considered by the
Committee.[3]
7.5
Representatives from the Department of the Environment and Heritage
informed the Committee that:
There is a greater awareness of the requirements and …
processes that mean that, where such amendments arise, we will bring them to
the attention of the committee.[4]
7.6
The Basel Convention was established to control the movement of
hazardous wastes between countries. The Basel Convention requires that a State
must provide prior consent to the importation or movement of hazardous waste
into or through its territory.[5] The Basel Convention also
puts the onus on exporting countries to ensure that hazardous wastes are
managed in an environmentally sound manner in the country of import.[6]
The Amendments
7.7
The Amendments clarify which wastes are or are not covered by the Basel
Convention by inserting a new entry A 1190 in Annex VIII and a new entry B 115
in Annex IX.
7.8
Annexes VIII and IX were adopted as part of the Basel Convention in 1998
to clarify whether particular wastes should be regarded as hazardous wastes for
the purposes of the Basel Convention.[7] The Annexes do not alter
the existing obligations under the Basel Convention.[8]
7.9
Annex VIII lists wastes that are to be considered hazardous and Annex IX
lists wastes that are not to be considered hazardous.[9]
7.10
The new entry A 1190 in Annex VIII provides that:
Waste cables coated or insulated with plastics containing or
contaminated with coal tar, PCB[10], lead, cadmium, other
organohalogen compounds or other Annex I constituents to an extent that they
exhibit Annex III characteristics.
7.11
The new entry B 1115 in Annex IX provides that:
Waste metal cables coated or insulated with plastics not
included in list A A1190, excluding those destined for Annex IVA operations or
any other disposal operations involving, at any stage, uncontrolled thermal
processes, such as open-burning.
Costs and consultation
7.12
The National Interest Analysis provides that there will be no additional
costs as no new controls are required to implement the Amendments.
7.13
Consultation relating to the Amendments was undertaken with State and
Territory governments and through the Hazardous Waste Act Policy Reference
Group (PRG). The PRG is made up of industry and environment stakeholders in
addition to interested Commonwealth Governmental departmental and agency
officers.[11]
Conclusion
7.14
The Committee supports further clarification of Australia’s obligations relating to hazardous wastes. However, the Committee reiterates the
importance of the treaty scrutiny process and encourages further awareness within
all Commonwealth Government departments of this process so that all treaty
actions are tabled in the Parliament to allow sufficient time for review, prior
to their entry into force.