EEW under Basel convention

1. 1M. El Zarka
Prof. Mohamed El Zarka

2.  The BC (Overview).
 The EEW under the BC Annexes.
 The BC initiatives for ESM of EEW.
 The Technical Guidelines on Transboundary
Movements of EEW and Used Electrical and
Electronic Equipment (EEE).
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4. The Basel Convention on the Control of
Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and
their Disposal was adopted in 1989 in response to
concerns about toxic waste from industrialized
countries being dumped in developing countries and
countries with economies in transition.
 Entered into force .. 5 May 1992
Egypt ratified on 8 January 1993
entered into force on 8 April 1993
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5.  The Montevideo Program
(October-November 1981)
 The Cairo Guidelines (December 1985)
 The negotiating process (October 1987 –
March 1989)
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6. o Prohibition of hazardous wastes shipments
to countries lacking environmentally sound
management of hazardous wastes.
o Assisting developing countries in
environmentally sound management of
their wastes.
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7. o Reduction of transboundary movements of
hazardous wastes.
o Disposal of hazardous wastes as close as possible to
their source of generation.
o Minimization of hazardous wastes generations
(Quantity, Hazardousness).
o Strict control over hazardous wastes movements.
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8. o Notification system
o The Ban Decision
o Lists of H.W
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9. o Technical Guidelines
o Regional Centers for training and technology
transfer
o Technical assistance and training
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11. General obligations:
 waste reduction, ESM requirements, reduction in
transboundary movement, transport rules to apply, not
to export and import from non-party.
 Designation of Competent Authorities and Focal Point.
 Transboundary Movement Issues: PIC; movement
document; spells out obligations of exporting, transit
and importing countries.
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12.  Illegal traffic provisions.
 Role of bilateral/ multilateral agreements/ arrangements.
 Consultations on liability and compensation.
 Duty to re-import stranded shipments.
 Partial or total ban.
 Annexes: categories of wastes (Annexes I & II), hazard
characteristics (Annex III), disposal operations (Annex IV
D1-D15,R1-R13), notification and movement documents
information (Annex V) , arbitration (Annex VI), List A
(Annex VIII), List B (Annex I X)
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13.  Radioactive waste which is covered by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Code of
Practice on the International Transboundary
Movement of Radioactive waste (1990).
 Waste deriving from the normal operations of a ship
which is covered by the International Convention for
the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL
73/78 Convention).
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14. Prior Informed Consent (Basel
Convention)
Stage 1: Notification
GENERATOR DISPOSER
COUNTRY OF
EXPORT
COUNTRY OF
IMPORT
Conclude a contract specifying ESM
Inform of
proposed
movement
Refuse to
allow
export
COUNTRY OF
TRANSIT
Send Notification Document
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15. Prior Informed Consent (Basel
Convention)
Stage 2: Consent & Issuance of
Movement Document
GENERATOR DISPOSER
COUNTRY OF
EXPORT
COUNTRY OF
IMPORT
COUNTRY OF
TRANSIT
Consent/Deny Movement (written)
Confirm contract specifying ESM
If consent and
proof of contract,
then issue
Movement
Document
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16. Prior Informed Consent (Basel
Convention)
Stage 3: Transboundary Movement
GENERATOR DISPOSER
COUNTRY OF
EXPORT
COUNTRY OF
IMPORT
COUNTRY OF
TRANSIT
Send copy of
Movement
Document
confirming receipt
of shipment
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17. Prior Informed Consent (Basel
Convention)
Stage 4: Confirmation of disposal
GENERATOR DISPOSER
COUNTRY OF
EXPORT
COUNTRY OF
IMPORT
COUNTRY OF
TRANSIT
Upon completion,
send confirmation
that disposal taken
place
If no confirmation received, advise
accordingly
May wish to follow
up in order to
confirm completion
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18. Import/Transit/Export Controls: Overview
(Basel Convention)
Illegal activities can occur at any of these four
stages:
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19. Border Control Procedures for Export
(Basel Convention)
Is there a movement document?
Is there an export authorization by the Competent Authority?
Do the contents correspond to the movement document?
Is the packaging in order?
RELEASE SHIPMENT FOR EXPORT
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20. Is there proof of your CA’s consent?
Do you agree with observations of Customs of
exporting country?
If no, then
return
shipment
Are the contents, quantity and packaging the same as on
departure from Country of Export?
RELEASE SHIPMENT FOR TRANSIT
Border Control Procedures:
Entry at a Transit Country (Basel
Convention)
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21. Border Control Procedures:
Exit at a Transit Country (Basel
Convention)
Are the contents, quantity and packaging
the same as on entry into Country of Transit?
RELEASE FOR MOVEMENT TO COUNTRY OF IMPORT
NO
If more, is
there adequate
documentation to
account for
surplus?
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23. Export country requests Transit and import
countries decide
If agreed, a movement
document is issued
The movement
document accompanies
the cargo
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24. Substances or objects which are disposed of or
are intended to be disposed of or are required to
be disposed of by the provisions of national law.
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Wastes that belong to any category contained in
Annex I that possess any of the characteristics
contained in Annex III

25. “Taking all practical steps to ensure that
hazardous wastes or other wastes are managed
in a manner which will protect human health and
the environment against the adverse effects
which many result from such wastes.”
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26. Annex I
Categories of Wastes to be controlled
- Waste Streams (Y1 – Y18)
- Wastes having constituents (Y19 – Y45)
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27. Annex II
Categories of Wastes requiring special
consideration
(Y46 , Y47)
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Annex III
List of Hazardous Characteristics
UN Class: 1, 3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2, 8,
9.
Code: H1, H3, H4.1, H4.2, H4.3, H5.1, H5.2,
H6.1, H6.2, H8, H10, H11, H12, H13.

28. Annex IV
Disposal Operations
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A. Operations which do not lead to the
possibility of resource recovery, recycling,
reclamation, direct re-use or alternative uses
(D1 – D15)
B. Operations which may lead to resource
recovery, recycling reclamation, direct re-use
or alternative uses
(R1 – R13)

29. Annex V A
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Information to be provided on notification.
Annex V B
Information to be provided on the movement
document.
Annex VI
Arbitration.

30. Annex VII
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(Related to The Ban Decision, not yet entered
into force)
To help parties to distinguish hazardous wastes
from non-hazardous wastes, Two Annexes have
been added to the Convention:

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- Annex VIII lists wastes considered to be
hazardous unless they do not posses any of the
characteristics of Annex III.
- Annex IX lists wastes that considered not to be
hazardous unless they contain Annex I material
to an extent causing them to exhibit an Annex
III characteristic.

32. A 1180
Waste electrical and electronic assemblies or scrap
containing components such as accumulators and
other batteries included on list A, mercury-switches,
glass from cathode-ray tubes and other activated glass
and PCB-capacitors, or contaminated with Annex I
constituents (e.g., cadmium, mercury, lead,
polychlorinated biphenyl) to an extent that they
possess any of the characteristics contained in Annex
III.
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33. A 2010
Glass waste from cathode-ray tubes and other
activated glasses.
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A 4110
Wastes that contain, consist of or are contaminated
with any of the following:
• Any congenor of polychlorinated dibenzo-furan
• Any congenor of polychlorinated dibenzo-P-dioxin

34. B 1110
Electrical and electronic assemblies:
• Electronic assemblies consisting only of metals or
alloys
• Waste electrical and electronic assemblies or scrap
(including printed circuit boards) not containing
components such as accumulators and other
batteries included on list A, mercury-switches, glass
from cathode-ray tubes and other activated glass
and PCB-capacitors, or not contaminated with Annex
I constituents (e.g., cadmium, mercury, lead,
polychlorinated biphenyl)
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35. or from which these have been removed, to an
extent that they do not possess any of the
characteristics contained in Annex III.
• Electrical and electronic assemblies (including
printed circuit boards, electronic components and
wires destined for direct reuse, and not for recycling
or final disposal.
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36. 3
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37. The BC started to address E-W issues since 2002
which include among others ESM, prevention of
illegal traffic to developing countries and building
capacity around the globe to better manage E-W.
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The Nairobi Declaration on the ESM of EEW
Adopted by COP-8 in 2006, which called for more
restructured and enhanced efforts towards achieving
global solutions for ESM of EEW & encouraged parties
to develop further partnerships targeting E-W.
Decision IX/6 adopted by COP-9 gave a mandate to
BCS to implement a work plan for the ESM of EEW.

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The E-W work plan was adopted by COP-9 which
included activities in the following areas:
- Programs of activities for the ESM of E-W in Africa,
in Asia Pacific and in south America.
- Two multi-stakeholders partnerships were
established.

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Partnership for Action on Computing Equipment
(PACE)
PACE was developed as a multi-stakeholder public-
private partnership that provides a forum for
representatives of personal computer
manufacturers, recyclers, international
organizations, associations, academia,
environmental groups and governments to tackle
environmentally sound refurbishment, repair,
material recovery, recycling and disposal of used
end-of-life computing equipment.

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PACE was launched by COP-9 in 2008, working
group was established as the operating mechanism
for the partnership under the guidance of open-
ended working group.
At COP-12 in 2015, the working group mandate
was extended to develop strategy and work plan for
the implementation of concrete actions at the
regional and national levels.
In 2017, the PACE working group submitted the
final document to COP-13 that was adopted on an
interim basis.

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PACE aims to:
- To promote Sustainable Development in
developing countries through the continued use,
refurbishment and repair of used EEE.
- To find incentives and methods for diverting
end-of-life computing equipment from land
disposal and burning to Environmentally Sound
commercial material recovery or recycling
operations.

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- To develop guidelines for proper refurbishing,
repair and material recovery or recycling
operations including criteria for testing, labeling
of refurbished used equipment and certification
of environmentally sound repair, refurbishing
and recycling facilities.
- To end shipments of used and end-of-life
Computing Equipment to developing countries,
whose laws prohibit the import of such
equipment.
- Raising awareness of PACE.
- Initiating training activities to achieve PACE & BC
objectives.

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Mobile Phones Partnerships Initiative (MPPI)
At COP-6 (2002) MPPI was launched, working group
was established from experts from parties and
mobile phones manufacturers and BC secretariats.
The overall objectives of MPPI are to:
- Promote the objectives of the BC in the area of
ESM of end-of-life mobile phones.
- Achieve better product stewardship.
- Influence consumer behavior towards more
environmentally friendly actions.
- Mobilize political & institutional support for ESM.

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Five Technical Guidelines were developed:
- Technical Guidelines on awareness raising and
design considerations.
- Technical Guidelines on collection of used and
end-of-life mobile phones.
- Technical Guidelines on transboundary
movements of collected mobile phones.
- Technical Guidelines on refurbishment of used
mobile phones.
- Technical Guidelines on material recovery /
recycling of end-of-life mobile phones.

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An Overall Guidance Document on ESM of used and
end-of-life mobile phones was prepared, which
contains summaries of recommendations taken
from all five technical guidelines and was submitted
to COP-9 in 2008.
An Ad Hoc follow up group revised the technical
guidelines and the final guidance document was
adopted by COP-10 in Oct. 2011.

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The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)
The objective of the course is to bring together
people across the world and give them free access
to quality online learning materials, was launched
on 4 April 2016 as a partnership among the BRS
secretariat, Climate-KIC, the University of Leuven
(KU Leuven, Belgium) and the World Resources
Forum (based in Switzerland) with contribution of
the EU.
It has long track 8 week online course introduces
challenges and possible solutions for E-waste and
short track 2 weeks.

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Certain parties to BC consider used EEE destined for
failure analysis, repair or refurbishment as EEHW,
while others consider them non-waste and
accordingly not to be controlled by BC.
COP-10 of the BC established technical working
group to develop technical guidelines on
transboundary movements of EEW and used
electrical and electronic equipment, in particular on
the distinction between waste and non-waste.

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The guidelines provide:
- Information on the relevant provisions of the Basel
Convention applicable to transboundary movements
of E-waste;
- Guidance on the distinction between waste and non-
waste when used equipment is moved across borders;
- Guidance on the distinction between hazardous waste
and non-hazardous waste when used equipment is
moved across borders; and
- General guidance on transboundary movements of
hazardous E-waste and used equipment and
enforcement of the control provisions of the
Convention.

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This technical guidelines was adopted on an interim
basis at COP-12, the revised technical guidelines was
again adopted on an interim basis at COP-13, at COP-
14 it was adopted on an interim basis to advance the
work on sub-paragraphs 31(a) & 31(b) concerning the
distinction between waste and non waste and to be
submitted at COP-15 to consider its finalization.

51. M. El Zarka

52. m_elzarka@hotmail.com
M. El Zarka