Environmentally sound management of the recycling of hazardous wastes in the context of the Basel Convention

Abstract

Abstract The Basel Convention requires transboundary shipments of hazardous wastes (as defined in the Convention) to be sent only to facilities with ‘environmentally sound management’ (ESM). The Convention defines ESM in general terms. The Parties to the Convention struggled to elaborate on the definition since the Convention was signed in 1989. Prior to that time, there is little literature addressing ESM. The Convention has published a number of papers on ESM, which are not always in accord with each other. The papers (and the discussion leading up to them) lead to a definition of ESM that was adopted by the Convention Parties in 1994, but which does not appear to be used. These papers and other relevant literature are reviewed here and used to develop a ‘consensus of the literature definition’ of ESM. The definition is structured to apply to plant operations and to lead to continuous improvement of the operations. ESM places specific responsibilities on the operator of a facility. ESM must be practised to comply with local environmental regulations, similar to ISO 14001 and similar standards. The inclusion (or not) of best practices and numeric standards is addressed. The discussion stresses recycling over final disposal.