Hazardous Wastes: Basel After Rio

The various international agreements concerning the transboundary movement and disposal of hazardous wastes are discussed. The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes & Their Disposal was ratified in May 1992. Under the Basel Convention, member countries seeking to export hazardous waste must notify the importing country and any countries through which the waste travels. Official consent to the shipment must be obtained in writing from all countries involved. The Bamako Convention, which applies to all African nations except Morocco and South Africa, broadens the definition of hazardous waste and provides for unlimited and strict liability for hazardous waste generators. The Bamako Convention prohibits signatory nations from concluding any bilateral agreement on waste movement. Hazardous waste regulatory developments in the US and EC are described, and recommendations to reduce the disparity of protective waste disposal standards between industrialized and developing nations are proposed.