On 10 May, after two weeks of meetings between the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions in Geneva, 180 governments accepted the Norwegian proposal to amend the Basel Convention. Mixed plastic waste has moved from the "green list" to the "amber list" regime. From January 1, 2021, exports of plastic waste that are not sorted, recyclable and uncontaminated will be subject to the prior consent of exporting and importing countries. According to the European Federation for Waste Management and Environmental Services (FEAD), a drastic drop in EU exports and a decline in recycling performance in the EU are expected from the new trade rules for waste plastics
After the adoption of this amendment, there will be a drastic drop in exports outside the EU, FEAD has assured in a press release. These will be more difficult and costly due to the additional red tape and long delays (up to several months) required for prior consent. They could even become impossible, not only because of delay or lack of consent, but also because of legal uncertainty about how customs authorities are to determine whether shipments of plastic waste meet the conditions for exports destined for recycled "in an environmentally rational way" from plastic waste streams," composed almost exclusively "of the same type of plastics," almost free of pollution and other types of waste ". In the absence of thresholds and a clear definition of “pollution”, the legal criteria for meeting the conditions will be very uncertain and subject to wide differences of interpretation.
Certain plastic waste will have to be reclassified and assimilated to hazardous waste on the "amber" list, but at the moment there is no appropriate code, which makes some plastic exports impossible. According to FEAD, in general terms, the assimilation of all plastic waste to hazardous waste, in terms of shipments, will create confusion and legal problems in the future.
As long as demand for recycled plastics remains low, the loss of export flows outside the EU will mean less recycling within the EU. "If the plastics that are currently collected and classified in the EU (7.8 Mt) are no longer suitable for export outside the EU (3 Mt), the prospects are that they will be subject to energy recovery or disposal ", assure from the FEAD.
Need for fast, efficient and reinforced controls.
According to FEAD in its statement, to prepare for the implementation of these new rules in 2021, it is crucial that public authorities responsible for shipments implement strengthened controls against illegal trade. Otherwise, illegal trade will increase, while legal trade will plummet or stop altogether.
“These controls must be fast, based on the same interpretation, and legally assured to provide export operators with a predictable framework. The EU Waste Transport Regulation must be adapted to avoid hindering the recycling and recovery markets in the EU, it is pointed out.
It is also indicated that "transfers of plastic waste that today are intended for intra-Community trade will be affected by the significant new obstacles caused by the new rules, since collection, classification and recycling often take place in different member states. Long-term and uncertain controls will definitely be an obstacle to the recycling and recovery of the EU markets, which is very far from the direction marked by the Circular Economy package. Intra-Community trade in plastic waste must remain as it is.
The president of FEAD, Jean-Marc Boursier, said about it: "This international decision - for which we understand the reasons, but question its effectiveness on marine pollution - ignores that recycled waste is traded on a global market of basic products. Such a significant drop in the EU's exports of collected and sorted plastic waste will affect, in the short and long term, the selective collection and sorting systems in place and ultimately lower the EU's recycling performance. the lack of new markets to compensate for the loss of exports, will prevent the creation of new investments and jobs.
“The private waste management industry is willing to invest in improving the quality of recycled plastics only if there is a market for recycled plastics. Measures such as mandatory recycled content in products, reduced VAT, mandatory green public procurement, can create an impact on demand. Imported products must also be covered by these rules. The EU urgently needs to adapt its own transport rules within the EU so that shipments of non-hazardous plastic waste for recycling or recovery remain under the current regime," Boursier added.
