L ECTURE 4 A – D ETECTING H AZARDOUS W ASTE T RAINING WORKSHOP ON ENVIRONMENTALLY REGULATED SUBSTANCES.

LECTURE 4A – DETECTING HAZARDOUS WASTE

TRAINING WORKSHOPON ENVIRONMENTALLY REGULATED SUBSTANCES

OVERVIEW

Legal frameworks

Enforcement Considerations

Document review

Container inspection

What to look for

2

WHAT IS HAZARDOUS WASTE?

Under the Basel Convention, hazardous wastes are: Wastes with specific toxic components:

Cadmium, lead, arsenic Wastes resulting from activities known to be toxic

medical care, pharmaceutical industries, photographic industries

Household Waste Unusable electronics

Transboundary movements of any wastes must follow Basel procedure for Notification, Consent and the accompanying Movement Document as well as any relevant national legislation.

3

WHAT IS ILLEGAL TRAFFIC?

ANY transboundary movement of wastes:

Without notification to all States concerned; Without consent of a State concerned; With consent obtained from States concerned

through falsification, misrepresentation, or fraud;

That does not conform in a material way with documents;

That results in deliberate disposal (e.g. dumping) of wastes

Basel Convention Parties are required to consider illegal traffic as a crime and to take

action

4

BASEL CONVENTION REGULATORY SYSTEM

Establishment of notification procedure to ensure prior informed consent of State of import and States of transit before export of waste can take place

Requirement that all practicable steps are taken to ensure environmentally sound management of waste

Restriction on exports to any country not Party to the Convention; and

Duty of exporting state to re-import where export has not complied with provisions of Convention. 5

NOTIFICATION PROCEDUREEXPORT -> IMPORT & TRANSIT

Competent Authority of Export transmits a Notification Document to Competent Authority of Country of Import and Competent Authorities of all Countries of Transit.

Provides detailed, accurate and complete information on waste itself on proposed disposal operation other details relating to proposed shipment.

6

CONSENTIMPORT & TRANSIT -> EXPORT

Competent Authority of Import must provide its written consent or denial to notifier.

CA must confirm existence of a legally binding contract between exporter and disposer Contract must specify environmentally sound

management of waste

Competent Authority of Transit countries must provide written consent or denial to notifier. Countries of Transit may waive requirement of prior

written consent for transit shipments if it informs all Parties through Basel Secretariat

7

MOVEMENT DOCUMENT Competent Authority of

Export issues Movement Document

Movement Document must accompany consignment at all times.

8

WHAT TO LOOK FOR AT EXPORT Is there a movement document?

Is there an export authorization by Competent Authority?

Did the export occur within the consent period?

Do containers correspond to Movement Document?

Number of containers

Type of container

Contents of container if possible to observe

Is packaging intact/appropriate? 9

WHAT TO LOOK FOR AT TRANSIT

Is there proof of your CA’s consent? Do you agree with observations of exporting

country Customs? Are contents, quality, and packaging the same

as on departure from country of export?

Has there been a change of port within the country for the transit?

Has there been a change of carrier? Is this adequately reflected in the Movement Document?

Have any containers been added to shipment? Are quantities less than what entered originally?

10

WHAT TO LOOK FOR AT IMPORT

Is there proof of your Competent Authority’s consent?

Did the import occur within the consent period?

Do you agree with observations of exporting country Customs?

Are contents, quality, and packaging the same as on departure from country of export?

Know who to contact if containersare suspected to contain illegal waste

11

THOROUGHLY PREPARE FOR EACH INSPECTION

1. Identify the object of the inspection2. Identify necessary tasks and skills for conducting the inspection3. Organize a team with appropriate skill sets and legal authority4. Prepare any internal and/or external communications5. Ensure necessary materials are available (reference materials, sampling tools, contact information)6.Make adequate provisions for personal safety 12

RISK PROFILING TO SELECT SHIPMENTS FOR INSPECTION

Examples of information that can be used for risk profiling:

Description of the goods Value of the goods (in relation to weight) Country of destination Previous illegal activity of the operator Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding

System (“HS codes”) and other Customs/waste codes

Delivery conditions

13

CONDUCTING AN ADMINISTRATIVE INSPECTION: GOOD PRACTICES

After shipment has been selected for investigation, review the shipment’s paperwork, which may include: Customs Documents Transport Documents Movement Documents Certified copy of Consent Document Notification Form Safety Data Sheets / Certificates Contracts and invoices

Make copies from relevant documents (e.g., invoices, contract, packing list) 14

OBSERVED EXAMPLES OF FALSE LABELING

15

HS Code Declared as Contained

3915 Plastic scrap Waste plastic mixed with other waste, medical waste, household waste, e-waste, CRT monitors

7204 Metal scrap Waste batteries, cables, contaminated scrap, electronic waste, CRT monitors

2420 Personal goods E-waste

8701, 8703 Second-hand vehicle CFC containing fridges, e-waste

8708 Engine spare parts Contaminated/not cleaned engine parts

8528 CRT monitors Waste/broken monitors

Mislabeling waste is most common illegal practice reported to INECE

COMMONLY OBSERVED MODUS OPERANDI Documentation

Basel Convention Notification Procedure not complied with Deliberate and accidental mislabeling

New goods, second hand goods Non-hazardous materials Generic / Non-specific labeling of waste

Falsifying test certificates indicating the state of the good Packaging

Mixing legal and illegal goods Shipment with 100 broken TVs hidden among 200 working TVs

discovered in Germany bound for Ghana Concealment

Hiding broken electronics within secondhand vehicles Hiding waste towards rear or center of container 16

CONDUCTING A PHYSICAL INSPECTION: GOOD PRACTICES

A physical inspection or X-ray may be necessary to verify the actual load and the composition of the waste.

Ensure officials have the legal authority to open the container.

Take safety precautions when opening container

Take photographs or videos of the contents of the container, with a timestamp if feasible.

17

CAREFULLY INSPECT CONTAINERS Containers must be appropriate to

hazardous materials they contain: Corrosive materials should be in plastic

containers/drums Solvent materials should be in metal

containers/drums Verify that containers/drums have no leaks or visible

spills Verify that container/drum is not bulging Verify that container/drum is not dented or mishandled

Products must be kept in good condition in order to be acceptable to a lawful consignee.

Inspect recently painted drums to determine whether paint covers old labels or markings 18

EXAMPLES

19

Household waste declared as paper

waste

Metal scrap

Container of computer monitors

GLOBAL WASTE FLOWS & HOTSPOTS

20