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In the 1970s and 80s, there were several cases of dumping of hazardous waste and chemicals in different developing countries by the developed world. The one that caused a huge stir was the 1988 Koko in toxic waste dumping incident by Italy in Nigeria’s Niger Delta of more than 30,000 drums of toxic waste.

This among other similar incidents globally prompted the world to take action for a convention to stem the tide, hence the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, usually known as the Basel Convention.

The core objective of the Basel Convention is to protect human health and the environment from the negative impacts of hazardous wastes and other wastes.

This core objective is achieved by limiting the transboundary movement of hazardous waste between countries and, more specifically, to stop the transfer of hazardous waste from more developed to less developed countries (LDCs).

The convention was adopted on March 22, 1989 and came into force on May 5, 1992 in Basel, Switzerland, hence the name.

The convention also prescribes a system of rigorous control and Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure for the transboundary movement of hazardous waste. This means that hazardous waste can still be moved after passing through the PIC procedure.

Plastic waste as hazardous waste

Unknown to many, certain plastic materials are considered hazardous waste.

“More than 400 different chemicals are currently in use as additives to base polymer in the manufacture of plastics. Most of these are toxic to humans,” said Professor Percy Onianwa, the Executive Director of Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for the African Region (BCCC-Africa).

He said this at a recent inception workshop held in Lagos for a project titled: “Promoting environmentally sound management and control of transboundary trade of plastic waste in Nigeria, through inventory and stakeholder mapping.” The project is being implemented in Nigeria.

The project is meant to promote environmentally sound management and control of transboundary trade of plastic waste in Nigeria through inventory and stakeholder mapping.

With an African population of 1.216 billion and 54 countries, about 172 metric tonnes of polymers/plastics valued at US$ 285 billion were imported between 1990 and 2017. This is according to Dr Joshua Babayemi, a Research Associate, BCCC-Africa in a paper he presented at the inception workshop. The paper was titled “Transboundary Movement of Primary Plastic and Plastic Products in Africa from 1990-2017.”

On January 1, 2021, the plastic waste amendment of the Basel Convention came into force. The amendment brings a large number of plastic groups/types under strict control with respect to transboundary movement.

A global agreement to end plastic pollution

At its fifth session in Nairobi on March 2, 2022, the United Nation Environment Assembly (UNEA) decided to initiate negotiations on a global agreement to end plastic pollution.

Heads of State, Ministers of environment and other representatives from UN Member States endorsed a historic resolution at the UNEA in Nairobi to End Plastic Pollution and forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024. The resolution addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, including its production, design and disposal.

The resolution, based on three initial draft resolutions from various nations, establishes an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC), which will begin its work in 2022, with the ambition of completing a draft global legally binding agreement by the end of 2024.

“Today marks a triumph by planet earth over single-use plastics. This is the most significant environmental multilateral deal since the Paris accord,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

Plastic production soared from 2 million tonnes in 1950 to 348 million tonnes in 2017, becoming a global industry valued at US$522.6 billion, and it is expected to double in capacity by 2040, report by the Pew Research Centre noted.

How bad is plastic waste?

Plastic is not just considered hazardous waste. Plastics become unsightly forms of waste that are often indiscriminately disposed of. Sadly, plastic waste takes a heavy toll on the environment.

Not less than 80 per cent of marine litter consists of plastic waste. Every minute, the equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic is dumped into the oceans, according to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

A plastic bottle takes 450 years to decompose, according to an estimate from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

A plastic cup and a disposal baby diaper also take 450 years to decompose. A nylon bag takes 20 years. Compare this to six weeks for a newspaper, or two to five weeks for a banana peel.

“Once in the water, plastic never fully biodegrades, but breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, eventually being dubbed a “microplastic” —something that is less than 5mm long and still able to cause problems for marine life,” the NOAA added.

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