Open Letter to Basel Convention Delegates and other Interested Government Entities

An open letter from various environmental organizations urging Basel Convention delegates to support a Norwegian proposal to increase controls on the transboundary movement of plastic waste by amending the Convention's annexes.

• The authors urge the removal of "B3010: solid plastic wastes" from Annex IX and the addition of "Y48: Solid plastic waste" to Annex II of the Basel Convention. This change, proposed by Norway, would subject waste and scrap plastic to the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) control procedure, even if the waste is not definitively designated as hazardous.
• The letter argues that current global plastic waste trade lacks sufficient quantification, tracking, and control mechanisms. This allows single-use plastics with little recycling value to be sent to developing countries with inadequate regulation, which the authors describe as "global plastic dumping under the name of recycling."
• China previously served as the primary recipient of global plastic waste, but after banning plastic imports to address environmental pollution and public health impacts, large volumes of waste have shifted toward Southeast Asian countries that may have even less capacity for environmentally sound management.
• The document highlights several environmental and health risks associated with plastic waste, including the threat of microplastics and nanoplastics entering the food chain, the release of greenhouse gases and toxic emissions during incineration, and dangerous working conditions for informal waste pickers.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). Open Letter to Basel Convention Delegates and other Interested Government Entities. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Basel-Letter-Amendment-Annex-22FAnnex-9-1.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Open Letter to Basel Convention Delegates and other Interested Government Entities. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Basel-Letter-Amendment-Annex-22FAnnex-9-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Open Letter to Basel Convention Delegates and other Interested Government Entities |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Basel-Letter-Amendment-Annex-22FAnnex-9-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndopen, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Open Letter to Basel Convention Delegates and other Interested Government Entities}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Basel-Letter-Amendment-Annex-22FAnnex-9-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }