NGO Position paper on the ongoing negotiation process to integrate the Plastic amendment of the Basel Convention into the OECD regulatory Framework

The document analyzes the legal necessity of incorporating the Basel Convention's Plastic Amendment into the OECD Council Decision on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Wastes Destined for Recovery Operations. It asserts that any OECD agreement that limits the scope of plastic waste controls beyond what the Basel Convention requires would violate Article 11.2 of the Convention, which mandates 'environmentally sound management' (ESM). The paper rejects three current negotiation options, arguing they either allow for illegal derogations or replace negotiated safeguards with vague 'specifications'. It concludes that if the United States does not withdraw its objection to the amendment, a non-consensus decision is the only legal alternative, which would exclude all plastic waste trade from the OECD Decision's scope and restrict US trade of problematic plastics with Basel Parties.

• The Basel Convention's Plastic Amendment, adopted on May 10, 2019, requires the prior informed consent (PIC) procedure for the transboundary movement of certain problematic plastic wastes.
• Under Article 11.2 of the Basel Convention, regional or bilateral agreements like the OECD Council Decision are only valid if they are 'compatible with the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes and other wastes as required by this Convention'.
• Any amendment to the OECD Decision that reduces the categories of plastic waste subject to control compared to the Basel Plastic Amendment would be a violation of the Convention for OECD members who are Basel Parties.
• The document rejects three proposed negotiation options: Option 1 is seen as allowing illegal derogations from the Basel Convention, while Options 2 and 3 are criticized for replacing specific safeguards (such as requirements that waste be uncontaminated and sorted by polymer type) with vague 'specifications'.
• The assumption that OECD membership alone ensures environmentally sound management is challenged by differences in national recycling standards, permitting, and inspection regimes.
• If no consensus is reached among OECD members, the result would be the exclusion of all plastic waste trade from the OECD Decision, meaning trade of problematic plastics between the US and Basel Parties would be limited to those listed under Annex IX.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). NGO Position paper on the ongoing negotiation process to integrate the Plastic amendment of the Basel Convention into the OECD regulatory Framework. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NGO-Position-Paper-Basel-OECD-March_1st.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. NGO Position paper on the ongoing negotiation process to integrate the Plastic amendment of the Basel Convention into the OECD regulatory Framework. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NGO-Position-Paper-Basel-OECD-March_1st.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=NGO Position paper on the ongoing negotiation process to integrate the Plastic amendment of the Basel Convention into the OECD regulatory Framework |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NGO-Position-Paper-Basel-OECD-March_1st.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndngo, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{NGO Position paper on the ongoing negotiation process to integrate the Plastic amendment of the Basel Convention into the OECD regulatory Framework}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NGO-Position-Paper-Basel-OECD-March_1st.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }