A contentious debate about plastic waste threatened to derail the final day of the 15th meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG-15) of the Basel Convention. A last-minute compromise allowed the OEWG to adopt a number of decisions advancing work on strategic, technical and legal challenges facing the Convention, paving the way for a productive 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 18) in April 2027.
The plastics controversy stemmed from the decision earlier in the week not to send to a contact group a compilation of comments submitted by Parties and others on implementation, challenges, and impacts of the 2019 plastics waste amendment, as well as a Norwegian proposal to adjust Convention Annex IX to address issues in implementing that amendment, and a proposal by seven Parties for new work on plastic waste. A long list of Parties argued that decision violated a specific COP mandate and the spirit of how the OEWG works to create space to discuss differing perspectives and seek common ground.
At the request of OEWG Chair Nneka Nicholas (Antigua and Barbuda), interested parties met during lunch to hammer out a compromise. This resulted in an OEWG-15 decision that requests the Secretariat to compile existing activities on “hazardous and other plastic waste” carried out in accordance with Convention Article 4 (General Obligations), for consideration at COP 18.
On strategic matters, the OEWG adopted a long decision setting out a sequential procedure for implementing options to optimize the heart of the Convention, the prior informed consent (PIC) procedure.
On technical matters, the OEWG adopted decisions advancing work on finalizing updates to technical guidelines on persistent organic pollutants (POPs), waste batteries, and waste pneumatic tyres, in time for possible adoption at COP 18. The OEWG also signed off on updates of five technical guidelines needed as a result of the e-waste and plastic waste amendments to the Convention, and invited a new round of comments by Parties and observers on possible options for the Convention to tackle the growing problem of trade in used textiles and textile waste.
On legal matters, the primary outcome was providing direction to an expert working group undertaking a review of Convention Annexes I (wastes controlled) and III (hazardous characteristics), which are the linchpins of Convention controls. Since these annexes are often copied verbatim into national laws and regulations, changes imply substantial adjustments in national waste policy and its enforcement.
The OEWG also adopted decisions on how the Basel Convention will cooperate with the World Customs Organization on matching Basel codes with customs code to aid customs officials in Basel enforcement, and cooperation with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regarding ship recycling now that the IMO’s Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships has entered into force.
At the closing, OEWG-15 participants celebrated that the spirit of collaboration and compromise had prevailed in the end and allowed a successful conclusion to the meeting. They expressed the hope this, in turn, will pave the way for a productive COP 18.
Selected Images
Photo courtesy of BRS Secretariat
Photo courtesy of BRS Secretariat
Photo courtesy of BRS Secretariat
Photo courtesy of BRS Secretariat
Photo courtesy of BRS Secretariat