Highlights and images for 6 September 2018

Switzerland

Summary


Co-Chairs huddle with Secretariat over a point of order raised by Brazil

OEWG11 The Eleventh Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (OEWG11) opened for its final day on Thursday, 6 September 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland. The OEWG met in plenary all day.OEWG11 adopted decisions on:

  • guidelines for environmentally sound management;
  • technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with persistent organic pollutants (POPs);
  • technical guidelines on transboundary movements of electric and electronic wastes (e-waste) and used electrical and electronic equipment, in particular regarding the distinction between waste and non-waste under the Basel Convention;
  • technical guidelines on incineration on land and specially engineered landfill;
  • types of waste for which practical guidance on the development of national inventories would be useful;
  • electronic approaches to notification and movement documents;
  • marine plastic litter and microplastics;
  • the creation of a new Partnership on Plastic Waste and its possible terms of reference;
  • consideration of an amendment of the Convention Annexes reclassifying plastic wastes;
  • waste containing nanomaterials;
  • comments on the development of guidance by the Basel Convention Committee Administering the Mechanism for Promoting Implementation and Compliance;
  • the way forward for a review of Convention Annexes I, III and IV and related aspects of Annex IX;
  • the Partnership on Household Waste; and
  • cooperation with the World Customs Organization on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System.

Delegates also reviewed its draft biennial work programme for 2020-2021 and approved the report of the meeting.OEWG11 Co-Chair Mohammed Khashashneh (Jordan) gaveled the meeting to a close at 1:52 pm.ENB Summary and Analysis: The Earth Negotiations Bulletin summary and analysis of OEWG11 is available in HTML and PDF.

Alejandra Acosta, Argentina
Michel Tschirren, Switzerland
Charles Ikeah, Nigeria
Nero Cunha Ferreira, Brazil