After Incineration: The Toxic Ash Problem

“Keep the Promise, Eliminate POPs!” Campaign

Dioxin, PCBs and Waste Working Group of IPEN Report

Manchester, April 2005

Waste incineration residues represent a serious threat to both local and global environment as they contain high quantities of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) listed under Annex C of the Stockholm Convention (dioxins, PCBs and hexachlorobenzene) as unintentionally produced POPs. A goal of the “continuing minimization and, where feasible, ultimate elimination” was established for these chemicals in the Convention. There are several steps that should help Parties to the Stockholm Convention to comply to this goal. Almost all are under articles 5 and 6 of the Stockholm Convention (see Annexes to this text) and will be discussed at the first Conference of Parties to the Convention (COP1). Topics discussed in this study are related to several of these steps.