The listing of plastic wastes as Y48 in annex II of the Basel Convention includes exemptions for a range of plastics “provided it is destined for recycling in an environmentally sound manner and almost free from contamination and other types of wastes”.
Geneva, Switzerland IPEN members from around the world are gathering in Geneva, Switzerland from June 6 to 17 at the meetings of the global Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions. IPEN is an official observer group at the meetings, with a role of educating delegates and contributing to the Convention talks to promote the need for stronger protections for our health and the environment. The talks will cover a wide range of issues, from toxic chemicals in plastics to the need for stronger protections from hazardous wastes.
The aim of the Stockholm Convention is to protect human health and the environment from Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Parties to the Convention have therefore committed to take precautionary action on POPs, recognizing that they are toxic, resist degradation, and bioaccumulate, and that they are transported across international boundaries and deposited far from where they are released. Impacts on indigenous communities, women, and future generations are acknowledged in the Treaty as of special concern.
A child eating one egg from near an E-waste recycling site in Ghana is exposed to more dioxins than the tolerable limit for 5 years
Wednesday, 01 June 2022
A new review of data from Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America has found that cancer-causing dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), unintentionally produced chemicals regulated in developed countries since the 1990s and internationally since 2004, continue to poison the food supply, at concentrations that pose serious health threats.
Quezon City, Philippines Organizations around the world have joined forces to call for a global ban on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) ahead of the World Environment Day. Also known as the “forever chemicals,” PFAS do not break down in the environment and build up in the bodies of humans and wildlife over time, resulting in adverse health effects.
From June 6-17, IPEN members will participate in the Meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions taking place in Geneva, Switzerland. Check this page for updates throughout the meetings.
IPEN and its members have been contributing to the development of the Stockholm Treaty since its inception in 2001. The Treaty aims to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants, or POPs, such as pesticides, industrial chemicals, and their toxic by-products. We have also contributed to the Basel Convention and its work to protect human health and the environment from toxic waste, and to the Rotterdam Convention’s work on the international trade in hazardous chemicals.
In Geneva, IPEN members from around the world will educate delegates about the health effects from toxic chemicals, providing data from IPEN’s scientific studies and observations from their local situations.
In addition, IPEN will co-host the following side events during the meetings:
POPs waste in a circular economy
Monday, 6 June 2022 at 6:15-7:45 p.m.
organized by IPEN, Arnika Association, and CREPD Photos
Health, Chemicals, Plastics & a Non-Toxic Circular Economy - Link
Thursday, 9 June 2022 at 1:15- 2:45 p.m.
organized by IPEN with Switzerland and Uruguay as co-organizers - New Plastics Video - Excerpt 1 | Excerpt 2
Video recording of session
Plastics & Refuse-Derived Fuel: Fuel Product or Plastic Waste Export? - Link
Thursday, 9 June 2022 at 6:15-7:45 p.m.
organized by IPEN - Excerpt
Video recording of sesssion
‘Chemical recycling’ of plastics – What is it and what impacts for the environment? - Link
Thursday, 10 June 2022 at 1:15-2:45 p.m. | Room 14
organized by IPEN & GAIA - Excerpt
Video recording of sesssion
Youth Participation in National Implementation Plan and Strategies (NIPs) to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions
Wednesday, 15 June 2022 at 1:15-2:45 p.m | Room B
organized by AKO Foundation, IPEN, Young volunteers for the Environment, CIEL
POPs waste is defined, according Article 6 of the Stockholm Convention, by setting Low POPs Content Levels (LPCLs). This establishes an important kind of “limit value” because POPs waste should be treated such that POPs are either destroyed or irreversibly transformed. They cannot be landfilled, reused, or recycled, because POPs content in that waste would also be recycled and thus would not stop this chemical pollution from entering the environment.
