Groups pursue ban on waste trade as the first anniversary of the re-exportation of Canadian garbage dumped in the Philippines on May 31 nears
Thursday, 28 May 2020
Quezon City, Philippines Civil society groups marked the first anniversary of the repatriation of 69 container vans of rotting Canadian garbage to their source with a resounding plea for decisive policy actions to prevent its recurrence and to defend environmental justice and the rule of law.
Entre los puntos de la iniciativa destaca el concepto de “responsabilidad extendida al productor”, que atacaría la contaminación plástica desde su origen
Tuesday, 05 November 2019
Ciudad de México Senadores de distintos partidos políticos se sumaron hoy a una iniciativa de reformas a la Ley General para la Prevención y Gestión Integral de los Residuos (LGPGIR), surgida de la ciudadanía, científicos y organizaciones sociales, con el objetivo de atender la crisis de contaminación por plásticos en México.
Jakarta, Indonesia The international waste trade watchdog organization Basel Action Network (BAN) together with Indonesian environmental organizations Ecoton, WALHI, and Nexus3 today in calling the waste import situation in Indonesia dire and "out-of-control" which can only be resolved by the Indonesian Government dealing more responsibly with the illegal shipments that have already arrived at their shores, while enacting a full prohibition on future imports.
Groups vow to keep up the pressure against dumping of foreign wastes in Philippines
Tuesday, 17 September 2019
Quezon City, Philippines As the authorities grapple with the repacking of over 5,000 tons of illegal waste cargoes stranded in Misamis Oriental for re-export to South Korea, environmental health and justice groups vow to keep up the pressure to prevent the recurrence of foreign waste dumping via the country’s seaports.
National and international environmental health organizations are urging the Canadian government to ratify the BAN Amendment to the Basel Convention and end the exportation of waste to developing countries. One of the primary objectives of the Basel Convention is to have countries take responsibility for their own wastes in their own country and, in particular, stop the practice of exporting wastes to developing countries.
A movement bidding good riddance to bad trash is growing across South East Asia, and it should spark an international reckoning with how we have been dealing with plastic waste, recycling, and responsibility.
China closed its doors in 2018 to nearly a million tons of mixed plastic waste shipments, and with it, the inevitable toxic pollution to land, air, and groundwater that comes with plastic waste. All plastics contain toxic additives, many of which have negative health impacts. In the wake of China’s decision, the developed waste exporting nations set their plastic recycling on course to other South East Asian countries that were soon overwhelmed by the massive trashing.
In May, world governments gave developing countries a tool to resist the deluge of plastic mixed waste shipments through the UN Basel Convention. The US is not a signatory to the treaty, yet attempted to block the decision. The US obstruction failed, and 184 of the world’s governments created new regulations that require waste exporting countries to declare the content of mixed waste shipments and enables receiving countries to refuse plastic waste imports.
The Prime Minister’s announcement and COAG support for a ban on waste exports should be cautiously welcomed and is long overdue following the embarrassing revelations of Australian illegal waste dumping in South East Asia. However, it seems certain that the announcement is designed to distract from a major government push to burn Australia’s waste in polluting incinerators: an industry it quietly supports. As noted by some media reports on the announcement, the government “was exploring using waste in energy plants to power Australian homes.”
(Environmental Health and Justice Group Urges South Korea to Remove Their Remaining Wastes in Mindanao)
Friday, 02 August 2019
Quezon City. The environmental health and justice group EcoWaste Coalition today pushed the government of South Korea to act on the 5,177 tons of illegal waste exports that continue to languish in Mindanao for over a year now despite repeated assurances from Seoul to take them back “as soon as possible.”
