Legislative framework

Elements on the international regulatory framework in country, in particular the ratification of the Basel Convention

The provisions of the Basel Convention implemented in the national regulatory framework

This Section will detail the implementation into the national regulatory framework of the provisions of the Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal aims:

• to minimize the generation of hazardous wastes in terms of quantity and hazardousness;
• to dispose of them as close to the source of generation as possible;
• to reduce the movement of hazardous wastes.

Adopted on 22 March 1989, it entered into force in 1992 and now has 172 Parties (for the full text of the Convention, refer to www.basel.int > “Text of the Convention”). The Secretariat is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Name of the Focal Point of the Basel Convention (source : http://www.basel.int/contact-info/frsetmain.html)

Past and/ or present experience of import/ export of hazardous waste

This Section will list past experiences of the country of import and/ or export of hazardous waste under the provisions of the Basel convention.

Regional regulatory framework on oil pollution preparedness and response, and oil spill waste management

Waste general definition and framework

Oil and polluted material collected in the context of response operations implemented after accidental water pollutions are considered as “Waste” (i.e. Substances or objects which are disposed of or are intended to be disposed of or are required to be disposed of by the provisions of national law", Basel Convention).

Note. The EC legislative framework is used in this section as reference for legislative consideration under the OSWM. For non-EU Member States, this information is provided as reference material for their consideration.

“Oil wastes and wastes of liquid fuels” and “oil spills” are also often classified as “Hazardous waste”. OECD and Basel Convention considers “Waste oil/water, hydrocarbon/water mixtures, emulsions” as hazardous. In the EU, Commission Decision of 3 May 2000 (2000/532/EC) classifies oil spill waste as hazardous.

The essential objective of all provisions relating to hazardous waste management is the protection of human health and the environment against harmful effects caused by the collection, transport, treatment, storage and disposal of waste. As national rules aim to achieve a good level of environmental protection and management of hazarouds waste, legislations are becoming progressively more stringent and complex. However, international convention and regional regulations usually provide that emergency situations may require derogations from general regulatory framework and that it may be necessary to implement specific procedures to avoid human or environmental threats. This may occur when important volumes of OSW are collected and have to be managed quickly and suddenly.

Main regulations will concern:

• Overall management (e.g. in the EU, the waste management policy is covered by Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives).
• Transport (e.g. in the UE, the reference is the European Agreement concerning the international carriage of Dangerous goods by Road – ADR),
• Intermediate and long term storage,
• Treatments:
  • Landfill of waste with special requirements on Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) and procedure to check the conformity of waste (characterization, leaching limits...) with the requirement of the category of storage site (EC reference is Council Directive 1999/31/EC and 2003/33/EC and Council Decision of 19 December 2002),
  • Incineration with special requirements on compliance with emission limit values for some pollutants to reduce environmental atmospheric pollution due to incineration or co-incineration of waste (EC Reference is Directive 2000/76/EC),
  • Others if and when considered,
• Cross-border transfers regulated by the Basel Convention on the Control of trans-boundary movements of hazardous waste and their disposal of 22 March 1989 and OECD Decision C(92)39/FINAL on the Control of trans-boundary movements of waste destined for recovery operations of March 1992, and bi- and multi-lateral agreements (listed in the appendices of the Basel Convention).

Waste transport (by land)

This Section will detail regulations applicable to waste transport by land from the regional regulatory framework.

Specific waste streams

This Section will detail regulations applicable to the main waste streams from the regional regulatory framework.

Treatment and disposal of wastes

This Section will detail regulations applicable to treatment and disposal of wastes from the regional regulatory framework.

Shipment, import and export

This Section will detail regulations applicable to waste shipment, import and export from the regional regulatory framework.

Others

This Section will detail regulations applicable to other issues from the regional regulatory framework, if applicable.

Specific elements from the national regulatory framework applicable to waste management

This Section will detail the specific elements from the national regulatory framework applicable to waste management.

Legal status of oil spill waste in the country

In case of known producer of the oil spill waste

This Section will define the legal status of oil spill waste (ownership?) in case of known producer of waste, e.g. spill from an unidentified vessel.

In case of unknown producer of the oil spill waste