Copper, copper alloys and recovered paper all need to be given end-of-waste criteria, according to the BIR International Environment Council (IEC) meeting held at the recent BIR convention.
Spanish Federation of Recovery and Recycling (FER) director general Alicia Garcia-Franco Zuniga said that compliance with end-of-waste requirements “is not difficult” for recyclers and represents “a good solution for transboundary trade”. However, she noted that not every scrap material will cease to be a waste and that up to this point, consumers have not been prepared to pay more for material designated as a product than for a waste.
There was also a presentation from BIR environmental and technical director Ross Bartley on progress at United Nations and Basel Convention level towards a framework for environmentally sound management of hazardous and other wastes.
A technical expert group, with active observers from BIR and the US Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries and others, is conducting work on a framework document for presentation to next year’s Basel Convention Conference of the Parties.
Current indications are that the United Nations will set the bar higher than the OECD, meaning Government’s will be required to comply on environmental insurance, environmental impact studies and the setting of emission limit values.
