[220519.EN.BIZ] New UN Restrictions On The Export of Plastic Recyclables

EXCEPT for the US, most countries signed off on May 10 to United Nations restrictions on the sale of plastic waste to importers in the third world who recycle it, says Beijing's China Global Television Network (CGTN).

The legally binding framework emerged at the end of a two-week meeting of UN-backed convention on plastic waste and toxic, hazardous chemicals that threaten the planet's seas and creatures, reported the UK Guardian.

The pact comes in as an amendment to the Basel Convention. The US is not a party to that convention and argued against the change, saying officials didn't understand the repercussions it would have on the plastic waste trade.

This move is seen as a game-changer in protecting the environment of these countries, says CGTN.

With the new pact in place, the recyclable exporting nations have to get consent from the governments of the importing countries before dispatching any such shipment.

The resolution was a culmination of a two-week-long UN-backed consultation on hazardous chemicals and plastic waste contaminating the oceans and endangering aquatic creatures.

This pact is the revised version of the prior Basel Convention of 187 nations. The earlier convention lacked the ability to address the movement of the radioactive waste.

Some 429 - 157,000 TEU of plastic waste was exported from the US alone in 2018 to the poorer nations where the mismanagement of hazardous waste is already a mounting problem, as per the data revealed by US Census Bureau, CGTN reports.

Plastic waste once it deteriorates, emits toxic chemicals and further breaks down into microplastic which is hard to see from naked eyes, but still can cause dangers to humans and other living.

Source : HKSG.