Over the past several decades there has been the issue of what to do with a nation's toxic waste, no matter how it is generated. The Basel Ban was established as an extension to the Basel Agreement. It came into being because of the huge issue of this waste being taken to "developing" (new word for 3rd world) countries for illegal disposal. Keep in mind the focus of this international issue was not the proper disposal of toxic waste, but the illegal disposal of it in developing countries (DC).
It is strongly believed that no matter what the circumstance, it is wrong for any country (primarily economically advanced) to dispose of waste in a DC. There are some good justifications of this stance, and some bad ones. One of the ideas is that if a developed country is allowed to move its waste to a DC then there will be no reason for them to change their production methods and resulting waste streams (reduction). Good idea. Another idea, almost a truism in the minds of most, is that any waste that is taken to a DC will be illegally disposed.
But the behind the scene presumption of this idea is that the DC is not capable of establishing a proper waste disposal facility, and that the waste will end up in a critically sensitive environment within the DC for a number of reasons.
The illegal dumping of wastes has been on sites that are within population centers, or in critical environments (rivers, wetlands, within groundwater recharge zones, etc). These are typically logistically easier to get to for the trucks doing the dumping. The average corrupt national/local politician turns a blind eye, or facilitates with a call to the security office not to patrol a certain area.
Fact of the matter is that there are some really good locations within some of these DC for establishing efficient disposal facilities. What would make for a good location? This is something the average reader should easily be able to identify that include things such as location or weather. Location speaks to geology, endangered species, human contact, etc.
For argument sake let us assume that a perfect location exists that is remote, no groundwater, arid, and generally hostile. The next issue is the facility.
A properly designed treatment and disposal facility can be built in this ideal location, that would meet all the requirements of being protective of humans and the environment. The end product of the treatment process could then be placed into a proper landland fill within the disposal facility. The cost factor would be significantly less at this facility than one in say Denmark.
The Basel Convention (BC) was birthed as a means to establish some control over the practice of toxic waste disposal. It was not uncommon for the bad actors of the world to dump toxic wastes in these DC at a very low cost. The DC that accepted this waste was hard pressed for currency, or legally or illegally. The people of the world responded well to the acts being committed by the few, but who's actions were impacting a lot of people. The BC requires a notification of transport of these wastes to various parties who can be impacted by a release of these materials (intentional or un-intentional). This makes the people who transport them more likely to think twice about documenting their illegal activity.
It is strongly believed that no matter what the circumstance, it is wrong for any country (primarily economically advanced) to dispose of waste in a DC. There are some good justifications of this stance, and some bad ones. One of the ideas is that if a developed country is allowed to move its waste to a DC then there will be no reason for them to change their production methods and resulting waste streams (reduction). Good idea. Another idea, almost a truism in the minds of most, is that any waste that is taken to a DC will be illegally disposed.
But the behind the scene presumption of this idea is that the DC is not capable of establishing a proper waste disposal facility, and that the waste will end up in a critically sensitive environment within the DC for a number of reasons.
The illegal dumping of wastes has been on sites that are within population centers, or in critical environments (rivers, wetlands, within groundwater recharge zones, etc). These are typically logistically easier to get to for the trucks doing the dumping. The average corrupt national/local politician turns a blind eye, or facilitates with a call to the security office not to patrol a certain area.
Fact of the matter is that there are some really good locations within some of these DC for establishing efficient disposal facilities. What would make for a good location? This is something the average reader should easily be able to identify that include things such as location or weather. Location speaks to geology, endangered species, human contact, etc.
For argument sake let us assume that a perfect location exists that is remote, no groundwater, arid, and generally hostile. The next issue is the facility.
A properly designed treatment and disposal facility can be built in this ideal location, that would meet all the requirements of being protective of humans and the environment. The end product of the treatment process could then be placed into a proper landland fill within the disposal facility. The cost factor would be significantly less at this facility than one in say Denmark.
The Basel Convention (BC) was birthed as a means to establish some control over the practice of toxic waste disposal. It was not uncommon for the bad actors of the world to dump toxic wastes in these DC at a very low cost. The DC that accepted this waste was hard pressed for currency, or legally or illegally. The people of the world responded well to the acts being committed by the few, but who's actions were impacting a lot of people. The BC requires a notification of transport of these wastes to various parties who can be impacted by a release of these materials (intentional or un-intentional). This makes the people who transport them more likely to think twice about documenting their illegal activity.
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