Uncontrolled transboundary transfer of hazardous wastes was recognized as a major environmental problem in the mid-1980s. The international community responded by elaborating pertinent international agreements. Treaties are now in place at the global and regional levels, and additional ones are being negotiated. Despite their common aim of protecting the environment against the ill-effects of hazardous wastes, they often differ in stringency as well as scope and membership.
The book analyses the key treaties and other international legal rules on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes. It identifies inconsistencies, gaps, and overlaps, and proposes ways to build a comprehensive global regulatory system for the management of hazardous wastes by harmonizing relevant international legal rules.

Can waste become a profitable business rather than a costly problem, creating green business opportunities and green jobs while protecting the environment? Might this reduce illegal trade and improper recycling of hazardous wastes by making the legitimate alternatives more attractive? Addressing these questions, this book examines environmentally sound waste management as a driver in the transition to a Green Economy, and discusses how this transition is challenged by technical limitations, weak regulatory environments and lack of financial incentives. This in-depth analysis of the link between waste management and a Green Economy identifies key elements of a solid overarching legal and policy framework that could address these challenges, noting that consistent implementation and enforcement is crucial. It complements its examination of the legal and policy issues with contributions on technical and economic aspects, taking into account the interdisciplinary nature of the problem, and offers a perspective from Asia, where the challenges of waste management as well as the possible opportunities are particularly significant. With interdisciplinary authorship and contributions drawn from academia and practice, this book will be a timely resource for academics and practitioners in the areas of law, policy and economics. It will also provide insights for civil servants engaged in waste policy and related areas, private sector operators engaged in waste management and sustainable development, and non-governmental organizations engaged in environmental protection and poverty reduction efforts. Contributors include: J. Baumgartner, M. Grosz, T. Hardman Reis, K. Kummer Peiry, J. Li, J. North, P. Portas, R. Rayfuse, M. Schluep, X. Sun, J. Voinov Kohler, V. Weick, B. Zhu, A. Ziegler

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal celebrates its tenth anniversary in 1999. As the only treaty addressing international transfer and environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes at the global level, the Basel Convention has gained universal recognition as the key legal instrument in this field. The anniversary presents an opportunity to assess its evolution , and to consider challenges for the future. Other existing relevant legal instruments have also evolved further, and new ones have been adopted.

This book analyses the relationship of the Basel Convention with other pertinent legal rules, and proposes means to form a comprehensive global regulatory regime for hazardous waste management on the basis of the Convention. Since the book was first published, a number of important developments have taken place. Chief among these is the adoption of an amendment to the Basel Convention which provides for a ban on exports of hazardous wastes from OECD to non OECD countries. A tendency to impose similar restrictions can also be observed in other relevant legal instruments. The introduction to this book has therefore been revised by way of a substantial new preface to give an overview of the important developments since 1994, and their impact on the overall analysis.