Background
Starting from 1 January 2021 when Plastic Wastes Amendments to the Basel Convention became effective, customs administrations are faced with new operational challenges to ensure that the amendments are effectively enforced.
To address these challenges, the World Customs Organization (WCO) launched the Asia-Pacific Plastic Waste Management Project in Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, and Sri Lanka. The project commenced in April 2020 and is expected to be completed in March 2022. The project is implemented in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Basel Convention.
Project objectives
- Increased awareness and knowledge with regards to the Basel Convention, and specifically plastic waste;
- A responsive Risk Management approach introduced to mitigate plastic waste;
- Recording of waste shipments and seizures;
- Enhanced and functional relationship with National Management Authority, especially through the Single Window Environment;
- Processes introduced to validate Prior Informed Consent certificates with declarations and clearance process;
- Trained enforcement teams with regards to the technical issues associated with plastic waste;
- Enhanced procedures to process legal consignments of waste.
Project activities
- Undertaking diagnostic missions to assess Members’ practices in dealing with the transboundary movements of plastic waste. The finding and recommendations of the diagnostic missions will be embedded in National Implementation Plans.
- Organizing a Regional Plastic Waste Conference to raise awareness and chart a way forward for mitigating the risks associated with plastic waste.
- Developing materials on the identification of environmentally sensitive items – including the Basel Convention and illegal waste shipments.
Given that the implementation of the Plastic Waste Amendments are also addressed by the Norad-1 project implemented by the Secretariat of the Basel Convention, a joint training for customs and other law enforcement entities was organized by the Secretariat, WCO as well as the United Nations Organization on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC).
For more information about the project, please visit the website of WCO: World Customs Organization.
Contact information
For more information about the project, please contact Nancy Isarin (nancy.isarin@wcoomd.org) in WCO and Tatiana Terekhova (tatiana.terekhova@un.org) in the Secretariat of the Basel Convention.