Technical Guidelines for the Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) of Wastes Consisting of, Containing or Contaminated with Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)

Work prior to COP-13

By decision BC-12/3, the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention adopted the General technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with persistent organic pollutants, and specific technical guidelines that had been updated or prepared to address the chemicals listed in Annexes A, B and C to the Stockholm Convention by decisions SC-4/10 to SC-4/18, SC-5/3 and SC-6/13 of the Conference of the Parties to the Stockholm Convention. The adopted technical guidelines are available in the Publications-Technical Guidelines page. 

Following BC-12/3 decision, Parties and others were invited to provide comments on different aspects related to the development of the technical guidelines. Please find below, several requests and comments provided by Parties and others on the various requests. These also include requests made in decision OEWG-10/4 of the Open-ended Working Group at its tenth meeting. 

As of May 2017, Members of the Intersessional Working Group for the Development of Technical Guidelines on POPs Waste.

Pursuant to paragraph 7 of decision OEWG-9/3, parties and others are invited to provide comments by 23 January 2015. A final draft will then be presented to the Conference of the Parties by 6 March 2015 as information document taking into account comments received. Comments should be sent to the lead country Canada and the Basel Convention Secretariat for the attention of: BaselPOPs@ec.gc.ca; ibrahim.shafii@brsmeas.org and dadan.wardhana@brsmeas.org

1. Provisional agenda
2. Annotated agenda
3. Summary notes

The Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (BC COP), by paragraph 4 of decision BC-11/3, welcomes with appreciation the offer by Canada to chair the small intersessional working group until the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, and expresses its appreciation to the lead countries Canada, China and Japan and the lead organizations the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Environment Programme for their financial or in-kind contributions for tasks under the programme of work on the updating and or development of Technical guidelines for the environmentally sound management of wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with persistent organic pollutants (technical guidelines for the ESM of POPs wastes). The BC COP also invites the lead countries and lead organizations to take into account the programme of work for the review and updating of the technical guidelines for the ESM of POPS wastes as mentioned in paragraph 5 of the same decision.

Pursuant to the abovementioned invitation and the assignments specified by paragraph 6 of the same decision, the lead countries and lead organizations - in consultation with the small intersessional working group (SIWG) - have prepared draft technical guidelines as assigned to each of them and presented in the table hereunder.

Pursuant to decision OEWG-8/5 paragraphs 4 and 5, Canada and other lead countries (later, through the Secretariat, other lead organizations as well) to prepare, in consultation with the small intersessional working group, first drafts of the technical guidelines referred to in paragraph 3 of the decision or a progress report by 15 February 2013 for consideration by the Conference of the Parties at its eleventh meeting. The abovementioned draft technical guidelines and or progress reports have been compiled and presented by Canada.

Download the Progress report on the implementation of the programme of work for the development, review and updating of Technical Guidelines for the Environmentally Sound Management of Wastes Consisting of, Containing or Contaminated with Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) as of 18 February 2013.

In accordance with paragraph 6 of decision OEWG-8/5, parties and others are invited to provide comments on the draft guidelines or progress reports referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5 of the decision by 31 March 2013. 

Progress Report as of 14 December 2012

Download the Progress Report as of 14 December 2012.

 Download the First Draft as of 14 December 2012.

Comments received from Parties and others on the decisison VIII/16 - Review and update the technical guidelines on persistent organic pollutant (POP) wastes, if appropriate, and review disposal methods when the POP content in wastes is beneath low POP content.

Submission by the European Union and its Member States

Small Intersessional Working Group on Technical Guidelines for POPs Waste.

Members of the Intersessional Working Group for the Development of Technical Guidelines on POPs as Wastes.

Draft programme of work for the Open-Ended Working Group (English, French), for review by Parties.  Parties and others are invited to submit comments on the draft programme of work by 15.05.2012 for consideration by the SIWG and for publication on the Basel Convention website to the following address: BaselPOPs@ec.gc.ca. and dadan.wardhana@unep.org

Last draft programme of work for submission to the Open-Ended Working Group based on comments received on the previous draft document

• English version -clean
• English version -with comments
• French version - clean
• French version - with comments