Basel Ban Amendment becomes law

Global Ban on Exporting Hazardous Waste to Developing Countries can finally enter into the force of international law after Croatia became the 97th country to ratify the ban. With Croatia, the necessary 75%  of the parties to the Basel Convention have ratified the agreement.

Adopted by the parties to the Basel Convention in 1995, the ban amendment prohibits the export of hazardous wastes from parties and other member states of the EU, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and Liechtenstein to all other countries. It will become a new article in the convention and will enter into force for 97 countries on 5 December 2019.

However, a number of large economies, such as the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia, India, Brazil, and Mexico still have not ratified the ban.