Related initiatives and guidance within BRS-Conventions

Partnership on Household Wastes

Plastic waste comprises a large portion of household waste and plastic pollution in oceans, rivers and lakes is a great concern globally. A significant part of household waste in developing and transition countries is burnt in open air in the back yards or at uncontrolled dumping sites and poorly managed landfills. Overflowing landfills are often intentionally set on fire to reduce the total volume of deposited waste. Open burning releases POPs and other hazardous chemicals into air. Leachate from landfills and dumpsites contaminates surrounding soil and water.

The Household Waste Partnership was established by the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention in 2017 to address this important issue and to provide technical assistance worldwide, supporting all countries to benefit from already available solutions for environmentally sound management, including issues such as separation at source, collection, transport, storage, recycling, energy recovery and final disposal.

More information can be found here.

Regional Centres of the Basel Convention

In November 2016, the regional centres of the Basel and Stockholm conventions established a small topic group on marine litter, led by the Stockholm Regional Centre in Barcelona. The topic group developed proposals for the Basel and Stockholm conventions to address issues related to marine plastic litter and microplastics. These proposals were included in the report on the activities of the Basel and Stockholm conventions regional centres (UNEP/CHW.13/INF/29/Rev.1 - UNEP/POPS/COP.8/INF/26/Rev.1).

Following decisions BC-13/11 and SC-8/15, the Basel and Stockholm conventions regional centres continue to cooperate among them and with other entities to deliver technical assistance to prevent marine plastic litter and microplastics. During the annual meeting of Basel and Stockholm Regional Centres to be held in November 2017, the directors of the centres will discuss and develop the way forward in their cooperation on this topic.

On 8 November 2017, the Secretariat, jointly with UN Environment/MAP, Barcelona Convention, organized a session on marine litter, during the Annual Joint Meeting of Regional Centres under the Basel and Stockholm conventions from 6 to 8 November 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. A compilation of activities on marine litter carried out and planned by the Basel and Stockholm regional centres is available here. The compilation was also submitted to UNEA-3.

A compilation of activities related to marine plastic litter and microplastics undertaken by the Basel Convention regional and coordinating centres and the Stockholm Convention regional and subregional centres was presented at the eleventh meeting of the Open-ended Working Group held in Geneva from 3 to 6 September 2018 (UNEP/CHW/OEWG.11/INF/22/Add.1).

Furthermore, a compilation of activities related to plastic waste, marine plastic litter and microplastics undertaken by the Basel Convention regional and coordinating centres and the Stockholm Convention regional and subregional centres will be presented at the upcoming COPs from 29 April to 10 May 2019 in Geneva. The relevant documents can be found at the COP-documents Homepage (UNEP/CHW.14/INF/29 and UNEP/CHW.14/INF/29/Add.1 respectively).

Stockholm Convention

The Stockholm Convention aims to protect human health and the environment from Persistant Organic Pollutants (POPs). POPs are organic chemicals that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate in humans and wildlife, have harmful effects and have the potential for long-range environmental transport.

Plastics may contain hazardous substances including POPs, e.g. some plasticizers and flame retardants which may be slowly released into the sea. Plastics can also adsorb POPs such as PCB, DDT and dioxins and these are frequently detected in marine plastic litter.

The Stockholm Convention aims to protect human health and the environment from POPs.

As of 2018, the Convention controls 28 POPs, including those which have been used as additives, flame retardants or plasticizers in plastics such as:

  • Brominated diphenyl ethers;
  • Hexabromocyclododecane;
  • Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, its salts and perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride;
  • Short-chain chlorinated paraffins.

More information can be found here.