Environmental crime is an emerging issue of great concern both within Australia and internationally.

It
involves, among other activities, illegal trade in wildlife and fauna, illegal logging, and illegal transport
and disposal of hazardous waste.

THE POLICING HAZARDOUS WASTE RESEARCH PROJECT

Briefing Paper No. 1

Rob White and Diane Heckenberg School of Sociology and Social Work University of Tasmania

March 2011

Environmental harm

Notes: Waste from households’ includes waste from: Regular household collection, Civic amenity sites,
‘Bulky waste’ ‘Other household waste’. It does not include street cleaning/sweeping, gully emptying,
separately collected healthcare waste, asbestos waste. ‘Waste from households’ is a narrower measure
than ‘municipal waste’ and ‘council collected waste’.

Source: Defra, Sept 2014, www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env23-uk-waste-data-and-

management. Table 1 Row 9

3. Waste management

a. Disposal, excluding incineration, remained consistently the most widely used single manage- ment
route for hazardous waste. At the same time, about half of the countries reduced their landfill rate
between 2006 and 2012.

b. In 2012, the disposal rate of hazardous waste ranged from 100 % (Bulgaria) to 0 % (Luxem- bourg,
Malta).

c. Germany and Bulgaria reported the largest quantities of hazardous waste treated in absolute terms.
Whereas only a small proportion (23 %) was landfilled in Germany, landfill disposal was virtually the only
treatment method in Bulgaria

d. Significant gaps have been observed between the reported data for generated and treated amounts
of hazardous waste. The currently reported statistical data do not allow to follow gen- erated waste
through the waste management system, as they do not give any information about the complex steps
between generation and final treatment

. e. Most of the countries have reported higher amounts of generated compared to treated hazardous
waste for acid, alkaline or saline waste, chemical wastes as well as combustion wastes but this gap is not
consistent across all countries, indicating that countries possibly use different meth- odologies for their
reporting.

Source Hazardous waste review in the EU-28, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey Generation and
treatment

June 2015

Prepared by the ETC/SCP and ETC/WMGE

Authors: Emmanuel C. Gentil, Leonidas Milios, Christian Fischer European Topic Centre on Sustainable
Consumption and Production

Updated by: Elina Merta and Margareta Wahlström European Topic Centre on Waste and Materials in a
Green Economy

EEA project manager: Almut Reichel, European Environment Agency

In 2006, over five hundred tons of a mixture of fuel, caustic soda, and hydrogen sulfide was distributed
to twelve different sites around the largest city in Côte d’Ivoire, Abidjan.1 Now referred to as the Côte
d’Ivoire toxic waste dump,this affair became a major health crisis and a harsh reminder of the
breakdowns in the global management of hazardous waste.

The Côte d’Ivoire toxic waste dump represents a surprisingly per- sistent global trend where
underdeveloped states are used as disposal sites for waste rejected by developed states.25 “Toxic
colonialism” was the term of art created to label this activity and bring international attention to the
disproportionate risks faced by developing countries in this area of inter- national environmental law.

“Toxic colonialism” was a phrase originally coined by Jim Puckett of Greenpeace, describing the
“dumping of the industrial wastes of the West on territories of the Third World.”

Developed nations inevitably produce more hazardous substances, due in large part to the development
process itself, which involves heavy industrialization in order to achieve capitalistic economic progress.

The quantity of waste is not expected to decrease either. It is estimated that by 2020, the total
production of haz- ardous waste in the developed world will have increased by sixty percent to 194
million tons annually.

Unfortunately, this ever-growing category of waste contains a wide range of substances, including such
things as contaminated medical waste, industrial sludge, radioactive materials, old ships, electronic
wastes, incinerator ash, and military equipment.
disastrous incidents resulting from the improper disposal of hazardous waste in developing countries
spawned public recognition of the need for international control.

As one of the largest global generators of hazardous wastes and a major industrialized nation, the
United States is a powerful force in the global management of hazardous waste

Decreasing Dirty Dumping? A Reevaluation of Toxic Waste Colonialism and the Global Management of
Transboundary Hazardous Waste

Laura A. Pratt

Laura A. Pratt,Decreasing Dirty Dumping? A Reevaluation of Toxic Waste Colonialism and the Global
Management of Transboundary Hazardous Waste, 35 Wm. & Mary Envtl. L. & Pol'y Rev. 581 (2011),
http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmelpr/vol35/iss2/5

An estimated 245,949 children between ages of 0 and 4 years are at risk of exposure to environmental
sources of lead at hazardous waste sites in 7 asian countries. These level of exposure are high enough to
cause acute toxicity and also to produce chronic effects, such as decreased IQ .

Source: the burden of disease from pediatric lead exposure at hazardous waste sites in 7 asian countries

By: jack caravanos, chatham-stephens kevin, Ericson bret, landrigan Philip j, fuller Richard

The country has only 7 poison control centers nationwide. This is already an improvement from 2005
when there was only one poison control center. The centers report a total of 1286 poisoning cases in
2009. Top causes of poisons are the following

• Jewelry cleaners

• Mixed pesticides

• Button batteries

• Watusi firecracker

• Jathropha seeds

• Multi-vitamins

• Malathion and xylene

• Camphor with Methyl ASA and turpentine

Source: PHILIPPINE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ACTION PLAN

(NEHAP)
2010-2013

In most developing countries, the municipal solid waste stream is “dominated by organics”. This means
that the use of incineration is difficult, that the use of composting is necessary.

Source: review of waste management system in the phil: initiatives to promote waste segregation and
recycling through good governance

By vella Atienza 2010

1.3 Waste Management Hierarchy

There are varieties of methods to deal with the problem of hazardous wastes. The waste management
hierarchy addresses these methods in order of preference. The most preferable option on the hierarchy
is to reduce the amount of waste that is produced in the first place. This approach is known as source
reduction. This is the cornerstone of pollution prevention.

Unfortunately, not all waste can be eliminated, and the waste that is generated must be dealt with. The
second best option for managing this waste includes recycling, refining, or recovering the waste for
reuse so that new raw materials are not required and resources are conserved, so that waste pollutants
never reach the land (e.g., a landfill), the water, or the atmosphere.

If that is not possible, the next best option would be to treat the waste to reduce its toxicity and its
potential for harming the environment. The least preferred management methods for hazardous wastes
(and non-hazardous wastes) are shipping to a certified waste facility or incineration.

While each of these options may be necessary for managing waste at certain times, at the top of the
hierarchy, source reduction should be the focus of waste management efforts.

RETHINK & REPLACE: Improve or change laboratory processes to reduce waste

REDUCE: Eliminate waste at its source by reducing its quantity and toxicity

REUSE: Find new uses for old chemicals and share what you no longer need

RECYCLE: Convert used items back into raw materials which can be reused

Hazardous waste management manual july 2014

university of british Columbia
What is hazardous waste?

‗Hazardous waste‘ is the label assigned to a specific class of refuse. The key characteristic that identifies
this refuse is that, in some way, it is potentially dangerous to living beings and/or the environment,
particularly when handled, transported or disposed of in an unsafe manner. Hazardous waste can take
different forms – solid, liquid or gaseous – and it can be emitted to land, water or air. Further, hazardous
substances, materials or goods can potentially occur in the three major waste streams – MSW
(Municipal), C & I (Commercial and Industrial) and C & D (Construction and Demolition).

WHAT IS HAZARDOUS WASTE AND WHAT MAKES IT HAZARDOUS?

Briefing Paper No. 2

Rob White & Diane Heckenberg School of Sociology and Social Work University of Tasmania

March 2011

What are Universal Wastes?

Universal wastes are hazardous wastes that are widely produced by households and many different
types of businesses. Universal wastes include televisions, computers and other electronic devices as well
as batteries, fluorescent lamps, mercury thermostats, and other mercury containing equipment, among
others.

The hazardous waste regulations (Cal. Code Regs, tit. 22, div. 4.5, ch. 11 section 66261.9) identify seven
categories of hazardous wastes that can be managed as universal wastes. Any unwanted item that falls
within one of these waste streams can be handled, transported and recycled following the simple
requirements set forth in the universal waste regulations (UWR) (Cal. Code Regs, tit. 22, div. 4.5, ch. 23)

Universal wastes are: 1. Electronic devices: Includes any electronic device that is a hazardous waste
(with or without a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)), including televisions, computer monitors, cell phones, VCRs,
computer CPUs and portable DVD players. 2. Batteries: Most household-type batteries, including
rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries, silver button batteries, mercury batteries, alkaline batteries and
other batteries that exhibit a characteristic of a hazardous waste 3. Electric lamps: Fluorescent tubes
and bulbs, high intensity discharge lamps, sodium vapor lamps and electric lamps that contain added
mercury, as well as any other lamp that exhibits a characteristic of a hazardous waste. (e.g., lead). 4.
Mercury-containing equipment: Thermostats, mercury switches, mercury thermometers, pressure or
vacuum gauges, dilators and weighted tubing, mercury rubber flooring, mercury gas flow regulators,
dental amalgams, counterweights, dampers and mercury added novelties such as jewelry, ornaments
and footwear. 5. CRTs: The glass picture tubes removed from devices such as televisions and computer
monitors. 6. CRT glass: A cathode ray tube that has been accidently broken or processed for recycling. 7.
Non-empty aerosol cans
Universal Wastes may not be disposed of in the trash!

Fact Sheet, January 2010 Universal Waste Fact Sheet

Dept of toxic substances control