Basel Convention E-Waste Amendments

E-Scrap Conference
September 21, 2022

Liabeth Yohannes
U.S. EPA, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery
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Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous

Waste and their Disposal
• A legally binding treaty establishing prior notice and consent for
transboundary shipments of waste and scrap within its scope

• Entered into force in 1992; 190 countries have ratified (i.e., Parties)

• Main objective is to control and ensure environmentally sound management of

primarily hazardous wastes subject to transboundary movement

• U.S. is a Signatory, but not a Party

• The U.S. has participated as an Observer since the Convention’s initiation

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Basel Convention e-waste amendments – key takeaways

• Starting Jan. 1, 2025, exports and imports of all electrical and

electronic waste and scrap (e-waste) will be subject to prior
informed consent procedures

• Proposed to control exports to countries where unsafe e-waste

recycling is a common problem

• As a result, it will generally be considered illegal for non-

OECD* countries to trade in e-waste with the United States
because of the Convention’s non-Party trade prohibition

• U.S.-OECD trade in e-waste and scrap controlled under the

Basel Convention is allowed under a separate OECD agreement
▫ The OECD Council Decision on the Control of Transboundary Movement
of Wastes for Recovery Operations

*the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) consists of 38 developed countries
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What’s considered e-waste under the new Basel amendments?

Amendments classify electrical and electronic waste into 3 categories:

1. Any waste electrical and electronic equipment that includes an

electrical or electronic component (e.g., circuit boards, batteries,
display devices)

2. Waste components of electrical and electronic equipment, unless

covered by another Basel listing

3. Waste arising from the processing of waste electrical and electronic

equipment or components (e.g., fractions arising from shredding
or dismantling), unless covered by another Basel listing

Controls will apply to hazardous and non-hazardous e-waste destined for

recycling or other recovery operations (e.g., incineration), or for disposal
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Examples of scrap or waste not subject to Basel controls*

Listings Brief description
B1010 Metal and metal-alloy wastes in metallic, non-dispersible form, such as precious
metals, iron and steel scrap, copper scrap, aluminum scrap, cobalt scrap, etc.

B1050 Mixed non-ferrous metal, heavy fraction scrap, not containing hazardous constituents
(Annex I) in concentrations sufficient to exhibit hazardous characteristics (Annex III)

B3011 Plastic waste and scrap (generally single polymer) destined for environmentally sound
recycling, almost free from contamination and other types of waste

B1090 Waste batteries conforming to a specification, excluding those made with lead, cadmium
or mercury (Note: hazardous waste listings for batteries: A1160, A1170)

*Check with countries involved in the transboundary movement

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Potential impacts to trade in used equipment destined for repair and reuse

• E-waste amendments apply to transboundary movements

destined for recycling or other recovery operations, or
disposal

• Used equipment destined for repair, refurbishment, reuse is

not addressed, but impacts are anticipated
▫ Challenges and disagreement over waste/non-waste
▫ Check requirements of countries involved

• Proposed changes to the Basel Convention “definition of

waste” (Annex IV) could be adopted in May 2023 (COP-16). If
adopted, could result in:
▫ Controls on used equipment sent for repair, refurbishment,
cleaning, checking
▫ Further ambiguity about what is considered waste per proposed
open-ended “catch-all” operations
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Potential U.S. impacts of the Basel e-waste amendments

• Could effectively stop U.S. e-waste and scrap trade with non-OECD countries

• Potential impacts to transboundary movements for repair,

refurbishment, and reuse

• Increased U.S. recycling of e-waste and scrap, critical materials

recovered in the U.S.; More landfilling of lower value e-waste

• More processing prior to export

• Increased trade with OECD countries

• Strengthened controls, tracking and monitoring of shipments

• Trade disruptions and delays due to inefficient PIC procedure

▫ Including impacts to trade for recovery of critical minerals
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Thank you!

Lia Yohannes
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery
Yohannes.lia@epa.gov

https://www.epa.gov/hwgenerators
See bottom-left of website for RCRA export/import requirements