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LESSON 5 | How can we manage plastic waste in

an environmentally sound manner?
In this lesson, we will dive deeper into the concept of environmentally sound management and its criteria,
as defined under the Basel Convention. You will learn about tools that can be applied to promote, facilitate
and ensure environmentally sound management of plastic waste at all stages of the life cycle, through
principles, policies and practical arrangements. Benefits and constraints that different approaches entail,
thereby enabling the choice of appropriate solutions based on the specific local and national circumstances,
will be presented. Lastly, the lesson highlights the requirements of the Basel Convention to ensure that any
transboundary movement of hazardous and other wastes lead to its environmentally sound management,
to be confirmed upon the completion of the movement.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

1. describe the framework and elements of management capacity and designing

environmentally sound management, in
particular with respect to plastic waste;
2. identify tools and approaches for the
environmentally sound management
of plastic waste, including for the
development of a national inventory
of plastic waste; and
3. describe the key steps in assessing
national environmentally sound
and implementing plastic waste
environmentally sound management
policies.
Questions are posed throughout the text for you
to check own understanding. The questions are
in various formats, from open (reflection points)
to multiple choice, true/false, ranking, and/or
matching. The answers can be consulted at the
end of the journal.

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WHAT ARE the key elements of environmentally sound management in the context
of plastic waste?

Lesson 1 of Module 1 introduced the concept ▪ Strategic framework-UNEP-CHW-

of environmentally sound management under COP.10-BC-10-2.English.pdf
the Basel Convention, including its definition, ▪ Environmentally sound management-
and highlighted various key documents adopted U N E P - C H W. 1 1 - 3 - A d d . 1 - R e v . 1 .
by the COP: English.pdf

“Environmentally sound management of wastes requires the development and implementation

of a system of policies, legislation and regulations, monitoring and enforcement, incentives and
penalties, technologies and other tools in which all key stakeholders participate and cooperate” -
Environmentally sound management framework

Q1: We discussed Article 2 of the Basel
Convention, which defines environmentally
sound management, in Lesson 1 of Module
1. Can you remember how Article 2 defines
environmentally sound management?
□ Taking all practicable steps to ensure that
hazardous wastes or other wastes are
managed in a manner which will protect
human health and the environment against
its adverse effects.

□ Taking all practicable steps to ensure that □ Taking all practicable steps to ensure that
hazardous wastes are managed in a manner hazardous wastes are managed in a manner
which will protect ocean ecosystems. which will protect the forest ecosystems.

The ESM framework identifies five guiding principles:

1. Prevention 2. Sustainable 3. Recognition 4. An 5. Innovation in

and minimization use of resources of waste as a integrated life the production
in both resource (where cycle approach and delivery
production and appropriate) of services
consumption

Furthermore, the environmentally sound environmentally sound management. These are

management framework lists the following equally relevant for the environmentally sound
elements to be taken into account when management of plastic waste.
establishing, implementing or evaluating

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Regulatory matters, Occupational health and

e.g. standards for the safety matters, e.g. relevant
collection and separation of standards in plastic waste
plastic waste management facilities

Facility-related matters, e.g. Organizational matters, e.g.

construction of plastic waste licensing of plastic waste
recycling facilities management companies

Transparency, due diligence

Waste-related matters, e.g. and accountability, e.g. regular
existence of sanitary landfills reporting by plastic waste
management operators vis-à-
vis existing standards

Resource and process Innovation and research and

efficiency, e.g. efficiency of development, e.g. public-
incineration plants private partnerships to
advance research on plastic
waste recycling technologies

Environmental protection
matters, e.g. measures to
prevent pellet loss

WHICH MANAGEMENT options exist for plastic waste?

Q2: Down-cycling vs. up-cycling. Have a guess and match the concepts with the associated definition.

1. Refers to recycling a material into a lower A. Up-cycling

value product, e.g. recycling PET bottles into
B. Down-cycling
park benches.

2. Means taking a lower value waste product and

using its materials to make a higher value product,
e.g. recycling fabric off-cuts into new clothing.

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There are essentially three different management

options for plastic waste:

RECYCLED OR REPROCESSED

Plastic waste recycled or reprocessed into a

secondary material. Recycling delays but does
not avoid final disposal. PVC, HDPE and PET are
among the most suitable plastics for recycling.
For many other plastics, it is not feasible from an
economic, technical or environmental point of
view. In most cases, the practice is ‘down-cycling’
rather than ‘up-cycling’.

DESTROYED THERMALLY

Plastics can be destroyed thermally. Although

there are emerging technologies, such as
pyrolysis, virtually all thermal destruction is
carried out by incineration - with or without
energy recovery. The environmental and health
impacts of waste incinerators strongly depend
on emission control technology, as well as
incinerator design and operation.

DISCARDED AND CONTAINED

Plastics can be discarded and contained in a

managed system, such as controlled landfills.
However, plastic waste can escape from even
well-developed solid waste management systems
as litter. Underdeveloped countries often lack
such waste management infrastructure. Plastic
waste is then either left uncontained in open
dumps or in the natural environment, so that
hazardous additives may leak into groundwater,
for instance.

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WHICH TOOLS and approaches exist for the environmentally sound management
of plastic waste?

Tools to support and promote the implementation Voluntary agreements and schemes
of environmentally sound management of
To promote compliance and innovation, e.g.
plastic waste may include a combination of
voluntary industry plastic waste take-back
the following:
programmes.
Legislation
Mechanisms for cooperation
Making environmentally sound management
At international, regional, national and local
operational and featuring provisions on issues
levels, e.g. cooperation with other States
such as the responsibilities of key stakeholders,
to promote enforcement of the control of
liability, extended producer responsibility (EPR)
transboundary movement of plastic waste.
schemes, licensing criminal penalties, e.g. a law
providing for certain penalties for the illegal Training
dumping of plastic waste.
Awareness-raising and compliance promotion,
Guidelines/codes of good practice e.g. awareness-raising for the public to promote
separation of plastic waste or training of workers
To improve the knowledge and understanding
in the informal sector.
of key stakeholders involved in making
environmentally sound management operational, Accountability and reporting mechanisms
e.g. guidelines on the standard operating
For all stakeholders, e.g. ensuring plastic waste
procedures in plastic waste recycling facilities.
management operators provide data on the
Voluntary certification schemes amounts collected and treated.

Consistent with applicable international rules, Economic and non-economic incentives

e.g. certification of plastic recycling operations.
E.g. tax breaks for plastic waste environmentally
sound management facilities.

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Q3: Match the examples with the tools for the

environmentally sound management of plastic
waste:

1. voluntary industry plastic waste take- A. accountability and reporting

back programmes B. awareness raising
2. guidelines on the standard operating C. mechanisms of cooperation
procedures in plastic waste recycling
D. voluntary agreements and schemes
facilities
E. voluntary certification schemes
3. certification of plastic recycling
operations F. codes of good practice

4. data on the amounts collected and G. legislation

treated is provided
5. law providing for certain penalties for
the illegal dumping of plastic waste
6. public promotion of separation of waste
7. interstate collaboration on the control
of transboundary movement of plastic
waste

WHICH STRATEGIES exist for the environmentally sound management of

plastic waste?

Q4: Which of the following aspects would you
consider looking into prior to developing an
environmentally sound management strategy
for plastic waste? Go through the check list
below and choose as you consider fit.
□ Types and quantities of plastic
wastes generated
□ Potential for plastic waste prevention and
minimization
□ Actual or potential risks posed to human
health, worker safety and the environment
□ Available infrastructure and capacity to
manage plastic wastes
□ Applicable laws and enforcement provisions
□ Waste facility or sector-based measures in
place to support environmentally sound
management of plastic waste
□ Approaches used to validate whether facilities
achieve environmentally sound management
of plastic waste
□ Types of informal plastic waste management
activities
□ Availability of necessary funding to achieve
environmentally sound management of
plastic waste

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Q5: Could you tell what methodology
describes each of the two paragraphs below?
Match the description with the associated
methodology.
1. A methodology that uses existing data
on domestic production and trade
statistics for products containing
plastic, data that can be produced for
the entire country, and can support
decision making at national level. It
is appropriate for developing a first-
generation inventory.
WHAT ARE the key considerations in advancing the environmentally sound
management of plastic waste?
Based on the list of elements of the environmentally
sound management framework presented earlier
in the module, we can focus on four cross-cutting
I. POLICIES, LEGISLATIONS, REGULATIONS, INSTITUTIONS AND
STANDARDS, ETC.
Policies, legislations, regulations, institutions
and standards are necessary to provide the legal
framework and associated enforcement regime
for defining, promoting and implementing
environmentally sound management for plastic
wastes. These mechanisms are also needed
to create the right economic and business
environments for sustainable financing of
environmentally sound management.
Relevant considerations include the following:
▪ Are responsibilities clearly defined?
▪ Are policies clearly defined and
evidence-based?
II. SUSTAINABLE FINANCING
A system of adequate and sustainable financing is
essential to ensure plastics wastes are managed
in an environmentally sound manner. Whilst
individual, source segregated polymers may have
value, the process for obtaining these materials,
particularly from post-consumer sources, is
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2. A methodology that entails
generating an inventory by using
household surveys and can support
decision making for plastic waste
at sub-national level, such as a
municipality or a city. The results can
be extrapolated or data from several
regions can be added up to obtain a
national estimate.
A. Consumption life-span methodology
B. Household survey-based estimate
elements to achieve the environmentally sound
management of plastic waste:
▪ Are regulations in place to ensure
environmentally sound management
of plastic waste? Are these regulations
implemented?
▪ Who has responsibility for monitoring
and enforcement against mismanaged
plastics waste? Is enforcement
sufficient to significantly disincentivize
mismanagement of plastic waste?
▪ Are resources adequate to implement the
policies and regulations?
costly. An appropriate and sustainable flow
of finance is needed to drive materials up the
waste hierarchy and provide sufficient incentive
for individual actors to invest in and operate the
necessary collection and recycling infrastructure.

0 1
Relevant considerations include the following:
▪ How is plastic waste management funded?
▪ Is funding sufficient or is there a
significant short fall to provide good waste
management services for all and minimise
mismanagement of waste?
III. TECHNICAL CAPACITY
The necessary technologies and human capacity
and knowledge need to be in place to manage
plastic wastes, and also to successfully implement
the policies, regulations and standards described
under Element 1.
Relevant considerations include the following:
▪ Are there enough people with an
appropriate level of technical knowledge
to plan and operate waste management
services? Is there sufficient technical
capacity in municipal government?
IV. STAKEHOLDER INTERACTION, AWARENESS AND COMMUNICATION
Engaging stakeholders and raising awareness
of the key issues is essential to bring about the
necessary behaviour change that is needed to
achieve environmentally sound management for
plastic waste.
Relevant considerations include the following:
▪ Is there positive and effective collaboration
between key government stakeholders
with responsibilities and interests in waste
management?
▪ Does local and national government
collaborate effectively in planning waste
management services?
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▪ Are there existing markets for recycled
plastics? Which polymers have market value?
▪ Are there funds available from public and/
or commercial sources to fund capital
investments for plastics collection, sorting
and reprocessing infrastructure?
▪ Are professional standards defined?
▪ Are there mechanisms for training and
knowledge transfer?
▪ Are the technologies applied (and
being developed) appropriate for the
local context, particularly in terms of
operational knowledge and maintenance
capabilities?
▪ Is the private sector engaged effectively
in the delivery of waste management
infrastructure and services?
▪ Is the informal sector engaged positively
in delivering waste management services?
▪ Are there regular communication campaigns
for communities highlighting the need
for public behaviour change to achieve
plastics waste reduction and recycling?
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Q6: “Who has responsibility for monitoring
and enforcement against mismanaged plastics
waste? Are responsibilities clearly defined?
Is enforcement sufficient to significantly dis-
incentivise mismanagement of plastic waste?
Are resources adequate to implement the
policies and regulations?” Which cross-cutting
elements do we address by asking these
questions?
□ Policies, legislations, regulations, institutions
and standards
□ Sustainable financing
□ Technical capacity
□ Stakeholder interaction, awareness and
communication
Q7: Match the following considerations to the
two cross-cutting elements:
1. Are professional standards defined?
Are there mechanisms for training
and knowledge transfer? Are the
technologies applied appropriate?
2. Do local and national government
collaborate effectively? Is the private
sector engaged effectively? Is the
informal sector engaged?
A. Stakeholder interaction, awareness
and communication
B. Technical capacity

WHICH MEASURES can be implemented across the life cycle to promote the
environmentally sound management of plastic waste?

Do you remember the diagram of the life cycle of
plastic waste? A strategy for the environmentally
sound management of plastic waste includes
measures that can be taken at all stages of the
life cycle of plastics. Examples of measures that
can be taken at each stage are provided in the
diagram below, although it is noted that some of
these examples go beyond the obligations of the
Basel Convention.

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Phase out specific product types that are
commonly mismanaged
Phase-out of additives and plastic types with
hazardous properties
Policies, regulations, Establishing formal ‘green procurement’
institutions standards requiring purchasing of
and standards environmentally sound products and excluding
unnecessary single use plastics
Create standards for novel plastic materials,
including biodegradable plastics
Mandate segregation of plastics at source
Support development and implementation of
alternative materials
Develop and implement alternatives to
problematic plastics and hazardous additives
Technical capacity Support development and implementation
of technologies that enable plastic waste
minimisation and recycling
Improve secondary sorting of dry waste into
recyclable fractions
MEASURES
Support the development and demonstration
of commercially viable technologies for mixed
and/or low value plastics
Product levies to support waste minimisation
and plastics waste recycling
Taxes to dis-incentivise use of virgin plastic
Taxes or levies on the consumption or use of
Sustainable specific plastic products (e.g. polythene bag tax)
financing Deposit return schemes to drive reuse
and recycling
Incentives for environmentally sound
alternatives (e.g. reusable packaging)
Work with industry to establish voluntary
EPR scheme
Work with industry to establish voluntary
recycled content requirements
Stakeholders’ Work with industry to establish a scheme that
interaction, promotes ‘design for recycling’
awareness and Raise public awareness in order to reduce
communication littering and dumping
Provide information to consumers to
encourage purchase of products using
recycled content
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Enhance enforcement action to reduce
illegal dumping
Set collection coverage targets for
municipalities
Set statutory targets for recycling
Establish standards for recycled plastics
Recycled content requirements
Establish mandatory ‘design for recycling’
requirements
Use EPR to implement the polluter
pays principle
Support development of domestic
reprocessing capacity
Improve quality and coverage of waste
collection services
Support development of systems for source
segregation of plastics waste
Optimise transport of plastics
Support development of better and more
cost-effective technologies for collecting,
transporting and sorting waste plastics
Use taxes or trading mechanisms to
internalise the externalities associated with
primary plastics
Incentive-based collection for plastic waste
types that are commonly mismanaged
Use financial market mechanisms to increase
the resilience of the market to fluctuations in
prices (e.g. futures markets)
Provide clear labelling for plastics (including
‘biodegradable’ plastics) to encourage
appropriate management by consumers
Promote behaviour change amongst waste
generators
Knowledge sharing initiatives
Support the development of voluntary
standards for recycled plastics and provide
information on end destinations

On the basis of the waste management hierarchy,
other recovery, including energy recovery, and
final disposal are less preferable than other
options, such as prevention and recycling. In
some cases, however, they may be needed, such
as for non-recyclable plastics.
R E C O M M E N D AT I O N S FOR THE
ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND MANAGEMENT
OF PLASTIC WASTE IN GHANA
In the context of the BRS-Norad-1 project, a
series of draft recommendations for Ghana for
the environmentally sound management of plastic
waste in the context of the Basel Convention were
developed. The draft recommendations were
Transboundary movement of plastic waste:
▪ Impose strong barriers for the import of
plastic waste
▪ Allow the export of processed plastic
waste for recycling
▪ Establish arrangements with neighbouring
countries
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Q8: At which life cycle stage could the
following measures be taken: (1) Phase-out
of additives and plastic types with hazardous
properties; (2) Development of product levies
to support waste minimisation and plastics
waste recycling; (3) Support development and
implementation of alternative materials; and
(4) Work with industry to establish a voluntary
EPR scheme?
___ Production
___ Consumption
___ Waste generation, collection and transport
___ Energy recovery and disposal
developed based on the baseline studies, a review
of the regulatory and institutional framework,
the draft national plastic waste inventory and
stakeholder consultations. Next are the headings
of the draft recommendations that were provided:
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Reduction of problematic and commonly

mismanaged plastics:

▪ Ban polluting plastic types

▪ Limit the use of single-use plastics
▪ Be careful with non-plastic substitute
materials
▪ Abolish strategies in favour of oxo-
degradable plastics
▪ Carefully consider biodegradable plastics
▪ Create framework conditions for waste
prevention and in favour of reusable items

Collection of waste:

▪ Provide waste collection services for all

▪ Implement source segregation of
recyclables
▪ Work closely with the informal sector
▪ Explore synergies with sanitation projects

Sorting of recyclables:

▪ Test and develop sorting facilities

▪ Roll-out mechanical-biological stabilization
of unsorted waste

Recycling:

▪ Increase the demand for recycled plastics

▪ Prioritize close-loop recycling
▪ Address micro-plastic emissions from
plastic recycling

Energy recovery:

▪ Be careful about the suitability of chemical

recycling
▪ Explore the feasibility of co-processing in
cement kilns

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Disposal:

▪ Take action against uncontrolled disposal

▪ Develop sanitary landfills for residual waste
▪ Improve data on plastics waste management

Financing:

▪ Diversify the financing of waste management

▪ Utilize the Environmental Excise Tax
▪ Develop an EPR-System for packaging
▪ Financing through fines from environmental
offences

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU have reached the end of lesson 5 and the end of
Module 2.

You can move on to Module 3, but not before
taking and passing the final quiz of Module 2.
Module 3 looks at transboundary movements
and illegal traffic of plastic waste and attempts
to answer the following questions: How can we
control transboundary movements of plastic
waste? How can we combat illegal traffic of
plastic waste? What is the role of customs in
combating illegal traffic in plastic waste?

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Answers:

Q1: Taking all practicable steps to ensure that Q5: 1-A, 2-B
hazardous wastes or other wastes are managed
Q6: Policies, legislations, regulations, institutions
in a manner which will protect human health and
and standards
the environment against its adverse effects.
Q7: 1-B, 2-A
Q2: 1-B, 2-A
Q8: Production
Q3: 1-D, 2-F, 3-E, 4-A, 5-G, 6-B, 7-C

Q4: All

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