Developed countries should not ship their plastic waste to developing countries.
Incidences of wastes, especially plastic scrap from the Global North being shipped to developing countries have been rampant. Beginning this year, The Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movement of waste became effective, 186 countries having ratified the treaty to add plastic. Despite USA which is arguably the biggest exporter of waste not ratifying the treaty, we are hopeful that shipments of plastic waste will begin shooting downwards. It is now the responsibility of developing countries to reject waste imports of whatever kind, often what is on the paper is different from what is in the container; shipments of waste labelled as recyclable cannot be recycled and are contaminated.
Jim Puckett, Executive Director of the Basel Action Network (BAN) in a newsletter titled ‘’ Activists Ask Shipping Lines to Stop Exporting Plastic Waste to Developing Countries’’ is requesting shipping companies to stop being global pipeline of plastic waste.
‘’Exporting plastic waste to developing countries is not good for the world and is not good for the shipping business," he said.
"These shipments are likely to be caught in the net of illegal trade, tracked by Interpol, seized by governments, incurring demurrage and return charges while tarnishing the shipping lines reputations. In sum, serving as a global pipeline for plastic pollution is not good for anyone." He added.
"We are asking the shipping companies to put the health of people and the oceans above the small, short-term profits they might make from serving as a global waste dumping service," Jan Dell, Founder of Plastic Trade Watchdog Group, said.
We are hopeful that American Government under the leadership of President Joe Biden will join the 186 countries to ratify The Basel Convention to protect our planet from plastic pollution.
Chopped by
