The key environmental impacts of ship recycling stem from the hazardous nature of ship materials, the unsafe disposal methods used in many developing countries, and the lack of effective international regulation and enforcement to ensure environmentally sustainable practices.
- Hazardous materials: Ships contain a variety of hazardous substances like asbestos, chemicals, heavy metals, and pollutants that can be released into the environment during the recycling process if not collected adequately.
- Pollution of air, water, and soil: The dismantling and recycling of ships can lead to the release of pollutants that contaminate the surrounding air, water, and soil, impacting local ecosystems and biodiversity.
- Ecosystem damage: The improper disposal of hazardous materials and waste from ship recycling can disrupt and damage coastal and marine ecosystems, displacing indigenous species through factors like predation, competition, and habitat modification.
Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was adopted on 22 March 1989 by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Basel, Switzerland, in response to a public outcry following the discovery, in the 1980s, in Africa and other parts of the developing world of deposits of toxic wastes imported from abroad.
The overarching objective of the Basel Convention is to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects of hazardous wastes. Its scope of application covers a wide range of wastes defined as “hazardous wastes” based on their origin and/or composition and their characteristics, as well as two types of wastes defined as “other wastes” – household waste and incinerator ash.
The provisions of the Convention center around the following principal aims:
- the reduction of hazardous waste generation and the promotion of environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes, wherever the place of disposal.
- the restriction of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes except where it is perceived to be in accordance with the principles of environmentally sound management.
- a regulatory system applying to cases where transboundary movements are permissible.
The first aim is addressed through a number of general provisions requiring States to observe the fundamental principles of environmentally sound waste management (article 4). A number of prohibitions are designed to attain the second aim: hazardous wastes may not be exported to Antarctica, to a State not party to the Basel Convention, or to a party having banned the import of hazardous wastes (article 4). Parties may, however, enter into bilateral or multilateral agreements on hazardous waste management with other parties or with non-parties, provided that such agreements are “no less environmentally sound” than the Basel Convention (article 11). In all cases where transboundary movement is not, in principle, prohibited, it may take place only if it represents an environmentally sound solution, if the principles of environmentally sound management and non-discrimination are observed and if it is carried out in accordance with the Convention’s regulatory system.
The regulatory system is the cornerstone of the Basel Convention as originally adopted. Based on the concept of prior informed consent, it requires that, before an export may take place, the authorities of the State of export notify the authorities of the prospective States of import and transit, providing them with detailed information on the intended movement. The movement may only proceed if and when all States concerned have given their written consent (articles 6 and 7). The Basel Convention also provides for cooperation between parties, ranging from exchange of information on issues relevant to the implementation of the Convention to technical assistance, particularly to developing countries (articles 10 and 13).
The Basel Convention has generated numerous sets of technical guidelines and tools have been developed to assist ship recycling facilities and governments in improving environmental, health and safety standards in the industry, particularly on the management and disposal of different types of hazardous wastes. This includes the Technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of the full and partial dismantling of ships (adopted by COP.6, Dec 2002).