International Trade in Hazardous Waste

About this book

With land space running out and increasingly stringent environmental legislation being passed, affluent nations have turned to poorer countries to handle some of their hazardous waste. Some developing countries have continued to accept waste shipments, while others have imposed bans but cannot enforce them effectively. This lack of regulation has led to a political backlash against international trade in wastes, culminating in a call by the United Nations for a global ban. This book discusses the need for a regulated and informed forum for international trade in hazardous waste. The authors argue that with careful planning, health and ecological risks can be minimized and net economic benefits realized fairly. The book examines the key parameters that should be considered by potential trading nations to ensure an optimally safe and mutually beneficial partnership. The authors provide comprehensive coverage of the political, environmental, industrial and economic issues involved in this complex and increasingly controversial practice. International Trade in Hazardous Waste makes compelling reading for those working in industries involved in transporting waste and policy-makers and agencies at both local and national levels. It will also be of interest to environmental scientists and consultants and those teaching and studying related academic disciplines.

Contents

Introduction. The fate of hazardous wastes. Background to the waste trade problem. A prognosis: can the waste trade be controlled. Coming to terms with the international trade in hazardous waste. Legislative-regulatory controls affecting waste management schemes. Environmental laws in North America. The general character of hazardous waste legislation in Europe. Environmental policies and regulations in Asia, the Pacific Regions, and other parts of the world. New trends and contemporary issues in the legislative-regulatory control systems. A paradigm of international environmental law. Global dimensions of waste disposal practices. Waste management practiced in industrialized nations. Waste management practices in developing nations and countries with economies in transition. Waste facility siting problems and resolutions. Prescriptions for general waste management and related environmental management programs. The transboundary shipments of hazardous wastes. Stimuli for the transfrontier movements of wastes. The waste 'tourism': where are the wastes travelling? Public outcry, indecisions and uncertainties about the future. The fallacies and realities of the international waste trade. Controlling the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes. OECD and EU initiatives conerning the transfrontier movements of hazardous wastes. Bilateral agreements on the transboundary movements of hazardous materials in North America. Initiatives by the United Nations (UN) to control the international trade in hazardous wastes. Control measures by developing countries. Recent developments and actions by the international community. The search for a global solution: can the international trade in hazardous wastes be controlled? Ramifications of a hazardous waste trade. The nature of hazardous wastes and waste classification. Hazardous waste management risk issues. Health and environmental implications of waste trade programs. Socio-economic indicators of waste trade impacts. Compensations from a hazardous waste trade. A conceptual formulation for waste trade evaluations. A framework for tradeoffs analysis. Towards an informed decision-making. Logistical inputs to the decision-making process. Assessing the viability of a waste trade program. A protocol for evaluating the viability of a waste trade program. Justification for a waste trade program. The case against waste trade activities. Should the toxic waste trade be supported. Recommended guidelines for planning a waste trade activity. Towards a global environmental policy- making. Forging global environmental agreement between 'unequal' partners. An agenda for global environmental protection. Harmonizing global environmental policies. Political and diplomatic issues in hazardous waste policy decision making. An epilogue. Concluding remarks. List of references. Additional bibliography. List of recommended journals. Index.

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