Three Takeaways for the Recycled Materials Industry from the Basel Convention Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG)

Adam Shaffer, ReMA's Vice President of International Trade and Global Affairs, and Erin McCoy, ReMA's International Trade Policy Analyst, attended the 15th Meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) of the Basel Convention in Geneva, Switzerland. The OEWG serves as a forum for discussing technical, legal, and operational issues related to the implementation of the Basel Convention, including the recently adopted plastic and e-waste amendments.

ReMA is closely monitoring several developments of significance to the recycled materials industry, including the drafting of guidance that will help countries interpret and implement the new e-waste amendments, a proposal from Norway to eliminate existing exemptions for certain plastic materials, and proposals from the European Union to expand the Convention's scope by adding additional metallic compounds to the agreement.

For the time being, there is little consensus to move forward on bringing certain metallic compounds or powders into the scope of the Convention, so these discussions will continue at the Expert Working Group meetings that will take place in the fall.

To get an in-depth look at each of these issues and how they may present potential new challenges for U.S. exporters of certain recyclers materials, check out this article about the OEWG meeting from ReMA News.