Exemptions on E-Waste for Repair Doom Export Guideline at Basel Convention

The 14th Basel Convention adjourned last week in Geneva without approving a technical guideline on the proper movement of e-waste across international borders, said the Basel Action Network Monday. The guideline included shipment exemptions on e-waste claimed for repair, and failed to win enough support from developing countries that fear unsavory exporters will exploit the exemption “to get rid of low-value electronic scrap,” said BAN. The green group opposes the exemption as “a very dangerous idea because unscrupulous waste traders would simply declare everything to be repairable to legally dump hazardous e-wastes on developing countries," it said.