POPs waste disposal under the

Stockholm Convention

Key elements

David Piper
Task Manager (POPs enabling activities)
UNEP DGEF
Convention provisions relating to
wastes
• Article 3 measures to reduce/eliminate
releases from intentional production and
use
• Article 5 measures to reduce/eliminate
releases from unintentional production
• Article 6 measures to reduce/eliminate
releases from stockpiles and wastes
 Article 3:
Measures to reduce or eliminate releases
from intentional production and use

Restricts trade of POPs chemicals to:

• purposes/uses permitted under registered
specific exemptions/acceptable purpose
• environmentally sound disposal
– (paragraph 1d of Art 6)
 Article 5 & Annex C:
Measures to reduce or eliminate releases
from unintentional production
Preventing POPs waste arising
• Develop action plans
• Promote
– available, feasible and practical measures to achieve
realistic and meaningful levels of release reduction or
source elimination
– substitute products and processes
– the use of BAT/BEP
• BAT required for new Part II sources 4 years after entry into force
 Reducing releases
“…promote available, feasible, practical measures…”
• Improved waste • Good housekeeping
management • Improved product quality
• Treatment of residuals • Avoiding use & generation
and wastes of elemental Cl
• Improved flue-gas • Less hazardous raw
cleaning materials
• Low-waste technologies • Process changes – e.g. closed
• Recovery and recycling systems
of wastes • Process modification – e.g.
to improve combustion
Waste-related source categories
Annex C Part II
• Waste incinerators, including co-incineration of
municipal, hazardous or medical waste or of sewage
sludge
• Cement kilns firing hazardous waste
• Secondary copper, aluminium and zinc production
Annex C Part III
– Open burning of waste, including burning of landfill sites
– Crematoria and destruction of animal carcasses
– Shredder plants for treatment of vehicles
– Smouldering of copper cables
– Waste oil refineries
 Article 6:
Measures to reduce or eliminate releases
from stockpiles and wastes

• Stockpiles
• Wastes
• Contaminated sites
• Linkage to Basel Convention
 Stockpiles
Article 6 Paragraph 1 (a), (b), (c)
• Develop strategies to identify POPs
stockpiles, & products in use
• Identify POPs stockpiles & products in use
• Manage POPs stockpiles in an
environmentally sound manner
 Wastes
(& products and articles upon becoming wastes)
No identify here but
Article 6 Paragraph 1 (a), (d) implied in the next
• Develop strategies to identify POPs wastes point
• Handle, collect, transport & store wastes in an environmentally sound
manner
• Dispose
– so that POPs content is destroyed or irreversibly transformed
– In an environmentally sound manner if destruction not preferred Art 5
– in a way that does not lead to recovery, recycling, reclamation, or reuse of
POPs
• Transport POPs wastes across international boundaries according to
international rules

Article 6 Paragraph 1 (e); Contaminated sites

• Develop strategies to identify contaminated sites
– (and ensure that remediation is performed in environmentally sound
manner)
 Wastes consisting of,
Municipal,
industrial or
Is the
content of the waste No
Conduct
analyses & containing or contaminated
hazardous wastes arising known? report
with POPs
Yes
Does the waste
Include products or articles Dispose as appropriate for waste, noting
Yes consisting of, containing or No obligations under Article 5 & Annex C re
contaminated with unintentional production of POPs byproducts
POPs?
Are sources
of POPs wastes
known?
Identify sources of wastes & seek to
No minimize or eliminate, then …
Yes

Develop strategy, allowing waste separation

Are POPs wastes
No & appropriate management compatible with
separated?
Article 6.1.a,d, then…

Yes 1.Prepare management plans to such that wastes are

handled, collected, transported and stored in an
environmentally sound manner
POPs Are wastes
No
2. Dispose of wastes so that POPs content is destroyed or
irreversibly transformed
To be exported?
waste Or dispose in ESM where destruction is
a) Not environmentally preferred, or
b) POPs content is low
Yes (Article 6.1.a,d) Note obligations under Article 5 & Annex C

Export of
POPs waste for Prepare management plans compatible with
Yes
environmentally international rules, standards & guidelines
sound disposal ?

No Prohibit unacceptable trade

 Paragraph 2 of Article 6
• Stockholm COPs to cooperate closely
with Basel COP to:
– Establish levels of destruction and
irreversible transformation to ensure that
POPs characteristics are not exhibited
– Determine what methods constitute
environmentally sound disposal
– Define “low POPs content” for purposes of
environmentally sound disposal
 Waste guidelines
– Developed through Basel OEWG subgroup
– Adopted by Basel Convention COP October 2004

Stockholm Convention Secretariat is requested:

• to prepare a report on such guidelines relating to POPs
as may be adopted by the CoP to the Basel Convention,
• analyse the implications of those guidelines for the
Stockholm Convention
• indicate elements that might be considered suitable for
adoption under paragraph 2 of Article 6 of the
Stockholm Convention.
 PCBs – Annex A Part II
• Cease production of new
PCBs immediately
– New PCB = waste
• Eliminate use of in-place
PCB equipment by 2025
• Achieve environmentally
sound disposal of PCB
wastes as soon as possible
and not later than 2028
 PCB objectives
• Ensuring that PCBs in use remain in
responsible hands
• Orderly removal from use
– an integral part of business planning &
capital investment
– Government an important owner of PCBs
• Environmentally sound destruction
• Prevention of further contamination
 PCBs

Decision tree: PCBs

Party possess ……

..equipment ..obsolete equipment ..PCB liquids and ..other materials

contaminated contaminated liquids contaminated contaminated
with PCBs with PCBs? with PCBs with PCBs

1. Classify as waste 1. Manage these materials in accordance

2. Make determined efforts designed with paragraph 1 of Article 6
to lead to environmentally sound waste 2. In lieu of note (ii) in Part I of Annex A,
management of liquids contaminated endeavour to identify other articles
with PCBs having a PCB content above containing more than 0.005 % PCBs (e.g.
50 ppm as soon as possible but no cable-sheaths, cured caulk and painted
later than 2028 objects)
3. Provide a report every five years on 3. Provide a report every five years on
progress in eliminating PCBs and progress in eliminating PCBs and submit it
submit it to the CoP to the CoP
Go to decision tree 11
(equipment and
obsolete equipment
Go to
contaminated with
decision tree
PCBs) Go to decision tree 5
8 (wastes)
(Stocks of POPs)
 PCB Equipment and offline or
decommissioned equipment contaminated
Party possesses
equipment contaminated
with PCBs
with PCBs
Note: Any PCB-containing Except for maintenance and servicing
equipment imported after operations, not allow recovery for the purpose
becoming Party to the of reuse in other equipment of liquids with PCBs
Convention has to be defined as content above 0.005 %
waste

Does the
Is the 1. Define as waste
Party use equipment
PCB-contaminated 2. Make determined efforts designed to lead
contaminated No
equipment de- to environmentally sound waste
with
commissioned? management of equipment contaminated
PCBs?
with PCBs having a PCB content above 50
ppm as soon as possible but no later than
2028
No 3. Provide a report every five years on
progress in eliminating PCBs and submit it
to the Conference of the Parties

is the equipment
Yes No
maintained for reuse?

Go to decision tree 12
(use of PCB Go to decision tree 8
equipment) (wastes)
Party possess
decommissioned or offline
equipment contaminated
with PCBs
 Use of equipment Use of equipment contaminated
contaminated
with PCBs
with PCBs
1st priority
Does
equipment in use Make determined efforts to identify,
contain greater than 10 % PCBs Yes label and remove from use by 2025,
and volumes greater then….
than 5 litres?
Reanalyze and
reclassify PCB-
containing equipment From decision
No tree 13

2nd priority
Does
equipment in use Make determined efforts to identify,
contain greater than 0.05 % PCBs Yes label and remove from use by 2025,
and volumes greater then…
than 5 litres?
From decision
tree 13
No
3rd priority
Does
equipment in use
Endeavour to identify and remove
contain greater than 0.005 % PCBs Yes
from use by 2025, then…
and volumes greater
than 0.05 litres?

No Go to decision tree 13

No
Does the
analysis of equipment in
Regarded as PCB-free under the
use show a PCB content less Yes
SC
than 0.005 %
?

Priorities related to volume and concentration of PCBs

 Use of equipment contaminated with PCBs
Take measure to improve
condition of the equipment
From decision or decommission
tree 12 Take measure to reduce
risk of environmental
release and assure that
Is the equipment No releases can be quickly
intact and non-leaking? remedied
Is the equipment
used in areas where the risk
Yes from environmental release can be No
Take measure to remove minimised and quickly
from use remedied ?
Is
the equipment
used in areas associated with
Yes Yes
the production or processing
of food and
feed ?

No

Is
Provide a report every five years on
the equipment used
progress in eliminating PCBs and
Yes in populated areas, including No
submit it to the Conference of the
schools and
Parties
hospitals?

Take all reasonable measures

to protect from electrical failure
which could result in a fire, and Go back to decision
and regular inspection of
tree 12 to next
equipment for leaks
lower priority

Priorities related to risk posed by equipment

 PCB Maintenance, refilling etc
equipment Unserviceable?
maintenance Incineration/
co-incineration
draining/ PCB oils
unserviceable solvent washing
equipment contaminated Other oxidising process
Dismantling, shredding mineral oils
Servicing wastes ‘opening’ + solvent wash + solvents
Chemical reduction
Soils, sediments, thermal desorption contaminated process
rubble etc. wood, paper,
other clothing,
Decontaminated cables etc Other
soil, rubble Extraction, pre-treatment
technologies Transfer (drums/bulk)
Decontaminated Destruction
metals for recycling technologies

Release Release
monitoring monitoring

Release to air, water, If ‘extraction’ and

landfill destruction on same
POPs? site, transfer may be
 YES YES  direct, otherwise
Release to hazardous No drummed & shipped
waste site according to Basel
Air, liquid & solid waste
treatment technologies requirements
 Thank You

David Piper
Task Manager (POPs enabling activities)
UNEP DGEF
dpiper@chemicals.unep.ch
 Industrial waste systems

Municipalities & contractors

Re-use & recycling
Waste minimisation, Hazardous Incineration
IPPC, BAT
Production Treatment

Industry Separated Waste Inert Storage

Landfill Special landfill

Governments +
 Municipal solid waste systems
Returns to

Home composting Individuals

industry Re-use & recycling
Composting
Source Delivery
separation
Incineration
Separate
Waste Sorting
collection
Landfill
Treatment
Mixed collection
Compaction,
transfer
Municipalities & contractors
Governments +