Waste Crime - Waste Risks: Gaps in Meeting the Global Waste Challenge

cial. Analysis of counterfeit products has revealed that the fake pesticides might contain unknown toxic impurities poten- tially dangerous to health and the environment (Karasali et al. 2014). These substances pose a threat to the food chain, to farmers, andultimately, to consumers when dangerous prod- ucts reach the market (European Commission 2014). Some of the fake pesticides can cause long-term contamination of the soil and cause problems for future harvests, groundwater, surface water, and adjacent reservoirs (ECPA n.d.). If authorities seize the counterfeit pesticides, they become waste at times, depending on their content, hazardous waste (Blakeney 2012). This means they have to be properly disposed of in line with national and international legal frameworks on waste management. The proper disposal of counterfeit pesti- cides can therefore be costly. In many countries, there are no specialized facilities for the safe disposal of the dangerous, counterfeit pesticides (Blakeney 2012). This may mean that the pesticides must be transported to other countries for environmentally sound disposal in line with the Basel Convention. In addition, the waste management legislation in most countries places responsibility for waste disposal on the owner of the waste in question. The owner is supposed to cover the costs of storing the counterfeit at special storage facilities during investiga- tion, as well as the costs of its eventual disposal. With this waste, however, the owners do everything possible to avoid responsibility for the waste disposal. As a result, the waste may accumulate in unguarded storage facilities, where the

pesticides may be relabelled and brought back to the market. The return of previously confiscated counterfeit pesticides is a new trend that raises huge concerns (OSCE 2015). In general, most developing countries do not have the facili- ties for safe hazardous waste disposal (Blakeney 2012). Stocks of hazardous pesticides often deteriorate and contaminate the environment and put people at risk. The worst affected are poor rural communities that may not even be aware of the toxic nature of the chemicals in their environment.

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