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

for USD 6.6 billion (The Ecologist 2009). According to a UN Security Council report there are claims from reputable sources of toxic waste in recent years being dumped in the waters off Somalia, although there are no official sources to back up these statements (2011). The security situation in Somalia hinders proper investigation of such claims. Nonetheless, UNEP has reported that, after the tsunami in 2004, dozens of containers containing hazardous waste were washed up on the shores of Somalia without any trace of where and when they had ended up in the sea. As a consequence, local people suffered serious health problems, such as acute respiratory infections, dry heavy coughing and mouth bleeding, abdominal haemorrhages, unusual skin conditions, and sudden deaths. In addition, fishers have complained about depletion of fish stocks, believed to be a consequence of toxic waste in the water (UNEP 2005). The case of dumping hazardous waste in the waters around the Horn of Africa shows some of the serious long-term envi- ronmental effects on the local and global environment associ- ated with the illegal handling of hazardous waste. Different streams, different profits Shipbreaking Shipbreaking – the dismantling of end-of-life vessels for the recovery of steel and other materials – takes place mainly within five countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, and Turkey. India and Bangladesh dismantle more than two-thirds of the global total of end-of-life vessels annually. 15 End-of-life vessels are considered hazardous waste under international environmental law when they contain toxic materials, such as asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organotins like tributyltin (TBT), and heavy metals. According to the provisions of the Basel Convention, these wastes must be managed in an environ- mentally sound manner. Used oils, slops, and sludges also require special consideration.

to other Asian countries. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) functions as a gateway into China for waste shipments. From there, containers are shipped to smaller ports in China (Lundgren 2012). (See the following chapter) The illegal treatment of hazardous waste has evolved over the past decades. Between 1970s and 1990s, toxicwaste and nuclear waste in barrels were being dumped in the high seas or on land, typically in developing countries. Since the London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter came into force in 1975, this trend appears to have slowed down. Later the Bamako Convention prohibited the dumping at sea of hazardous wastes. However, due to the shady nature of such dumping activities, it is difficult to know whether and to what extent this is still happening. There are indications that the waters around the Horn of Africa have been used as a dumping ground since the London Convention came into force (SomaliaReport 2011). Several reports refer to inci- dents of Italian shipments of toxic or nuclear waste to Somalia and other African countries in the 1990s (Greenpeace 2010). According to Greenpeace (2010) there were 94 attempted or actual cases of hazardous waste exports to Africa between 1994 and 1998 involving over 10 million tonnes of residues, including radioactive material. The Ecologist reported in 2009 that 35 million tonnes of waste have been exported to Somalia

High profit, low risk A case of importing municipal solid waste to China, 2013

Profit made from smuggling 2 600 tonnes of waste

Waste disposal subsidies paid by the government and the sale income

?

E XPORTER

26 000 USD

M IDDLEMAN

15. Shipbreaking Platform. [Online]. http://www.shipbreakingplatform.org/

I MPORTERS

High estimate 650 000 USD

Low estimate 520 000 USD

Fine for the smuggler arrested

10 000 USD

Source: Source: http://www3.customs.gov.cn/publish/portal0/tab49589/in- fo434014.htm (in Chinese); http://www.hjysh.cn/_d276234610.htm

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