Abstract
Based on the generally accepted view that the issues of climate change and the consequences of environmental pollution have no boundaries, the question of how countries are able to negotiate is of particular importance. After China's refusal to import e-waste, the environmental agenda of importing countries increasingly shares an opinion about the need to find alternatives for the disposal of this kind of waste. However, the question of how quickly such alternative solutions can be implemented, and whether such a delay contributes to the excess accumulation of waste remains open. In this regard, the research question is defined as follows: what challenges does the existing policy of China create for exporting countries and China itself with regard to WEEE exports and whether the scenario of returning to the previous model of import–export interaction between China and exporter-states is acceptable? To study these issues, the work uses the method of political and legal analysis, as well as the method of case study. The article suggests that today the role of China is uncontested, since today the level of production of electronic and electrical equipment significantly exceeds the volume of WEEE. At the same time, the number of existing facilities and personnel of companies involved in the processing of WEEE is critically out of proportion to the growing volume of waste. In the context of the applicability of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the study examines the reasons for China's refusal to import WEEE, as well as perspective areas of legislative regulation of China in the field of handling WEEE. The study and assessment of the prospects for legal regulation in this area in China against the background of global initiatives determines the purpose of this study.
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Notes
Wastes are also classified as hazardous if they contain insulation or metal wiring with a plastic coating containing lead, coal tar, cadmium, PCBs, other organohalogen compounds or other constituents specified in Annex I (Categories of wastes to be controlled), or contaminated with the above substances,—in to the extent that they fall within the characteristics given in Annex III. Hazardous waste also includes precious metal ash from the incineration of printed circuit boards, LCD displays, shards of glass from cathode tubes and other activated glass (Basel Convention).
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Zhang, Q. China's policy and finding ways to prevent collapse in WEEE processing in the context of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. Int Environ Agreements 21, 693–710 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-021-09540-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-021-09540-9