The Basel Convention, adopted in 1989, has the greatest bearing on the Waste Act as it addresses the trans-boundary movement of hazardous wastes and their disposal, setting out the categorization of hazardous waste and the policies between member countries.
DEA is developing MOUs with the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC)and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) that effectively address the provisions of the Basel Convention.
DEA is considering accession to the amendments to the Basel Convention that ban the import and export of hazardous wastes. DEA is also currently developing a policy on imports and exports of waste that will address this.
DEA and DTI are jointly addressing the import and export control aspects of the Basel Convention, together with the chemical conventions. Control will happen through ITAC permits and SARS tariff codes.