Environmental Protection Specialists From Seven Countries Exchanging Views on Solid and Hazardous Waste Management

Hosted by the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific (BCRC), over 20 specialists from seven Asian countries like China, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Iran attended the regional Seminar on Waste Management under the Initiative on Solving the Chemicals and Waste Problem, under the Framework of the Initiative of Building the Silk Road Economic Belt, and the Initiative of Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was successfully held in Kunming to share views on solid and hazardous waste treatment and how to promote the environmentally sound management of solid and hazardous waste in the Asia-Pacific region, and also enhance the solid and hazardous waste recycling and environmental protection in the countries along the Belt and Road initiative. In the seminar, representatives from the Department of Solid waste and chemicals, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and Solid Waste Management Centre in Yunnan Province, introduced the hazardous waste management in Yunnan and China. Experts from BCRC and Kunming University of Science and Technology delivered the presentation on the progress of international waste management and treatment, and reuse of International industrial solid waste. Government representatives from South-East Asia countries shared hazardous waste management and Basel Convention implementation processes in their countries with everyone present, especially on the treatment technology in iron, steel and nonferrous metallurgy industry, relevant laws and regulations, and industry investment. As the leading high-tech environmental protection company, GreenNovo Environmental Technology (GreenNovo) takes the lead in the treatment scale, technology level and industrial chain processes in the area of steel dust. They were invited to share their program and experience in processing and recycling the solid and hazardous wastes, propose technical specifications, and draft treatment standards for recycling heavy metal solid and hazardous waste for countries in South-East Asia and South Asia. During the meeting, the participants conducted heated discussions on two topics which were challenges and difficulties in handling hazardous waste and suggestions on future actions in the ESM of hazardous waste at the country/regional level. The contents included hazardous waste in urgent need of management (the generation, storage, treatment and utilization of industrial hazard waste, type of industries, future management plan), stakeholders (Who is in charge of the hazardous waste? What is the role of environmental authority in your country? Identify the stakeholders of hazardous waste management. A committee should be established?), regulations (Are there any specific regulations in your country? Any tough rules, guidebook on waste treatment, or national management plan?), technology (technology in hazardous waste utilization and disposal, identification of the problem, scientific research, introduction of foreign technology, economic effect of the recycling technology of hazardous waste, final disposal, upgrading the leakproof technology), standard (Any pollutants emission standards in your country? Which kinds of hazardous waste? Any technical standard related to waste utilization or disposal to be formulated or introduced?), labor protection and occupational health (current status, supportive, preventive and mitigation measures), awareness-raising program (Any negligence? Enhance program training/academic course/capacity building/seminar), investment demand (Any foreign investment needed? For which waste?), other issues (import and export). Initial consensus of cooperating on effectively recycling the heavy metal solid and hazardous waste and promoting the environmental administration has been reached. All the participants also visited the Gejiu factory of GreenNovo and studied their mature technology in solid waste treatment. Representatives spoke highly of the technology and treatment system and hoped to apply them in their own country to process heavy metal solid and hazardous waste.