§ 21. Alan SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the Government will implement the Stockholm convention on international trade in toxic waste; and what implications this has for such trade between industrialised nations. [146390]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Stockholm Convention controls the production and use of 12 chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Controls on the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes are covered by a separate international agreement, the Basel Convention.
Current Community legislation covers most Party obligations under the Stockholm Convention, and the European Commission has proposed a Regulation on persistent organic pollutants to give effect to those provisions which are not sufficiently covered. The UK will ratify the Convention during 2004 when this proposed Regulation is in place.
The Stockholm Convention prevents the import or export of persistent organic pollutants unless for environmentally sound disposal or for a few exceptional uses. Most industrialised nations have already banned the use of the 12 chemicals listed so the impact on trade between them will be negligible.