POPs IN AFRICA HAZARDOUS WASTE TRADE 1980 - 2000 ... - Arte

Product responsibility
substances were combusted in hazardous waste incinerators,
mostly in the Netherlands (AVR Rotterdam) and Great Britain
(Shanks, formerly Rechem).
However, waste incinerators worldwide are a significant source
of POPs themselves. To facilitate safe destruction, the new POPs
treaty includes specific provisions for the safe disposal of
obsolete stockpiles of POPs using appropriate, non-incineration
destruction technologies that do not create POPs.
The few countries that benefitted from the aid/development
support included: Niger (1991),Uganda (1993), Madagascar
(1993), Mozambique (1994), Tanzania (1995/96), Zambia
(1997), Seychelles (1997) Mauritania (1997) and the Gambia
(2000), and now Ethiopia (2001), as far as Africa is concerned. 3
In the meantime, industry under it’s umbrella GCPF 4 has in
principle recognised its product responsibility. It promised to
dispose of obsolete pesticide stockpiles that can be traced to it.
This is yet to be seen. At the same time, however, the world
organization of pesticide producers stresses that it is not
responsible for stocks already held by recipient countries or
governments. 5
The industry organization has stated its willingness to provide
support to governments like Chad, Mozambique or Somalia with
the disposal of obsolete stocks owing to difficult circumstances
that these countries are facing. 6 This too, is yet to be seen .
The industry has committed itself, through its umbrella
organization GCPF, to bear “one quarter of the disposal costs or
"$ 1 per litre/kilogram"; but according to FAO, the industry "is
yet to be seen fulfilling its commitment". 7
Alarmingly, the GCPF has also said that in “hunger
countries like Ethiopia” obsolete pesticides should rather be
sprayed over the land instead of unertaking costly retrieval
actions.
FAO states that as of 1999 only 5% of all obsolete pesticides
identified so far have been removed from Africa. It is stated that
if the present pace continues, the whole process of eliminating
obsolete pesticides from Africa would take fifty years. FAO calls
for a concerted international action to solve the problem more
quickly.
3
FAO 1999, 2001, GCPF 2000
4
Global Crop Protection Federation
5
Global Crop Protection Federation: “Obsolete Stocks of Crop Protection Products“. GCPF Position, May 1999;
www.gcpf.org
6
“... assistance ... on a case-by-case basis ... will be an individual company decision.” (ibid.)
7
A. Wodageneh interview with Greenpeace; see also: Pesticide Action Network North America PANNA:
“Obsolete Pesticides - An Ongoing Dilemma“; www.chebucto.ns.ca
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