WASTE CRIME – WASTE RISKS

Co-mingled waste
The co-mingled waste stream is a mixture of the dry recyclables
of household waste. Recycling or re-use of this
mixture is only possible after extensive sorting. It is sometimes
traded illegally under the guise of clean or sorted
plastic or paper waste, which is considered a non-hazardous
waste stream. Inspectors have discovered shipments
declared as plastic or paper waste, but contaminated
with other materials or composed of a mixture
of waste streams mainly originating from households.
Co-mingled waste is commonly exported 5 illegally as
paper waste. The quality and composition of this waste,
however, requires a prior notification procedure that is
often not followed. The EU Waste Shipment Regulation
specifically prohibits the export of household waste to
non-OECD countries. Some non-OECD countries even
ban the import of co-mingled waste because it is considered
as other waste under the Basel Convention code Y46.
5. www.letsrecycle.com (2014). Waste Management: Site Serv Ltd fined
over illegal ‘commingled’ waste export. [Online]. 12/11/2014. Available
from: http://www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/site-serv-ltdfined-illegal-commingled-waste-export/
Mixing or blending waste streams
Mixing hazardous components with non-hazardous waste in
order to avoid higher sorting or treatment costs can also be an
attractive solution for unscrupulous waste handlers. In Threat
Assessment 2013 on Environmental Crime in the EU, Europol
describes the criminal practice of mixing low-quality petrol
with toxic residues produced during illicit petrol processing.
The report says that this type of crime is often investigated
as fraud, rather than being pursued as environmental crime.
In Scotland, environmental authorities discovered a
tax-dodging tactic used by Scottish gangs. It involves mixing
low-tax waste, which costs USD 3.70 a tonne to dispose of,
with high-tax waste costing USD 119 a tonne as a way to avoid
high treatment costs (BBC 2014).
Used or Waste Lead-Acid Batteries
Used lead-acid batteries (ULABs, also referred to as Spent-
Lead Acid Batteries) from cars and trucks are one of the
world’s most-recycled consumer products (Commission for
Environmental Cooperation 2013). Waste lead-acid batteries
are considered hazardous waste under the Basel Convention,
which means that the Convention’s provisions pertaining
to the control of their export and import apply. However, the
batteries are often disguised as non-hazardous metal waste or
plastic waste and are illegally exported to countries with lower
treatment standards. The treatment of the ULABs is a concern
and so is the improper transport of the batteries, both of which
can cause damage to human health and the environment.
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