Technological watch

An audit recently conducted by ENAC at the AIMPLAS laboratories has enabled the Centre to expand the scope of its certification to include a series of tests required to export plastic waste. In these tests, AIMPLAS analyses certain properties of these materials to characterize them before they are inspected by Customs: Potential for flammability, corrosivity and reactivity, identification and toxicity and radioactivity.
The Basel Convention and Waste Transport Limitations
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is a multilateral environmental treaty that mainly involves hazardous waste. It is supported by 170 countries that protect the safety of the countries receiving waste by ensuring that the waste is not hazardous and can therefore help foster the circular economy on a global level.
Convention amendments on plastics designed to reduce exports and imports of plastic waste that may be harmful to human health or the environment when transported from one country to another for a specific use (mechanical recycling, incineration, etc.) came into effect on 1 January 2021.
“Plastic waste must meet a number of requirements described in the Basel Convention before it can be transported across the border from one country to another and the destination country can accept its entry”, said Neus Soriano, the characterization laboratory leader at AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre.
Source: AIMPLAS