International HCH & Pesticides Association Road Map for environmentally sound Hazardous Waste Management in EECCA countries Bram de Borst International HCH & Pesticides Association EU FAO Project: ”Improving capacities to eliminate and prevent recurrence of obsolete pesticides as a model for tackling unused hazardous chemicals in the former Soviet Union

The objectives of the project Assessment of the national legal frameworks for management of pesticides and hazardous waste 2. Inventory of the legacy volumes and annual arisings of pesticides wastes, other POPs and other hazardous wastes Definition of a Road Map applicable for all EECCA countries how to arrive at environmentally sound management of hazardous waste Recommendations for the build up of destruction capacities both at national and regional level In my presentation I will focus on 1., 2. and 3.

Assessment of legal framework In many countries the legislation is like a patchwork of old legislation with a lot of inconsistent repairs In most countries the application of environmental principles as polluter pays, protection of human health and the environment, extended producer responsibilitiy etc. is not defined as a basis for legislation Enforcement is weak in several countries and the instruments for good enforcement are often missing Statistical data, accessible for the general public and communication with stakeholders need to be developed to generate the necessary public awareness and cooperation

Inventory of volumes Data in tonnes; red boxes: no data available

Inventory of volumes Main conclusions Elimination of pesticides is feasible in all countries The costs for the elimination of the legacy volumes of hazardous wastes in Ukraine and Kazakhstan are higher than the annual GDP The costs for the elimination of the annual arisings of hazardous waste in Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan will be more than 1% of the GDP On many sites, the waste volumes present will contaminate the soil. This ongoing distribution of contaminants will lead to increasing and in the end enormous costs and make elimination of hazardous wastes even more urgent

Road Map The next slide shows the elements of the Road Map In the rows you find the issues to be managed In the columns the different steps in time

assessment & commitment principles & legal basis enforcement & communication implementation & management Full (hazardous) waste inventories Inventories of OPs and POPs Communication with industry Definition of priorities Review of legislation and HW definitions Compliance, enforcement and penalties Commitment by goverment Intervention strategy High level communication Region and donors Training, education and sharing experiences Waste agencies per country Benchmarking Discussion with donors Commitments to install capacity Preparation studies Private stakeholders Assesment of industrial production technologies Inventory of best practices incl. greening programs Incentives for waste reduction and prevention Waste hierarchy

Example for Kazakhstan Full (hazardous) waste inventories Communication with industry Definition of priorities Compliance, enforcement and penalties Intervention strategy Review of legislation and HW definitions Commitments to install capacity Private stakeholders Discussion with donors Inventories of OPs and POPs Commitment by goverment High level communication Region and donors Assesment of industrial production technologies Waste hierarchy Training, education and sharing experiences Inventory of best practices incl. greening programs Benchmarking Incentives for waste reduction and prevention Waste agencies per country Inventory of waste volumes Legal framework Organization Preparation studies Destruction capacity Innovation & prevention For Kazakhstan it is recommended to put the focus on the inventories and the modernization of the legal framework But in parallel to set up in this large country the organization for an effective implementation. Strengthening of international cooperation is important given the potential role of Kazakhstan in the region. Next phase of development will be the preparation of investments in destruction capacity (which can potentially also serve the region)

Final remarks In order to arrive at environmentally sound management of hazardous waste, many steps have to be taken in an often complex process This is not exceptional as it is also the experience of the frontrunners amongst the existing EU member states. They are walking this road of discovery already for 35 years It is recommended to donors and international organizations to support the countries with large economies (Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan) to start short term with the preparation of destruction capacity