Editing Basel Convention (section)

==History==
With the tightening of [[environmental law]]s (for example, [[Resource Conservation and Recovery Act|RCRA]]) in developed nations in the 1970s, disposal costs for hazardous waste rose dramatically. At the same time, the globalization of shipping made cross-border movement of waste easier, and many less developed countries were desperate for foreign currency. Consequently, the trade in hazardous waste, particularly to poorer countries, grew rapidly. In 1990, [[OECD]] countries exported around 1.8 million tons of hazardous waste. Although most of this waste was shipped to other developed countries, a number of high-profile incidents of hazardous waste-dumping led to calls for regulation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Krueger |first=Jonathan |title=Yearbook of International Co-operation on Environment and Development 2001/2002 |publisher=Earthscan Publications |year=2001 |editor-last=Stokke |editor-first=Olav |pages=43–51 |editor-last2=Thommessen |editor-first2=Øystein}}</ref>

One of the incidents which led to the creation of the Basel Convention was the [[Khian Sea waste disposal incident|''Khian Sea'' waste disposal incident]], in which a ship carrying [[incinerator bottom ash|incinerator ash]] from the city of Philadelphia in the United States dumped half of its load on a beach in Haiti before being forced away. It sailed for many months, changing its name several times. Unable to unload the cargo in any port, the crew was believed to have dumped much of it at sea.

Another incident was a 1988 case in which five ships transported 8,000 barrels of hazardous waste from Italy to the small [[Nigeria]]n town of [[Koko, Delta|Koko]] in exchange for $100 monthly rent which was paid to a Nigerian for the use of his farmland.

At its meeting that took place from 27 November to 1 December 2006, the parties of the Basel Agreement focused on issues of [[electronic waste]] and the [[Ship breaking|dismantling of ships]].

Increased trade in recyclable materials has led to an increase in a market for used products such as computers. This market is valued in billions of dollars. At issue is the distinction when used computers stop being a "commodity" and become a "waste".

As of June 2023, there are 191 parties to the treaty, which includes 188 [[UN member states]], the [[Cook Islands]], the [[European Union]], and the [[State of Palestine]]. The five UN member states that are not party to the treaty are [[East Timor]], [[Fiji]], [[Haiti]], [[South Sudan]], and United States.<ref name=UN />