BIR International Environment Council: Waste shipment regulations contain unwanted elements

摘要

BRUSSELS. 09. June 2006 - Emerging later this year, the EU's revised Waste Shipment Regulations contain unwanted elements from the recycling industry's perspective, BIR's Environmental ft Technical Director Ross Bar-tley told the International Environment Council (IEC) meeting in Beijing. On the specific issue of business confidentiality, it was probable that "all economic operators in a chain would be exposed on the documentation that goes with movement of materials", he observed. "This will make it difficult for SME's, traders and brokers." In the view of BIR, he added, this proposed requirement "doesn't have much to do with environmentally sound management". Mr Bartley went on to confirm that, at a meeting scheduled to take place in mid-June, efforts would be made to firm up a voluntary UN-ECE protocol enshrining international recommendations for monitoring and response procedures for managing infrequent incidents where radioactive material enters the metal recycling circuit. BIR's objective, he said, was to ensure that the nature and extent of national plans relating to radioactivity should be "proportional to the risk". A distinction should be made, he added, between radioactive material appearing in scrap as a result of: events within a country; and trade with other countries, and there should be positive incentives for the metals industry to joint the protocol.