One of the key challenges related to waste management faced by national governments and municipalities, particularly in developing countries, countries with economies in transition and small island development states (SIDS), is the implementation of an integrated approach for the environmentally sound management for household wastes. This includes approaches which aim at avoiding or minimizing the generation of household waste at source as well as the development of integrated concepts, as relevant, for collection, separation, transport, storage, treatment, processing, recycling and disposal of household waste.
The volume of household waste in many countries is increasing while its composition is permanently changing. Based on their origin and/or composition and their characteristics, household waste may contain hazardous materials co-mingled with non-hazardous materials. Because of the potential for contamination with hazardous substances, waste collected from households is classified under the Basel Convention as requiring special consideration (Basel Convention, Annex II, Y46).
Establishment of the Household Waste Partnership
The Household Waste Partnership was established by the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention in 2017 through decision BC-13/14, to address this important issue and to provide technical assistance worldwide, supporting all countries to benefit from already available solutions for environmentally sound management, including issues such as separation at source, collection, transport, storage, recycling, energy recovery and final disposal.
The working group of the household waste partnership is responsible for overseeing organizational matters pertaining to the implementation of the partnership’s activities, including the establishment of project groups and the review of their work products and reports, serving as a forum for information sharing and taking the lead in awareness-raising, outreach and coordination in relation to activities undertaken by the partnership;
Concept note and terms of reference of the Household Waste Partnership
The concept note and terms of reference of the Household Waste Partnership were adopted by decision BC-13/14 and are contained in UNEP/CHW.13/INF/33/Rev.1.
The objective of the Partnership is to:
- promote the environmentally sound management of household waste including its prevention and minimization, and
- to enable the decoupling of economic growth and environmental impacts associated with the generation of household waste and its initial handling by the public in their households.
The overall tasks of the partnership are as follows:
- The partnership will promote the environmentally sound management (ESM) of household waste generated nationally and disposed of at the national level as well as household waste imported as a result of a transboundary movement. It will develop guidance, implementation tools and manuals for governments, regional and local authorities and other stakeholders on, among other things, best practices, business models, policies and innovative solutions for the ESM of household waste in various socio-economic contexts.
- The partnership will compile and disseminate information on ESM mechanisms that provide for the prevention and minimization of household waste and for adhering to the hierarchy of waste management among other things through comprehensive waste characterization, data collection and mechanisms for the traceability of waste throughout its life-cycle, separation at source, recycling, other recovery like energy recovery and final disposal, including the sound handling of hazardous substances and objects contained in household waste. This includes also targeting the ESM of organic wastes derived from household waste with a view to closing the life-cycle loop on food waste, green wastes and other compostable materials.
Working group and project groups:
The working group is responsible for overseeing organizational matters pertaining to the implementation of the Partnership’s activities and shall serve as a forum for information sharing. The working group will decide on the priorities of the partnership and may establish project groups (hereafter “project groups”) to work on specific tasks as necessary.
The working group will decide on the size, mandate, term and terms of reference of the project groups on a case-by-case basis. The project groups may establish project sub-groups as needed. The project groups, through the project group chairs, report to the working group which will review and approve the products and reports prepared by the project groups.
Document Symbol
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Title
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| BC-13/14 |
Creating innovative solutions through the Basel Convention for the environmentally sound management of household waste |
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| UNEP/CHW.13/INF/33/Rev.1 |
Concept note and terms of reference for the household waste partnership |
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