The Circular Economy Runs Through Basel

• Author: Paul Hagen, Russell LaMotte, and Dacie Meng
• Position: Attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond, PC, where their practices encompass transboundary movements of materials and wastes, extended producer responsibility, and the circular economy
• Pages: 27-33

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 | 27

Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, September/October 2021.

Copyright © 2021, Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, D.C. www.eli.org.

Paul Hagen, Russell LaMotte,

and Dacie Meng are attorneys at Beveridge

& Diamond, PC, where their practices encompass

transboundary movements of materials and

wastes, extended producer responsibility, and the

circular economy.

LEAD FEATURE

The Circular Economy

Runs Through Basel

But revisions to the hazardo us waste conention are needed to manage new sustain ability

challenges, and the U.S . needs to adopt implementing legi slation and thereby become a party

T HE Basel Convention has gained

newfound relevance over the past

year. e convention controls and

in some instances prohibits trade

in a growing universe of recyclable

materials aecting key sectors of the

economy, including electronics and

communications, electric vehicle batteries, and plastics.

Adopted thirty years ago to stop the unregulated ow

of hazardous wastes to developing countries, the treaty

has emerged as the main international legal framework

governing the circular economy. Following a decision

to extend the convention to cover most trade in plastic

wastes, parties are now weighing further amendments

that will either slow or accelerate a more circular and

sustainable economy. What role the United States will

play in this transition remains an open question.

e convention has been ratied by 188 parties,

including all major U.S. trading partners. Although

obligations under the convention generally align with

U.S. law, and although the Senate granted its advice

and consent to ratication of the original convention,

the United States is not yet a party. Implementing leg-

islation is needed to ll gaps in law that prevent the

United States from meeting all of the treaty obligations.

U.S. business and NGO stakeholders have pre-

viously been ambivalent about ratication. But the

growing risk of new barriers to trade in used products

and materials for recycling is prompting the business

community to consider the benets of ratication.

NGOs focused on reducing marine plastic litter also

see U.S. implementation of the convention as an im-

portant step. is renewed interest may prompt the

Biden administration and Congress to take the actions

needed to bring the United States into the treaty.

Growing interest among governments, sustainabil-

ity advocates, and the business community in the cir-

cular economy has focused new attention on the con-

vention and its future. A recent UN Economic Com-

mission for Europe report notes that the annual global

extraction of raw materials has increased from 27 to

92 billion tonnes since 1970. During that time, global

CO2 emissions have increased by 90 percent. e re-

sulting pressure on natural systems and biodiversity is

immense. e move to a more circular economy pres-

ents an opportunity to mitigate these impacts, mini-

mize waste, and generate a multitude of environmental

and societal benets.

Transitioning to a circular economy requires a

systemic shift in how society conceives of products

throughout all phases of their lifecycles, including

design, production, use, and recovery. Extending the

useful life of products through repair, refurbishment,

and remanufacture avoids most of the embodied ma-

terial energy and emissions that would otherwise de-

rive from the extraction and processing of raw materi-

als for new products. Ecient and environmentally

sound recovery of metals and rare earth minerals in-

creases resource eciency and supply chain resiliency

for critical sectors of the economy. By extending the

useful life of products, recovering resources embedded

in products, and minimizing waste, we can continue

deriving value from products while minimizing the

nancial, climate, and environmental impacts associ-