IMPORTING AND EXPORTING HAZARDOUS WASTE? A GUIDE FOR “DUMMIES”

IMPORTING AND EXPORTING HAZARDOUS WASTE? A GUIDE FOR “DUMMIES”

On 1 September 2016 the national Department of Environmental Affairs facilitated a workshop pertaining to, amongst other things, the importation and exportation of hazardous waste. In this regard, the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (“Basel Convention”) is important, together with all national legislation governing waste management. South Africa became a party to the Basel Convention in 1994 and currently manages the importation and exportation of hazardous waste in accordance with this Convention.

The Department of Environmental Affairs: Hazardous Waste Management Directorate (DEA HWM) the competent authority dealing with the importation and exportation of hazardous waste into, or from, South Africa.

Exportation process
The organisation desirous to export hazardous waste from South Africa must submit the following documentation to DEA HWM:

  1. Basil Notification Form completed in full (obtainable from the South African Waste Information Centre’s website);
  2. Signed contractual agreement between the exporter and receiver of the hazardous waste;
  3. Valid liability insurance certificate, indicating who will be held liable for an incident relating to the hazardous waste, and the duration of the cover. Take note that this liability insurance pertains to costs for environmental remediation; and
  4. Any other supporting documentation confirming that the receiver of the hazardous waste is authorised and capable of handling/ managing the waste correctly (i.e. ISO 14001 certification).

The application will then be sent by DEA HWM to the state of import, which will either accept such or object thereto. The processing of an application by DEA HWM can take up to a maximum period of two weeks, if all information has been submitted as required.

Transit process
An application for the transport of waste from South Africa to another state must be sent to the state of import and usually takes about 60 days to process. Once in transit, a shipment of hazardous waste must be accompanied, at all times, by the following:

  1. Movement documentation which must contain information on the carriers, customs, the type of waste, the manner of packaging and consents by the Competent Authorities;
  2. Hazardous material placards; and
  3. Acknowledgment of consent from the state of import.

Importation process
It must be noted that South Africa does not import hazardous waste from developed countries. The country of export must submit an application to DEA HWM for the notification, consent and authorisation to import hazardous waste into South Africa. The information that must be submitted to DEA HWM to include the following:

  1. Cover letter from the Competent Authority of the state of import;
  2. Completed Basel Notification Form;
  3. Signed contractual agreement between the two parties;
  4. Valid liability insurance certificate;
  5. Any other supporting documentation confirming that the receiver of the hazardous waste is authorised and capable of handling/ managing the waste correctly (i.e. ISO 14001 certification);
  6. Motivation letter from country of export; and
  7. Safety data sheets for the hazardous waste.

When importing hazardous waste into South Africa, such waste must be appropriately packaged and accompanied by the following documentation:

  1. Movement documentation which must contain information on the carriers, customs, the type of waste, the manner of packaging and consents by the Competent Authorities;
  2. Hazardous material placards; and
  3. Acknowledgment of consent from the state of export.
    Once imported, a notification of receipt of the hazardous waste material must be sent to the country of export.

What is Shangoni’s approach?
Shangoni can assist individuals, as well as organisations, desirous to either import or export hazardous waste into or from South Africa, to identify all legal requirements that must be adhered to during this process. Shangoni can, furthermore, facilitate the authorisation application process for our clients.

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