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CASE NUMBER: 363
CASE MNEMONIC: POLWASTE
CASE NAME: Poland Waste Imports
A. IDENTIFICATION
1. Issue
The need for cash in the former "Eastern Block" Countries has
led to a new export market - toxic garbage. Industrialized
countries are exporting their waste to emerging nations,
capitalizing on less expensive disposal cost. Fines in Poland for
illegal dumping were $7-13 per metric ton (1990). Fines in the
West typically average hundreds of dollars per metric ton,
depending on the type of waste. Waste shipments contain poisonous
metals, hospital waste, expired chemicals and pesticides, toxic
sludge, etc. All destined to be buried, incinerated or recycled.
Poland is not equipped for modern disposal or recycling operations.
An illegal scrap metal shipment destined for Poland would have
recovered only 20 percent usable metals. Illegal waste has turned
up in Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, the Baltics, Ukraine, and other
Eastern Europe, African and Middle Eastern countries, reports
Greenpeace. Sponsored by the United Nations Environmental Program
(UNEP) the Basel Convention (1989) set out to control the shipments
of toxic waste to countries ill-equipped to deal with it; working
toward waste self-sufficiency in all countries. The treaty was
updated in 1994 immediately banning all waste export for burial of
incineration. Beginning in January 1, 1998, all recycling export
will be banned.
2. Description
Awareness of environmental issues associated with hazardous
waste has increased, particularly after Love Canal, Three Mile
Island, Chernobel, and Union Carbides' Bopal incident. Concern for
public safety has led to popular "Green" laws which seek to limit
exposure to dangerous materials. Unfortunately, these laws add
costs to production that "undermine competitive advantage." Cost
of treatment and disposal of harmful bi-products in developed
countries are on the rise. Waste disposal costs have risen 10 to
20 percent over the past twenty years.
Emerging nations provide an attractive economic incentive to
hazardous waste producers. Many European firms have moved their
operations to Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, where
environmental costs remain low. In the U.S. many industries have
simply moved across the border into Mexico. The United Nation
Environmental Program (UNEP) and the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) agree that roughly "10 to 20
percent of global industrial waste is disposed across borders,
almost 30 million tons a year."
The global waste management industry is estimated to climb to
$500 billion by the year 2000. According to the Washington Post
it was valued at $90 billion in 1991. The largest exporter of
waste to other countries is Germany, moving over 1 million metric
tons of hazardous waste at the beginning of the 90's. That figure
is roughly 80 percent higher than the number two country,
Netherlands. Since the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, waste
shipments to Poland have nearly doubled amounting to an trade of
$27 billion in 1993.
Pollution
Shipments entering Poland vary from hazardous smelting dust;
rubble; expired chemical and pesticides; to scrap metal tainted
with mercury, cadmium and copper. Poland intercepted 1,332 illegal
shipments in 1992. Shipments are often disguised as humanitarian
aid or as charitable donations, this way it can cross border more
easily. In Katowice, hospital administrators opened unsolicited
charitable shipments from Europe to find used syringes, expired
medicines, contaminated gowns, etc. Juergen Holz, charged with
illegal dumping, obtained a "humanitarian aid" transit permit and
paid $300,000 dollars to ship pesticides to the east.
Germany lack sufficient disposal sites and in 1992 experienced
a "domestic waste crisis" after France banned importation of German
garbage following a hospital waste scandal. German waste is
turning up in Poland, in Romania, the Ukraine, and various other
eastern countries. Dutch Authorities seized a toxic metal shipment
destine for recycling in Poland. The German company was forced to
pay a fine and the cost of shipping the waste back to Germany.
Poland lacks efficient recycling technology and such a shipment
would yield 20 percent usable metals reported Greenpeace. A
frustrated Polish official explained "we have our own garbage, we
don't need this."
Poland generates approximately 3 million tons of hazardous
waste per year, of which 15 to 20 percent is neutralized. Sludge,
for example, produced by new digesters at Czajka municipal sewage
treatment plant, outside Warsaw, contain high levels of heavy
metals. This makes the sludge unsuitable for agricultural use.
The desire for hard currency in Poland stimulates the waste
trade. Germany's Minister of Environment, Klaus Toepfer, complains
that this situation is giving rise to a type of "waste mafia" in
Eastern Europe. A group that is making millions from illegal
dumping, approximately $1,000 per ton in 1992 according to
Greenpeace. Illegal waste shipment "intercepted" along the border
rose by 35 percent in 1993. Greenpeace tracked 200 illegal waste
shipments in 1992, the largest was a German shipment headed for
Poland. Entrepreneurs like Juergen Holtz dumped a known 1,500 tons
of pesticide in the "Eastern Block," garnishing roughly $1.5
million. The problem is so endemic that Polish Border Guards were
retrained with a new mission to seek out garbage and those who
traffic it.
Pollution - Past
The legacy of Communism has contaminated the countryside.
Soviet Military bases disposed of unrecorded quantities of
solvents, paints, petroleum products and various other materials.
Inefficient Central Planning produced waste problems like Huta
Sendzimira. The Huta Sendzimira steel mill near Krakow produces
700,000 tons of slag per year. Waste bi-products are not "sent for
recovery due to the high cost and large heat consumption." For
years the waste has been loaded on rail cars and dumped in a pile
that covers roughly one square mile. It is unknown how much
groundwater contamination has occurred, due to zinc and lead
leaching from the pile.
The total damage caused by the Soviets is unknown. However
water quality is so poor that 65 percent is not suitable for
industrial use, and only 1.4 percent is clean enough to drink.
The Rawa River leaves Katowice "containing only 14 percent water
(1992)," reported the Chicago Tribune.
Health Impact
Health damage due to environmental cause such as toxic dumping
are difficult to estimate and results are often debatable. The
legacy of Communism does paint a good picture of the type of
problems that can occur from unregulated dumping. In upper
Silesia, Poland most polluted region, residents have "155 percent
more circulatory illness, 30 percent more cancer, and 47 percent
more respiratory illness than the national average."
The ground is so polluted that doctors recommends against
families keeping vegetable gardens. Poisoned vegetable will cause
children to have low IQ's. In Katowice, lead levels are "19,000
part per million: 50 times higher than the acceptable level."
Infant mortality is roughly 60 percent higher in Silesia cities:
26.1 per 1000 in Piekary Slaskie; 27.2 in Byton. Exports of
hazardous materials for disposal in Poland will only add to the
pollution problem and continue to risk human health.
Laws - National
Poland has a strong legislative tradition of environmental
protection. Laws of the 1920's and 30's focus on agricultural use
and protection of the land from undiscriminating farmers.
Environmental Protection is a cornerstone of the Polish
Constitution and Article 71 obligates "each citizen to protect the
natural environment." Failure to protect the environment is a
criminal offense that violates the Constitution and the Protection
and Shaping of the Environment Act of 1980 - PSEA.
Poland has implemented a permit and licensing system.
Enterprises impacting the environment must have a permit. At the
national level, the 1974 Water Law and the PSEA (1980) specifies
permit discharge levels. Regional authority exist for Provincial
Governors to award permits for airborne pollutants. Governors
determine the importance of natural resource protection and can
specify the amount and type of pollutants. In addition, they can
levy fines and decide which local organization will receive the
revenue from the fine. Fines at the national level are levied for
exceeding permit limits, revenue is allocated to an environmental
fund.
Regional authority was expanded in 1991 under the State
Inspection and Environmental Protection Act. This authorizes the
monitoring of the environment and delegates tasks "resulting from
extra-ordinary threats to the environment."
These laws can be directed toward modern industrial pollution
and are the basis for new interpretation by the courts.
Laws - International
To combat the growing waste trade the UNEP sponsored a
conference in 1989 at Basel, Switzerland. Attended by 116 nations,
the conference addressed Third World concerns regarding their
vulnerability to hazardous (and non-hazardous) waste shipments.
The convention outlined a multilateral treaty that attempted to end
waste shipments at the source. The treaty worked to:
1.) reduce the transboundary movements of hazardous waste to
a minimum and to require waste that is moved to be dealt with
in an environmentally sound manner;
2.) to encourage countries to be self-sufficient in waste
disposal and to dispose of material as close to the source of
generation as possible;
3.) to minimize the generation of hazardous waste in terms of
quantity and toxicity.
Initially, 13 countries ratified the treaty quickly. 53
countries signed with intention of ratification, including the
United States. As of 1994 the U.S. still had not meet its treaty
obligation.
The Basel Convention - or treaty - left the definition of
hazardous waste "vague" allowing each country to modify the list of
materials to suit their needs. The treaty did not close the door
on exportation of hazardous waste for recycling. Consequently,
recycling schemes sprang up throughout the Third World, financed by
Western investors.
Traders believe that the most profitable aspects of waste -
paper, plastic, glass, metal - will one day be traded as
commodities, similar to agricultural products. The OECD was
drafted a proposal that would legitimize the waste trade. Their
approach was to sort various materials as green, yellow or red;
these would then be acceptable for trade between OECD member
nations. Red would not be traded while green would see almost no
regulation. This proposal was in direct conflict with the Basel
Convention. The UN believed that once waste was "given value due
to recycling it becomes a trade issue." Trade in waste goes
directly against the encouragement of self-sufficiency. The U.S.
supported the OECD proposal.
In the spring of 1994 the Basel Convention was modified to
include a ban on all exports of hazardous waste for incineration or
landfill. The treaty will also ban all exportation of waste for
recycling beginning January 1, 1998. Strongest opposition to the
modification came from the United States, Germany and Japan.
Germany and Japan have since gone along with the treaty and the
ban.
3. Related Cases
BASEL case
MEDWSTE case
GERMPACK case
GERMWSTE case
DANISH
ITALYBAG case
GERMAUTO case
ECPACK
Keyword Clusters:
(1) Trade Product = WASTE
(2) Bio-geography = TEMPERATE
(3) Environmental Problem = Pollution Land
4. Draft Author: Chris Bredehoeft (June, 1995)
B. Legal Cluster
5. Discourse and Status: DISagreement and COMPlete
In March 1994 and immediate ban was placed on the export of
waste for incineration or landfill. Exports of waste for recycling
will be illegal January 1, 1998. The ban strengthens and fills
the gaps of the Basel Convention, which, seeks to reduce the amount
of waste produced and encourages countries to find solution to
their own waste problems. The Treaty is designed to end the export
of harmful shipment to less developed countries. The Basel
Convention was adopted in March of 1989 and has been ratified by 64
nations (1994).
6. Forum and Scope: POLand and UNILateral
Delegates from one hundred sixteen countries attended the
March 1989 U.N. sponsored conference in Basel, Switzerland.
Strongest opposition to the 1994 export ban modification was from
the United States, Germany and Japan. The top five exporters to
Poland of hazardous waste were Germany, Netherlands, U.S.
Switzerland, and Canada, according to the Washington Post.
7. Decision Breadth: 1
Enforcement is the biggest issue in waste trading. The
expanding global market has created its own incentives for waste
traders to "find loopholes in newly opened border."
Environmental laws are popular in Poland and other Third World
nations, however badly needed currency is often more attractive
than the long term detriments.
In the U.S. laws are not enforced as well as the could be.
South Carolina prosecutor, Robert H. Wendt, said "prosecutors feel
there are lots of crimes like this going on in the field and we
just don't catch them."
In Poland the border guards have a new mission and have been
reorganized to "search for a new enemy - garbage." Poland
intercepted 1,332 illegal shipments in 1992.
In Nigeria smugglers faced the death penalty "for inviting
European companies to ship toxic waste to Nigeria disguised as
edible oil" (see OGONI and NIGERIA cases).
Greenpeace has actively been involved in monitoring waste
shipments. They informed Dutch authorities of a 1,700 ton
hazardous waste shipment destined for Poland. The German company
responsible was forced pay the cost to return the waste plus a
fine. Without stronger enforcement efforts by Germany and Poland,
activists and individuals will be responsible for the enforcement
of the treaty.
8. Legal Standing: LAW
International Law
In 1989 the Basel Convention - regulating transboundary
movements of hazardous waste - was established by the UNEP.
Delegates from 116 nations attended the conference. The treaty
objectives were to:
1.) reduce the transboundary movements of hazardous waste to
a minimum and to require waste that is moved to be dealt with
in an environmentally sound manner;
2.) to encourage countries to be self-sufficient in waste
disposal and to dispose of material as close to the source of
generation as possible;
3.) to minimize the generation of hazardous waste in terms of
quantity and toxicity.
In total, 64 nations have ratified the treaty. The Basel
Convention was modified, in 1994, to include a ban on all exports
of hazardous waste for incineration or landfill. The treaty will
also ban all exportation of waste for recycling beginning January
1, 1998. Strongest opposition to the modification came from the
United States, Germany and Japan. Germany and Japan have since
gone along with the treaty and the ban.
Polish Law
Environmental Protection is a cornerstone of the Polish
Constitution. Article 71 obligates "each citizen to protect the
natural environment." Failure to protect the environment is a
criminal offense that violates the Constitution and the Protection
and Shaping of the Environment Act - PSEA.
Poland has implemented a permit and licensing system.
Enterprises impacting the environment must have a permit. At the
national level, the 1974 Water Law and the PSEA (1980) authorize
discharge permits within the specified limits. Regional authority
exist for Provincial Governors to award permits for airborne
pollutants. Fines at the national level are levied for exceeding
permit limits, revenue is allocated to an environmental fund.
C. Geographic Clusters
9. Geography
Geographic Domain: Europe
Geographic Site: Eastern Europe
Geographic Impact: Poland
10. Subnational: NO
Regulation exist at the Regional, National levels and
International Level - the Basel Convention in 1989. Environmental
laws are popular in Poland and go back to Water Economy Act of
1922, and Nature Protection 1934.
At the regional level, Provincial Governors can award permits
that specify the amount and type of air pollution. Governors
decide fines and where the money will be directed, and are
responsible for choosing the importance of natural resource
protection. The State Inspection and Environmental Protection Act
1991 authorizes environmental monitoring and delegates tasks
according to threats.
11. Type of Habitat: TEMPerate
This problem effects all ecosystems because hazardous waste
disposal is very expensive and detrimental to the environment.
Tough environmental laws increase cost of disposal from $ 33 to
thousands of dollars per metric ton, depending on the type of
waste. In Poland, for example, the fines for illegal dumping are
$7 - 13 per metric tons (1990). Consequently, waste disposal is
competing with the rivers, lakes, oceans, fields, roadside, etc.
anywhere it can be dumped.
D. Trade Cluster
12. Type of Measure: TAXES
Waste exports from one country to another are banned by the
Basel Convention in 1994. Waste for recycling exports ban will go
into effect January 1, 1998. Unfortunately, the ban will not curb
illegal activity.
13. Direct vs Indirect: DIRect
14. Relation of Resource to Measure
Directly Related: YES WASTE
Indirectly related: NO
Not related: NO
Process related: YES Pollution Land [POLL]
15. Trade Product Identification: WASTE
16. Economic Data
The waste industry represents an annual trade of $27 billion
between Germany and Eastern Europe. Waste Management Inc., the
leading disposal company, has seen a 36 percent annual increase in
revenue for the past twenty years. Waste traders buying and
selling the most profitable aspects of garbage - plastic, glass,
scrap metal, etc. - add value to waste that will open a new
commodity market similar to the agricultural products. Recent
estimates are that by 2000 the global waste management market will
be worth $500 billion. In 1991 it was valued at "half the world
trade in metals and ores," $90 billion.
17. Impact of Trade Restriction: LOW
The ban was passed in 1994 as a modification to the Basel
Convention. Third World concerns about waste exportation from
industrial countries had not been realized. The original treaty of
1989, had a loophole with respect to waste being exported for
recycling. The 1994 five-day conference placed an immediate ban on
all hazardous waste export for incineration or burial. Waste for
recycling would be banned starting January 1, 1998. Concern had
been raised about the vulnerability of waste exportation to the
Third World.
18. Industry sector: UTIL
SIC 5093 Waste - wholesale
SIC 4953 Hazardous waste material disposal site (land &
sea)
19. Exporter and Importer: MANY and USA
E. Environmental Clusters
20. Environmental Problem Type: AIR [POLA]
21. Species Information: N/A
22. Impact and Effect: LOW and REGULatory
23. Urgency and Lifetime: Low and 100s of years
Hazardous waste pollution can contaminate a site very quickly.
Environmental degradation caused by the communists is everywhere in
Poland. Some streams are so badly polluted that the water cannot
be used for industrial purpose. Pollution of this type will take
years - decades - and millions of dollars to cleanup. Hazardous
waste illegally dumped by industrial countries will present the
same types of problems.
24. Substitutes: Conservation
Switching to biodegradable products in the manufacturing
process will slow the accumulation of hazardous waste. Solutions
also include more efficient processing to reduce the production of
waste, changing the production process away from harmful materials
(i.e. going back to glass rather than plastic.), recycling material
on location, and larger recycling efforts to make better use of
waste.
F. Other Factors
25. Culture: YES
There exists in most communities a NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard)
mentality with regard to waste disposal. Protests by local Polish
communities have prevented many new waste site from opening and
forced others to close. Two landfill outside Warsaw operate
illegally due to the lack of new sites. Similar problems exist
in developed countries, such as Germany. This encourages
transboundary shipments of waste and the illegal dumping of waste.
Attitudes must change to take responsibility for the waste created
by a community and individuals. Consumption mentality must also
change, societies must move away from disposability, cheap energy,
multi-layer packaging and all other processes that create toxic and
non toxic waste.
The Communist legacy has created a country that is heavily
polluted. However, Poland has imposed many laws to protect its
citizens. The Protection and Shaping of the Environment Act - PSEA
(1980) has been amended seven times. A Toxic Substances Act was
passed in 1963, amended twice; Nature and Protection Act 1934;
Water Economy Act 1922; etc. Unfortunately, Poland lacks the
necessary resources or the will power to enforce the laws:
presently, jobs are more important than the environment. Health
concerns are forcing changes to occur, current studies are
establishing the links between pollution and human genetic
mutations. Health concerns will probably force environmental
cleanup, but not without foreign aid and investment.
26. Trans-boundary Issue: YES
27. Human Rights: NO
28. Relevant Literature
Abrahamson, Peggy, Basel Treaty is getting a green light, American
Metal Market, October 21, 1991: pg 7.
Chynoweth, Emma, Greenpeace unearths Polish waste, Chemical Week,
October 24, 1990: pg 14.
Cobbling, Madeleine, Europe's toxic colonialism: exporting Europe's
hazardous wastes, Chemistry and Industry, December 21, 1992.
Coll, Steven, Free Market Intensifies Waste Problem: Rich Nations
Dumping on Poorer Ones, Washington Post, March 23, 1994, A1.
Environmental Priorities in Poland, Environment Week, January 26,
1995: Vol 8.
International Development Planners, Definitional Mission Report on
Solid and Hazardous Waste Projects (Poland), U.S. Trade and
Development Agency, July 1990: TDA#90-704 Vol. 1.
LaDou, Joseph, The Export of Environmental Responsibility, Archives
of Environmental Health, January 1994: pg 6.
Myer, Linnet, Communist Legacy: a poisoned earth, Chicago Tribune,
June 1, 1992, C1.
Poland has a 'Green' Constitution, European Rubber Journal,
November 1992.
Update, American Metal Market, March 29, 1994 (Lexis-Nexis).
Waste: French Decree and Franco-German Decision, Europe Environment
- Europe Information Service, September 8, 1992.
"Waste Mafia" is dumping toxic waste in Eastern Europe, Hazardous
Waste Network Online Today, August 6, 1992.
Would be waste smugglers face execution; Nigeria, New Scientist,
November 21, 1992: pg 8.
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