Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Regulations 1996

Statutory Rules 1996 No. 284 as amended

made under the

Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989

This compilation was prepared on 3 December 2008
taking into account amendments up to SLI 2008 No. 231

Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing,
AttorneyGeneral’s Department, Canberra

Contents

 1 Name of Regulations [see Note 1]

 2 Commencement 

 3 Definitions 

 4 Waste that is not household waste 

 5 Application for Basel export permit — information to be given to foreign country             

 5A Particulars of export of hazardous waste — metal alkyl compounds in hydrocarbons             

 5B Particulars of export of hazardous waste — hexachlorobenzene             

 5C Particulars of export of hazardous waste — hexachlorobenzene             

 6 Application to vary Basel export permit — information to be given to foreign country             

 7 Approval of recovery facilities 

 8 Review of decisions 

Schedule 1 Text of items B1010, B2020, B3010, B3020 and B3030 as modified by subregulation 4 (2)             

Notes   

 

 

1 Name of Regulations [see Note 1]

  These Regulations are the Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Regulations 1996.

2 Commencement

  These Regulations commence on 12 December 1996.

3 Definitions

  In these Regulations:

Act means the Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989.

recovery operation means an operation mentioned in Part B of Annex IV to the Basel Convention.

Note 1   The following terms are defined in the Act:

 Basel Convention

 Basel export permit

 Basel import permit

 competent authority

 foreign country

 hazardous waste.

Note 2   An expression in these Regulations has the same meaning that it has in the Act: see paragraph 13 (1) (b) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

4 Waste that is not household waste

 (1) For the definition of household waste in section 4 of the Act, waste mentioned in items B1010, B2020, B3010, B3020 and B3030 of Annex IX (List B) to the Basel Convention is not household waste.

 (2) For subregulation (1), item B3010 is taken to be modified by omitting “a specification:” and inserting “a standard (other than bale properties) not less strict than the standard applicable to the resin type, product type and category of the material, set out in Scrap Specifications Circular 1998, Guidelines for Plastic Scrap: P98, published by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc in 1998:”.

Note 1   The parts of the standard set out in Scrap Specifications Circular 1998 that apply to materials in item B3010 deal with the following matters about scrap plastic:

Note 2   Items B1010, B2020, B3010, B3020 and B3030 of Annex IX (List B) to the Basel Convention, as taken to be modified by subregulation (2), are set out in Schedule 1.

5 Application for Basel export permit — information to be given to foreign country

  For subsection 15A (3) of the Act, the Minister must give the competent authority of the foreign country the information mentioned in Annex VA to the Basel Convention.

Note   A copy of the English text of the Basel Convention is set out in the Schedule to the Act.

5A Particulars of export of hazardous waste — metal alkyl compounds in hydrocarbons

  For paragraph 18A (2) (a) of the Act, the following particulars are specified:

 (a) the hazardous waste to be exported is metal alkyl compounds in hydrocarbons;

 (b) the waste is stored by Basell Australia Pty Ltd, Refinery Road, Corio, Victoria 3214;

 (c) up to 50 tonnes of the waste is to be exported;

 (d) any Basel export permit to authorise the export is to be granted within 18 months of the commencement of this subregulation;

 (e) the waste will be stored in steel transport tanks of 1 500 litre capacity and will be transported by road to the Port of Melbourne;

 (f) at the Port of Melbourne, the tanks containing the waste will be loaded onto ships for export to a disposal facility overseas;

 (g) the waste will be disposed of overseas by:

 (i) hightemperature incineration; and

 (ii) repackaging of the residue followed by its disposal in a specially engineered landfill.

5B Particulars of export of hazardous waste — hexachlorobenzene

 (1) For paragraph 18A (2) (a) of the Act, the hazardous waste to be exported is:

 (a) hexachlorobenzene and process residue related to hexachlorobenzene, being halogenated still bottoms and reaction residues, that is stored and transported in one or more of the following:

 (i) 100litre capacity steel drums;

 (ii) 200litre capacity steel drums;

 (iii) 1 000litre capacity intermediate bulk containers; or

 (b) hexachlorobenzene and process residue related to hexachlorobenzene, being liquid halogenated still bottoms and reaction residues, that is stored and transported in 17 500litre capacity isocontainers; or

 (c) packaging containers that contain residues of, or are contaminated by, hexachlorobenzene and chlorinated hydrocarbons resulting from the storage of hexachlorobenzene, that are stored and transported in 1 000litre capacity flexible intermediate bulk containers; or

 (d) construction and demolition waste containing hexachlorobenzene and chlorinated hydrocarbons resulting from the storage of hexachlorobenzene, that are stored and transported in 1 000litre capacity flexible intermediate bulk containers.

 (2) In addition to subregulation (1), the following further particulars are specified:

 (a) the hazardous waste mentioned in paragraphs (1) (a) to (d) is stored by Orica Australia Pty Ltd, 1620 Beauchamp Road, Matraville, New South Wales 2036;

 (b) the waste will be transported by road to Port Botany;

 (c) at Port Botany, the drums and containers containing the waste will be loaded onto ships for export to a disposal facility in Germany which is a party to the Basel Convention;

 (d) the waste will be disposed of in Germany by high temperature incineration on land;

 (e) any Basel export permit to authorise the export is to be granted within 12 months of the commencement of this regulation.

5C Particulars of export of hazardous waste — hexachlorobenzene

  For paragraph 18A (2) (a) of the Act, the following particulars are specified:

 (a) the hazardous waste to be exported is:

 (i) hexachlorobenzene and other chlorinated waste containing chlorinated compounds including carbon tetrachloride, chloroprene, hexachlorobutadiene, hydrochloric acid, octochlorostyrene, perchloroethylene and related polymers, solvents and tars; and

 (ii) packaging containers that contain residues of, or are contaminated by, hexachlorobenzene and other chlorinated waste; and

 (iii) construction and demolition waste containing hexachlorobenzene and other chlorinated waste;

 (b) the waste is stored and transported in one or more of the following:

 (i) 100litre capacity steel drums;

 (ii) 200litre capacity steel drums;

 (iii) 1 000litre capacity intermediate bulk containers;

 (c) the waste is stored by Orica Australia Pty Ltd, 1620 Beauchamp Road, Matraville, New South Wales 2036;

 (d) the waste will be transported by road to Port Botany;

 (e) at Port Botany, the drums and containers containing the waste will be loaded onto ships for export to a disposal facility in Denmark, which is a party to the Basel Convention;

 (f) up to 6 100 tonnes of the waste will be disposed of in Denmark, by high temperature incineration on land;

 (g) any Basel export permit to authorise the export is to be granted by 31 December 2009.

6 Application to vary Basel export permit — information to be given to foreign country

  For subsection 28A (2) of the Act, the Minister must give the competent authority of the foreign country the information mentioned in Annex VA to the Basel Convention.

Note   A copy of the English text of the Basel Convention is set out in the Schedule to the Act.

7 Approval of recovery facilities

 (1) The Minister may approve, in writing, a facility for the purpose of carrying out recovery operations on hazardous waste imported under Basel import permits granted under the Act.

 (2) The Minister must not approve a facility unless the Minister is satisfied that the facility is capable of carrying out recovery operations on hazardous waste in a manner appropriate to give effect to Australia's obligations under the Basel Convention.

8 Review of decisions

  Application may be made under the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of a decision of the Minister refusing to approve a facility under regulation 7.

Schedule 1 Text of items B1010, B2020, B3010, B3020 and B3030 as modified by subregulation 4 (2)

(regulation 4)

 

B1010

Metal and metalalloy wastes in metallic, nondispersible form:

 Precious metals (gold, silver, the platinum group, but not mercury)

 Iron and steel scrap

 Copper scrap

 Nickel scrap

 Aluminium scrap

 Zinc scrap

 Tin scrap

 Tungsten scrap

 Molybdenum scrap

 Tantalum scrap

 Magnesium scrap

 Cobalt scrap

 Bismuth scrap

 Titanium scrap

 Zirconium scrap

 Manganese scrap

 Germanium scrap

 Vanadium scrap

 Scrap of hafnium, indium, niobium, rhenium and gallium

 Thorium scrap

 Rare earths scrap

B2020

Glass waste in nondispersible form:

 Cullet and other waste and scrap of glass except for glass from cathoderay tubes and other activated glasses

B3010

Solid plastic waste:

The following plastic or mixed plastic materials, provided they are not mixed with other wastes and are prepared to a standard (other than bale properties) not less strict than the standard applicable to the resin type, product type and category of the material, set out in Scrap Specifications Circular 1998, Guidelines for Plastic Scrap: P98, published by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc in 1998:

 Scrap plastic of nonhalogenated polymers and copolymers, including but not limited to the following[1]:

       ethylene

       styrene

       polypropylene

       polyethylene terephthalate

       acrylonitrile

       butadiene

       polyacetals

       polyamides

       polybutylene terephthalate

       polycarbonates

       polyethers

       polyphenylene sulphides

       acrylic polymers

       alkanes C10 – C13 (plasticiser)

       polyurethane (not containing CFC’s)

       polysiloxanes

       polymethyl methacrylate

       polyvinyl alcohol

       polyvinyl butyral

       polyvinyl acetate

 Cured waste resins or condensation products including the following:

         urea formaldehyde resins

         phenol formaldehyde resins

         melamine formaldehyde resins

         epoxy resins

         alkyd resins

         polyamides

 The following fluorinated polymer wastes[2]

         perfluoroethylene/propylene (FEP)

         perfluoroalkoxy alkane (PFA)

         perfluoroalkoxy alkane (MFA)

         polyvinylfluoride (PVF)

         polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF)

B3020

Paper, paperboard and paper product wastes

The following materials, provided they are not mixed with hazardous wastes:

Waste and scrap of paper or paperboard of:

 unbleached paper or paperboard or of corrugated paper or paperboard

 other paper or paperboard, made mainly of bleached chemical pulp, not coloured in the mass

 paper or paperboard made mainly of mechanical pulp (for example newspapers, journals and similar printed matter)

 other, including but not limited to

         laminated paperboard

         unsorted scrap

B3030

Textile wastes

The following materials, provided they are not mixed with other wastes and are prepared to a specification:

 Silk waste (including cocoons unsuitable for reeling, yarn waste and garnetted stock)

         not carded or combed

         other

         wastes shall not be mixed

         problems arising from openburning practices to be considered

 Waste of wool or of fine or coarse animal hair, including yarn waste but excluding garnetted stock

         noils of wool or of fine animal hair

         other waste of wool or of fine animal hair

         waste of coarse animal hair

 Cotton waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stock)

         yarn waste (including thread waste)

         garnetted stock

         other

 Flax tow and waste

         Tow and waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) of true hemp (Cannabis sativa L.)

         Tow and waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) of jute and other textile bast fibres (excluding flax, true hemp and ramie)

 Tow and waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) of sisal and other textile fibres of the genus Agave

 Tow, noils and waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) of coconut

 Tow, noils and waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) of abaca (Manila hemp or Musa textilis Nee)

 Tow, noils and waste (including yarn waste and garnetted stock) or ramie and other vegetable textile fibres, not elsewhere specified or included

 

 Waste (including noils, yarn waste and garnetted stock) of manmade fibres

         of synthetic fibres

         of artificial fibres

 Worn clothing and other worn textile articles

 Used rags, scrap twine, cordage, rope and cables and worn out articles of twine, cordage, rope or cables of textile materials

         sorted

         other

Note   For the meaning of other wastes in item B3010, see paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the Basel Convention. The text of the Convention, as it is in force for Australia, is set out in the Schedule to the Hazardous Wastes (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989.

 

Notes to the Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Regulations 1996

Note 1

The Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Regulations 1996 (in force under the Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989) as shown in this compilation comprise Statutory Rules 1996 No. 284 amended as indicated in the Tables below.

Under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, which came into force on 1 January 2005, it is a requirement for all nonexempt legislative instruments to be registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.  From 1 January 2005 the Statutory Rules series ceased to exist and was replaced with Select Legislative Instruments (SLI series). Numbering conventions remain the same, ie Year and Number.

Table of Instruments

Year and
number

Date of notification
in Gazette or FRLI registration

Date of
commencement

Application, saving or
transitional provisions

1996 No. 284

12 Dec 1996

12 Dec 1996

 

2001 No. 203

2 Aug 2001

2 Aug 2001

2003 No. 83

8 May 2003

8 May 2003

2005 No. 20

1 Mar 2005 (see F2005L00156)

2 Mar 2005

2005 No. 253

15 Nov 2005 (see F2005L03452)

16 Nov 2005

2007 No. 34

2 Mar 2007 (see
F2007L00553)

3 Mar 2007

2008 No. 231

2 Dec 2008 (see
F2008L04513)

3 Dec 2008

Table of Amendments

ad. = added or inserted      am. = amended      rep. = repealed      rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision affected

How affected

R. 1.................

rs. 2001 No. 203

Heading to r. 3..........

rs. 2001 No. 203

R. 3.................

am. 2001 No. 203

Note to r. 3............

rep. 2007 No. 34

Note 1 to r. 3...........

ad. 2007 No. 34

Note 2 to r.3...........

ad. 2007 No. 34

R. 4.................

rs. 2001 No. 203

R. 5A................

ad. 2001 No. 203

 

rs. 2003 No. 83; 2005 No. 20

 

am. 2005 No. 253

R. 5B................

ad. 2001 No. 203

 

rep. 2003 No. 83

 

ad. 2007 No. 34

R. 5C................

ad. 2008 No. 231

R. 8.................

am. 2007 No. 34

Schedule 1............

rs. 2001 No. 203

 

 


[1] It is understood that such scraps are completely polymerized.

[2] Postconsumer wastes are excluded from this entry.