International and Australian NGOs have expressed their strong opposition to the Minister for Environment, the Hon. Josh Frydenberg, to Orica’s application to export their HCB hazardous waste stockpile for incineration in Finland. Australia is a developed country and should deal with its own POPs (persistent organic pollutants) waste as it has in the past. Australia has the technical expertise and suitable technologies capable of destroying HCB are commercially available. It is possible and feasible to site destruction facilities in Australia. Australia needs a hazardous waste destruction facility that can address the bourgeoning amounts of current POPs waste as well as future POPs waste. Newly listed POPs are present in large quantities in Australian building and electronic wastes requiring environmentally sound destruction. Australia also has an obligation to destroy the waste within national borders, under Basel Convention Article 4.
Read the joint letter to the Minister here
