HS 2028 introduces new subheadings to facilitate the monitoring of plastic waste movements and tackle one of the most urgent global pollution challenges the world is facing

Plastic pollution is a growing global concern. One source of this pollution is the illegal dumping of plastic waste, including of hazardous nature, in countries not wishing to receive such waste or lacking the capabilities for environmentally sound waste management. To fight this phenomenon, in 2019, the 186 Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (the Basel Convention) adopted the Plastic Wastes Amendments, thereby bringing additional types of plastic waste under the Convention's control procedures. The 2028 edition of the HS creates new subheadings for these types of waste, facilitating the work of enforcement agencies and businesses alike in implementing the new Basel Convention requirements.

The Basel Convention: limiting and controlling the international movements of waste

The Basel Convention is one of the main outcomes of the global efforts taken by governments to minimize the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and other wastes requiring special consideration and to ensure that any transboundary movements are conducted in a manner which protects human health and the environment.

Under the Convention, the governments of exporting Parties must provide documentation to the governments of transit and destination countries on the intended movement of the wastes covered by the Convention, and confirm that the waste in question will be managed in an environmentally sound manner. Such movement may take place only upon receipt of consent from concerned countries of import and transit, a procedure known as "prior informed consent" (PIC).

The Basel Convention covers a wide range of wastes defined as "hazardous wastes" based on either their origin, composition or hazardous characteristics, as well as two types of wastes defined as "other wastes" - household waste and incinerator ash. Wastes presumed not to be hazardous under the Convention, but which have been contaminated by constituents rendering them hazardous as well as wastes defined by national legislation as hazardous wastes also fall under the scope of the Convention.

Expanding the scope of the Convention to plastic wastes

Since January 2021, following the entry into force of the Plastic Wastes Amendments, the scope of plastic wastes subject to the Convention's provisions has been extended.

The Basel Plastic Waste Amendments define two categories of controlled plastic waste: Y48 for non-hazardous mixed plastic waste, and A3210 for hazardous plastic waste. It also defines one category not controlled by the Convention, B3011, which covers plastic waste consisting exclusively of one non-halogenated polymer or resin, selected fluorinated polymers, or mixtures of polyethylene, polypropylene and/or polyethylene terephthalate, that are "almost free from contamination and other types of wastes," and are "destined for recycling in an environmentally sound manner."

Amending the HS to facilitate enforcement

Being responsible for overseeing movement of goods notably at points of entry and exit, Customs must control the movement document and the consent, including whether the type of waste that is being traded is in conformity with the movement document.

A major hurdle for Customs services is to identify, based on the Harmonized System (HS) code, whether a good destined for export or import, could be a waste covered by the Basel Convention. With Customs control being to a large extent about controlling the legality of commercial shipments, and not just detecting smuggled commodities, establishing, wherever possible, clear and practical linkages between the Basel waste codes and the HS code would greatly facilitate the work of Customs and of the private sector, which builds compliance practices around proper tariff classification.

Where the tariff and the work processes built around it cannot be fully leveraged, both the private sector as well as Customs must establish parallel systems and specialized expertise to deal with regulated commodities. This generates not only additional costs, but also significant shortcomings in the implementation of export control regulations. It may also create unnecessary legal difficulties for enforcement and prosecutions.

HS 2028 amendments related to plastic waste

In the HS 2022, only waste of polymers of ethylene (3915.10), styrene (3915.20) and vinyl chloride (3915.30) is specifically identified under heading 39.15 "Waste, parings and scrap, of plastics". Waste of all other plastics, including mixtures of polymers, is classified in the residual subheading 3915.90 "Of other plastics". To identify specifically other types of plastic wastes not distinguished at the HS 6-digit level, countries or regions may establish dedicated national or regional subheadings beyond these 6-digit level for such plastic wastes.

The HS 2028 introduces a restructuring of heading 39.15 to better reflect the categories of plastic waste established under the Basel Convention and to support its effective implementation by Customs administrations and facilitate trade operators' compliance.

• A new subheading, 3915.40, is introduced to identify hazardous plastic waste (and mixtures of such waste), based on criteria aligned with the Basel Convention. This subheading applies to plastic waste containing specified substances and exhibiting hazardous characteristics, as set out in the new Subheading Note 2 to Chapter 39, reflecting Annexes I, III and VIII to the Basel Convention. It provides a tariff framework for plastic waste that are subject to the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure, corresponding to waste covered by Basel entry A3210, where the relevant conditions are met.

• Plastic waste presumed not to be hazardous, corresponding to Basel entry B3011, may be classified under specific HS subheadings, provided that the applicable purity and composition are fulfilled. In particular:
  • Subheadings 3915.51 to 3915.59 cover waste, parings and scrap of plastics consisting of one non-halogenated polymer only, almost free from contamination and other types of waste.
  • Subheading 3915.62 covers manufacturing waste consisting of only one of the fluorinated polymers listed in Basel entry B3011, where the waste meets the required purity conditions. Other plastic waste containing halogenated polymers falls outside the scope of B3011.
  • Subheading 3915.91 covers mixtures consisting only of polyethylene, polypropylene and/or poly(ethylene terephthalate), almost free from contamination and other types of waste.
• Waste requiring special consideration corresponds to Basel entry Y48 and is subject to the PIC procedure. This is classified as follows:
  • in subheading 3915.61 when consisting only of polymers of vinyl chloride,
  • in subheading 3915.69, whether it is a mixture of waste or not, and
  • in residual subheading 3915.99 (only mixtures of waste are classified here).

By enhancing the visibility of some plastic waste in the HS, the WCO aims to ensure their consistent classification among parties involved in their transboundary movements and facilitate the work of Customs and trade operators in implementing the requirements of the Basel Convention.