Canada-US Arrangement on non-hazardous waste and scrap

Background

In October 2020, the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America entered into an arrangement on the environmentally sound management of non-hazardous waste and scrap subject to transboundary movement between the two countries. This Arrangement adds to the instruments that apply to the transboundary movement and environmentally sound management of waste between Canada and the United States.

The Arrangement applies to waste and scrap that are not captured under Decision OECD/LEGAL/0266 of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) or the Canada-US Agreement on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste.

Compatibility with the Basel Convention

Article 11 of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal allows Parties to enter into bilateral, multilateral or regional agreements or arrangements regarding transboundary movement of hazardous wastes or other wastes with a non-Party, as long as these agreements or arrangements do not detract from environmentally sound management of wastes.

Principles of the Arrangement

The principles of the Arrangement are based on the environmentally sound management of non-hazardous waste and scrap traded between Canada and the United States. The Arrangement affirms that Canada and the United States manage such waste in an environmentally sound manner, and intend to maintain measures to provide for the environmentally sound management of such waste and scrap in order to protect human health and the environment.

How the Arrangement works

The transboundary movements of non-hazardous waste and scrap under the scope of the Arrangement are subject to all existing controls normally applied in commercial transactions.

Canadian exports of non-hazardous waste and scrap, such as plastic waste, which transit through the US and are destined to a Party to the Basel Convention are excluded from the Arrangement. They may be subject to the requirements of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 and the Cross-border Movement of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Material Regulations, including the requirement for an export permit.