The Minamata Convention on Mercury requires Parties to manage mercury waste in an environmentally sound manner, taking into account the technical guidelines for waste management. It also restricts the recovery of mercury and transport of mercury waste across international boundaries.
COP has established mercury waste thresholds pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 11 in decisions MC-3/5, 4/6 and 5/10. COP-7 is to further consider this matter.
As decided by COP in decision MC-5/10 and 6/9, Parties and relevant stakeholders are invited to submit, as appropriate, any proposed updates to the lists in Tables 1, 2 and 3 of the annex to decision MC-3/5.
Parties are requested to take the actions agreed on in decision MC-5/10 to facilitate the implementation of Article 11. Specific actions include:
A Party making use of the alternative approach described in paragraph 2 of Decision MC-5/10 is to submit to the Secretariat its documented waste management measures as described in that paragraph.
Parties and relevant stakeholders are invited to submit any scientific and regulatory data and information on the effectiveness of the threshold established in Decision MC-5/10 in protecting human health and the environment, as well as on challenges and experiences related to its use, for the Secretariat to compile for consideration by COP-7
All the submissions above are to be sent to the Secretariat by email as soon as possible but no later than 6 March 2027.
As noted in decision MC-6/9, the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention is updating the technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with mercury or mercury compounds. The draft update was submitted to the Open-ended Working Group of the Basel Convention as UNEP/CHW/OEWG.15/INF/11.
Intersessional work and Submissions for COP-6
Mercury waste
Parties are invited to submit information regarding their waste management regulations and programmes as mentioned in Article 11 (3) (a), with a focus on matters not addressed by the technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with mercury or mercury compounds under the Basel Convention, by 31 October 2024. The following submissions have been received. The Secretariat is to collect and organize the information and make it available by 1 January 2025.
The Conference of the Parties (COP) requested the group of technical experts, in its decision MC-4/6, to develop a report to recommend and facilitate a COP-5 decision on the thresholds for waste falling under subparagraph 2 (c) of article 11 (waste contaminated with mercury and mercury compounds). The group was also requested to develop a guidance document on test methods to be used for the tier-2 threshold (0.15 mg/L in leachate) for tailings from mining other than primary mercury mining.
Parties and other stakeholders have been invited to share information and data on the waste categories listed in the indicative list contained in Table 3 of decision MC-3/5, including with respect to any relevant national or local thresholds and their establishment, by 30 June 2022 (extended to 15 July). The following submissions have been received.
The list of members of the expert group can be found here. This list also includes experts nominated by Parties and other organizations into a roster to contribute to the work of the group. The group started to work online in June 2022, and elected Ms. Gabriela Denisia Vasiliu Isac (Romania) and Ms. Oluwatoyin Olabanji (Nigeria) as co-chairs.
As advised by the group, the secretariat issued a letter inviting submission of information on approaches other than a total mercury concentration approach, including risk-based considerations, by 24 November 2022. The following submissions were received:
The group will review the submissions through online meetings and at plans to have a face-to-face meeting, which will be held from 16 to 18 February 2023 in Geneva, back-to-back with the Open-Ended Working Group of the Basel Convention, thanks to the financial contribution from Japan.
COP3 requested the group of technical experts to work further on thresholds for mercury wastes falling under subparagraph 2(c) of Article 11. It also requested the Secretariat, in cooperation with the ASGM partnership area, to seek comments from Parties and other stakeholders to improve the guidance on the preparation of national action plans for ASGM regarding management of tailings from such mining, with a view to presenting a revised version of the guidance for consideration and possible adoption by COP4.
Parties were invited to confirm the current members of the group of technical experts, nominate new members or replace members as appropriate, through the Bureau members by 31 March 2020. Bureau members have been informed that the Secretariat will wait for the nominations until 15 April. The list of nominated members and observers is available here. The group had its first on-line meeting on 12 May.
COP3 encouraged the parties and other stakeholders to contribute to the process of updating the technical guidelines on the environmentally sound management of wastes consisting of, containing or contaminated with mercury or mercury compounds by providing comments on the draft updated guidelines when invited to do so. The draft guidelines are available on the website of the Basel Convention as an information document UNEP/CHW/OEWG.12/INF/13 for the 12th Open-Ended Working Group of the Convention, for comments until 31 July 2020.
Parties and other stakeholders were invited to provide comments to improve the guidance on the preparation of national action plans for ASGM regarding management of tailings from such mining by 1 November 2020.
Intersessional work and Submissions for COP-3
Mercury waste thresholds
Pursuant to Decision MC-2/2, a group of technical experts on waste thresholds was established to work on a number of technical issues on the establishment of mercury waste thresholds under article 11, for consideration by COP-3. The list of members and observers of the group is available here. The group also invites input from other experts to assist it in its work as appropriate. Parties and other stakeholders were invited to submit relevant information for the intersessional work by 15 February 2019.
UNEP/MC/WT.1/2 Relevant Convention text and decision on mercury waste
UNEP/MC/WT.1/3 Compilation of comments on the clarification and refinement of the coverage of each of the three categories of mercury waste listed in paragraph 2 of article 11
UNEP/MC/WT.1/4 Compilation of comments on the lists of mercury waste
UNEP/MC/WT.1/5 Compilation of comments on the establishment of mercury waste thresholds
UNEP/MC/WT.1/5/Add.1 Information relating to analytical methods of mercury in wastes
UNEP/MC/WT.1/6 Compilation of comments on approaches for establishing thresholds for overburden, waste rock and tailings, except from primary mercury mining
