Basel Convention

PORTUGAL

Status of Ratification/Accession/Acceptance/Approval:	30.10.2000 (r)
Ratification of the Amendment to the Basel Convention:	30.10.2000

Competent Authority	Focal Point
Instituto dos Residuos Av. Almirante Gago Coutinho, n^o. 30 – 5^o piso 1000-017 Lisbon tel: [phone] fax: [phone] e-mail:[e-mail] web site: www.inresiduos.pt	Same as the Competent Authority

National Definition

According to the Waste Act (Decree-Law 239/97 of September 9, 1997) waste shall mean any substance or object in the categories set out in Annex I of Portaria 818/97 which the holder discard or intends to or is required to discard (in accordance with EU Directive 75/442/EEC and the European Waste Catalog – Decision 94/3/EEC). According to the Waste Act, hazardous waste shall mean waste which exhibit characteristics which can be harmful to health or the environment, namely those set out in Annex II of Portaria 818/97 (in accordance with EU Directive 91/689/EEC and the European Hazardous Waste List – Decision 94/904/EEC). The wastes subject to control procedure are defined by the Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 on the supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the European Community. Any waste is subject to a control procedure in case of a transboundary movement destined for final disposal. All wastes destined for recovery within the OECD area have to be notified, except those listed in Annex II of Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 (identical to OECD green list of wastes). Wastes that are not listed in Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 are subject to control procedures when subjected to transboundary movement.

Data* on the Generation and Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes** and Other Wastes*** in 2000 (as reported)

		Quantities (in metric tonnes)
Generation	Total amount of hazardous wastesgenerated	194 724 ^1)
	Total amount of other wastesgenerated	4 513 438
Transboundary Movement	Total amount of hazardous wastesand other wastesexported	96 609
	Total amount of hazardous wastesand other wastesimported	4 976

* Figures are rounded to the nearest integer.

** Covers wastes under Art. 1 (1)a (Annex I: Y1-Y45) and Art. 1 (1)b.

*** Covers wastes under (Annex II: Y46-Y47).

1) Figure refers to total amountof hazardous wastes generated under Art. 1 (1)a (Annex I: Y1-Y45): 170 215 mt + amount of hazardous wastes generated under Art. 1 (1)b: 24 509 mt.

Restrictions on Transboundary Movement	Amendment to the Basel Convention The amendment to the Basel Convention (Decision III/1) has been implemented in Portugal. Council Regulation (EC) No 120/97 amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 implements the amendment to the Basel Convention (Decision III/1). Portugal ratified Decision III/1 on 30 November 2000 (Aviso n^o 229/99, from 7 December 1999).
	Restrictions on export for final disposal Portugal restricts the export of hazardous wastes and other wastes for final disposal. The relevant legislation is the Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93, which entered into force in May 1994. The export of waste (hazardous and non hazardous) for final disposal outside the European Community is prohibited, except to those EFTA countries that are also parties to the Basel Convention. Thus, in order to implement the principles of proximity and self-sufficiency at national level, the export of waste for final disposal can be restricted.
	Restriction on export for recovery Portugal restricts the export of hazardous wastes and other wastes for recovery. The relevant legislation is the Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93, as amended by Council Regulation No 120/97 and commission Regulation 2408/98. It is prohibited to export waste listed in Annex V for recovery into all countries to which the OECD Council Decision C92(39)FINAL does not apply. Annex V contains wastes listed in Annex VIII of the Basel Convention, wastes included in the OECD Amber and Red waste lists and wastes included in the European Hazardous Waste List.
	Restrictions on import for final disposal Portugal restricts the import of hazardous wastes and other wastes for final disposal. The relevant legislation is the Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93, which entered into force in May 1994. It is prohibited to import wastes for final disposal from non-Parties to the Basel Convention, except from countries with which bilateral agreements exist.
	Restrictions on import for recovery Portugal restricts the import of hazardous wastes and other wastes for recovery. The relevant legislation is the Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93, which entered into force in May 1994. It is prohibited to import wastes for recovery from non-Parties to the Basel Convention, except from OECD countries and countries with which bilateral agreements exist.
	Restrictions on transit Portugal restricts the transit of hazardous wastes and other wastes. The relevant legislation is the Council Regulation (EEC) No. 259/93. The transit must be notified and can be objected.

Reduction and/or Elimination of Hazardous Waste Generation	National strategies/policies Municipal Waste Strategy Plan, approved in July 1997, for the period 1998-2005; Clinical Waste Strategy Plan, approved in June 1999, for the period 2000-2005; Industrial Waste Strategy Plan, published on the 2^nd December 1999, for the period 2000-2020; National Plan on Industrial Waste Prevention, approved in September 2000, for the period 2000-2015; Action Plan on Municipal Waste, approved in 2000, for the period 2000-2006; and Agricultural Wastes Strategy Plan, preliminary version presented in June 1999. The final version is being developed. Each Plan sets out changes required to achieve an environmental sound management of waste, aiming substantial increases in reuse, recycling, energy recovery and safe and adequate waste disposal. The plans also place a strong emphasis on waste minimization and on information and education campaigns.
	Legislation, regulations and guidelines The Waste Act (239/97), which entered into force on 9 September 1997, introduces the general obligation to prevent waste generation and to reduce its quantity and harmfulness. In order to implement this general obligation, there are several legislation based on producer responsibility, namely for batteries and accumulators, waste oils, PCB, packaging waste and sludge.
	Economic instruments/ initiatives European Union Funds, such as LIFE program.
	Measures taken by industries/waste generators Voluntary agreement with several industry sectors on environmental improvement, namely on waste management; Voluntary agreement on the treatment of end-of-life vehicles, from June 1999; and Several enterprises adopted their own management systems, in accordance with ISO 14001 and the European Community Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and Ecolabel.

Transboundary Movement Reduction Measures	National strategies/policies Municipal Waste Strategy Plan, approved in July 1997, for the period 1998-2005; Clinical Waste Strategy Plan, approved in June 1999, for the period 2000-2005; Industrial Waste Strategy Plan, published on the 2^nd December 1999, for the period 2000-2020; National Plan on Industrial Waste Prevention, approved in September 2000, for the period 2000-2015; Action Plan on Municipal Waste, approved in 2000, for the period 2000-2006; and Agricultural Wastes Strategy Plan, preliminary version presented in June 1999. The final version is being developed. Each Plan referred above sets out changes required in order to implement the principles of proximity and self-sufficiency at national level. Great effort has been paid to the enforcement of the legislation on several waste streams, which created conditions for the construction of several waste management facilities in the country, namely for municipal solid waste, clinical waste, hazardous wastes, wastes from electric and electronic equipment, metals, solvents, oils, waste containing precious metals, tyres, plastics, glass, paper and cardboard etc. Resulting from the publication of Decree-Law 321/99 of August 11, 1999, there are several landfills for non-hazardous industrial waste under construction.
	Legislation, regulations and guidelines Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93.
	Economic instruments/ initiatives European Union funds, such as PEDIP and POA.

Disposal/ Recovery Facilities

There are several facilities licensed to waste management operations. A complete list could be obtained from the Focal Point.

Bilateral, Multilateral or Regional Agreements

OECD Council Decision C(92)FINAL, concerning the control of transboundary movement of wastes destined for recovery operations.

Technical Assistance and Training Available

Some of the available sources are: Instituto dos Resíduos; Inpecção Geral do Ambiente, Rua de “O Século”, 51, 1200-433 Lisbon; Instituto Nacional Engenharia e Tecnologia Industrial, Estrada do Paço do Lumiar, 1699 Lisbon; Associação Portuguesa Emp. Tecnologias Ambientais, Campo Grande, 294 – 3o dto, 1700 Lisbon; and Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Quinta da Torre, 2829-516 Caparica The complete list could be obtained from the Focal Point.

Basel Convention

Country Fact Sheet