Basel parties make progress on hazardous waste lists

Two clear lists of wastes which are covered by the Basel Convention on the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and those which are not emerged from a working group meeting in Kuala Lumpur in April. However, the group has still to tackle some of the most thorny issues before a ban on hazardous waste exports to non-OECD countries takes effect in January 1998. A row has broken out between the EC and other states over the legal position of bilateral trade agreements after that date.