From February 17 to 19, 2025, the second online meeting of the small intersessional working group for revising the Technical Guidelines for the Environmentally Sound Management of Used and Waste Pneumatic Tyres (hereinafter referred to as “Technical Guidelines”) under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (hereinafter referred to as “Basel Convention”) was held by the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (hereinafter referred to as “BRS Secretariat”). Over 40 representatives from 17 countries, as well as multiple international organizations and associations participated in the meeting.

At the invitation of the BRS Secretariats, Ms. Zhao Nana, Assistant Director of the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific (hereinafter referred to as “BCRC China”) and a working group member nominated by the Chinese government, was appointed by the BRS Secretariat to preside over the meeting as Chair. Ms. Zhao Nana presided over all sessions, facilitated comprehensive discussions across all agenda items, effectively promoted the process of the meeting, and successfully accomplished the set objectives. The meeting concluded with an updated draft of the Technical Guidelines, which will be submitted for review at the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions((hereinafter referred to as “COPs15”) in April this year.

Originally adopted in 2011 under the Basel Convention, the Technical Guidelines outline the environmental hazards of used and waste pneumatic tyres and specify environmentally sound treatment and disposal methods. The Technical Guidelines establish a global benchmark for national operations to meet or exceed the Basel Convention’s environmental standards. In response to heightened international attention on polymer materials such as waste plastics, the COPs15 under the Basel Convention in 2022 initiated revisions to the Technical Guidelines. Parties were invited to nominate representatives to form an inter-sessional working group, comprising 43 members from 24 Parties and 18 representatives from non-Party states and observer organizations. Ms. Zhao Nana, Assistant Director of BCRC China and Mr. Zheng Yang, Director of the Hazardous Waste Division at China’s Solid Waste and Chemicals Management, participated in the working group as representatives of the Chinese government.