Boris Johnson's government has been criticised by the Basel Action Network (BAN) for adopting a 'far weaker control procedure' over plastic waste exports following Brexit. From 1 January, an EU ban came into force prohibiting the export of unsorted and contaminated waste (known as Y48) to non-OECD (developing) nations. Under the provisions, clean, recyclable plastic waste exports to developing countries are still permitted. But Britain, which is the second largest producer of plastic waste in the world after the US, according to a 2020 study published in Science Advances, will keep exporting plastic waste under a new system of 'prior informed consent', where the importer must agree to accept the waste, but can also reject it. BAN said it was 'shocked' the UK adopted a 'far weaker control procedure'. According to the watchdog, as Europe's largest plastic waste producer, the UK exported 6,896 metric tonnes of plastic waste to South East Asia in September 2020 alone.
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