Waigani Convention

The Waigani Convention is a regional agreement under the 1989 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. It applies the strict controls of the Basel Convention to the South Pacific area and ensures that hazardous waste cannot travel from New Zealand or Australia to another Pacific country, or to Antarctica.

Like the Basel Convention, it aims to both reduce the amount of waste produced by signatories and regulates the international traffic in hazardous.

New Zealand ratified this convention on 30 November 2000.

Importing hazardous waste into New Zealand

New Zealand has implemented the Basel and Waigani Conventions in a number of ways.

One of the main ways is through the Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Prohibition Order (No 2) 2004. This Order requires permits from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to import waste in line with these agreements.

Find out if you need to apply for a permit on the EPA website.

For advice on the classification of waste materials and the application process contact the Hazardous Substances team by email: importexport@epa.govt.nz.

• Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Prohibition Order (No 2) 2004
• Waigani Convention website
• Information on exporting and importing hazardous waste
• Basel Convention