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Towards a Just Circular Economy Transition: the Case of European Plastic Waste Trade to Vietnam for Recycling
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Researchers examined how half of Europe's collected plastic waste is shipped to countries like Vietnam for recycling without adequate oversight, arguing that this practice shifts environmental and health burdens to lower-income nations and calling for a justice-focused global framework to govern plastic waste trade.
Abstract Exporting waste for recycling to destinations without sound recycling capacity raises questions of fairness and sustainability. Due to insufficient recycling infrastructure in Europe to manage the growing generation of plastic waste, there has been an increase in waste trade for recycling in a complex global value chain, with the stated goal of achieving sound resource recovery. However, such trade poses increasing governance and sustainability challenges. The EU has implemented policies and systems for plastic waste management, including separate collection to prevent potential harm and promote resource reuse. Nevertheless, waste handling is often outsourced without transparency to countries with cheaper operating and labour costs, which can cause harm to individuals, societies, and the environment. Fifty per cent of the collected European plastic waste for recycling is shipped for recycling outside the EU without accountability. This Vietnamese case study of the EU plastic waste exports for recycling aims to increase our understanding of waste governance and its circularity, sustainability and justice implications. We adopt a multidisciplinary perspective to understand the challenges of the EU’s plastic waste export practices for the broader socio-ecological system. We propose a multidisciplinary framework as an ecocentric ethical guide for just and circular future waste shipment practices with strong consideration for the social and ecological dimensions. We hope that this research and its outcomes can provide insights for forthcoming policies, such as the United Nations treaty on plastic waste pollution.
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From Waste Colonialism to Environmental Justice: Lessons from Indonesia’s Plastic Pollution Crisis
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Researchers analyzed Indonesia's plastic pollution crisis through an environmental justice lens, finding that waste imports from the Global North exacerbate coastal contamination in Java and Bali, and arguing that community-led circular economy models and transnational accountability mechanisms are needed over purely technocratic solutions.
The Evolutionary Trend and Impact of Global Plastic Waste Trade Network
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Analysis of the global plastic waste trade network from 1988 to 2017 found that recent national import bans have reshaped trade flows, with waste being redirected from China to other developing nations rather than reducing overall plastic waste generation.
Global Plastic Waste Trade: An Analysis of Sources and Trends (1996-2024)
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The global trade in plastic waste — where wealthy nations ship plastic scraps to poorer ones for processing — has shaped recycling systems worldwide, but its sustainability is deeply contested. This bibliometric review of 257 academic papers (1996–2024) maps the research landscape, finding that China's 2018 ban on importing foreign plastic waste was a dominant topic, and that the trade raises serious concerns about environmental harm and economic inequality in recipient countries. The study underscores that international plastic waste flows are not a straightforward solution to the plastic crisis and require much closer scrutiny.
Waste Sovereignty and Plastic Colonialism: Environmental Power and Populism in the Global Political Economy of Waste
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Wealthy countries often ship their plastic trash to poorer nations that don't have the infrastructure to safely process it, meaning that waste frequently ends up burned or dumped instead of recycled. This matters for your health because poorly managed plastic waste breaks down into microplastics and toxic chemicals that can contaminate local water, food, and air — pollution that wealthier countries have essentially outsourced rather than eliminated. This paper is a theoretical analysis (not new lab data) proposing a framework for understanding this unequal waste trade and how affected communities are pushing back through bans and stricter regulations.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.