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The consequences of trade on global plastic pollution
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By combining plastic waste generation data with global trade commodity data, researchers found that plastic waste exported from high-income countries and mismanaged in lower-income nations contributes 1.2 million metric tons of additional plastic to aquatic environments annually, increasing prior estimates of high-income country contributions by 51% for freshwater and 100% for marine environments. The findings reveal that international waste trade is a major underestimated driver of global plastic and microplastic pollution.
Abstract Plastic has become an omnipresent material that negatively affects ecosystems. Many high-income nations export plastic waste to alleviate local burdens, however importing countries have less advanced plastic treatment and management infrastructures. Here, we evaluate the influence of trade on global plastic leakage to the aquatic environment by combining spatial plastic waste generation with global plastic waste trade commodity data. Plastic waste traded from high-income and mismanaged in low- and middle-income countries results in 1.2 Mt of additional plastic debris accumulating in aquatic environments, increasing previous estimates of plastic pollution from high-income countries to freshwater environments by 51% and marine environments by 100%. Improving international cooperation is essential to stop this until now underestimated but crucial source of plastic waste polluting ecosystems worldwide.
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