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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Postmaterialism and Environmental Protection Revisited: Domestic Plastic Bag Regulations, 1992–2019
ClearDeveloping Countries in the Lead—What Drives the Diffusion of Plastic Bag Policies?
Researchers analysed the diffusion patterns of plastic bag bans and taxes across both developed and developing nations, finding that developing countries have predominantly adopted outright bans — more stringent legislation than the taxes favoured in the Global North. In the Global South, visible national pollution pressure drove policy adoption, while global public pressure was the key driver in high-income countries.
The paradox of plastic bag legislation: How bans and taxes affect PM2.5 air pollution in 208 countries
Researchers analyzed plastic bag regulations in 208 countries and found that outright bans generally reduce fine particle (PM2.5) air pollution, while plastic bag taxes unexpectedly increase it — likely because alternative bags require more energy-intensive production. The findings reveal that poorly designed plastic policies can create unintended environmental trade-offs.
Global Plastic Waste Trade: An Analysis of Sources and Trends (1996-2024)
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.
The Evolutionary Trend and Impact of Global Plastic Waste Trade Network
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.
Understanding the socioeconomic determinants of marine plastic pollution: Evaluating policy effectiveness and mitigation strategies in the Global South.
Researchers synthesized qualitative and quantitative evidence on marine plastic pollution in the Global South, identifying rapid urbanization, inadequate waste infrastructure, and weak governance as primary drivers, and recommending integrated strategies combining single-use plastic bans, extended producer responsibility, regional cooperation, and circular economy incentives.
Country-level plastic bag legislation against plastic waste and select Human Development Indices
This dataset cataloged single-use plastic bag legislation in 190 countries, categorizing bans, taxes, and other regulatory approaches, and linked them to plastic waste generation and human development indicators. Plastic bag bans and taxes directly reduce a major source of plastic debris that fragments into environmental microplastics.
Political Economy of Import Waste Regulations in East Java: Implications of Indonesia's Role as Waste Importer Country
This political economy study examines how Indonesia has become a major importer of plastic waste following China's 2018 ban on waste imports (the 'National Sword' policy). The resulting surge in plastic waste imports into countries like Indonesia raises concerns about inadequate processing and increased plastic pollution in these receiving countries.
Relationship between Globalization and Environmental Degradation in Low Income Countries: An Application of Kuznet Curve
This study examined how globalization and economic growth relate to environmental degradation in low-income countries, testing whether a Kuznets curve pattern (pollution rising then falling with income) exists. The results have implications for understanding how plastic consumption and waste generation change with development.
Traded Plastic, Traded Impacts? Designing Counterfactual Scenarios to Assess Environmental Impacts of Global Plastic Waste Trade
This study used life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impact of global plastic waste trade in 2022 across 18 countries. The research found that trading plastic waste internationally resulted in lower overall environmental impacts compared to countries processing all their waste domestically, partly because importing countries have higher recycling rates. However, the benefits depend heavily on actual recycling rates, and the trade can shift pollution burdens to lower-income countries.
Circular Economy and the Changing Geography of International Trade in Plastic Waste
This study analyzed over two decades of international trade data in plastic waste, finding increasingly complex transboundary flows as circular economy policies tightened, with China's 2018 import ban dramatically reshaping global plastic waste trade routes and highlighting ongoing challenges in achieving sustainable plastic material cycles.
Plastic pollution induced by the COVID-19: Environmental challenges and outlook
Researchers used bibliometric analysis to map research on plastic pollution generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that wealthier nations led early inquiry while developing countries followed, and revealing that pandemic-related plastics — from masks to medical waste — are creating cascading contamination from land to ocean to atmosphere.
Household-Level Strategies to Tackle Plastic Waste Pollution in a Transitional Country
Researchers surveyed 730 Vietnamese households on plastic waste management strategies, finding that waste sorting, environmental fund contributions, and willingness to relocate from polluted areas varied based on socioeconomic factors and environmental awareness.
Will you take my (s)crap? Waste havens in the global plastic waste trade
This economic study analyzed global plastic waste trade flows following China's 2018 import ban, finding that plastic waste shifted to new destination countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere. The global movement of plastic waste affects where it is processed and how much ends up in environments as microplastics.
Correlation Analysis and Countermeasure Research of Mismanaged Plastic Waste
This study used statistical modeling to analyze the factors driving mismanaged plastic waste globally, finding that high-income countries and regions with high international tourist flows contribute disproportionately to plastic waste that pollutes marine environments. The authors recommend economic incentives and stronger responsibility frameworks for these higher-income contexts.
A great many Rs
This chapter reviewed plastic waste management approaches through the lens of the traditional waste hierarchy (reduce, reuse, recycle), discussing how geographic inequalities in waste management capacity create linked environmental impacts across countries. The relative sustainability of different measures was evaluated alongside recognition that plastic pollution patterns in one region are often driven by consumption and disposal elsewhere.
Impact of microplastics on economic condition in underdeveloped nations
This review examines how microplastic pollution generated primarily by high-income countries disproportionately affects underdeveloped nations in Africa and Southeast Asia due to inadequate waste management infrastructure and limited recycling capacity. Using global socio-economic models projecting mismanaged plastic waste to 2050, the authors show that corruption and lack of education exacerbate plastic pollution, threatening food security, ecological stability, and economic development in vulnerable regions.
Human Population Density is a Poor Predictor of Debris in the Environment
Researchers assessed factors driving plastic leakage to the environment using empirical data from seven countries and found that human population density alone is a poor predictor of debris levels. The study suggests that other factors, including waste management infrastructure and local land use, are more important drivers of environmental plastic pollution than population density estimates commonly used in global models.
The consequences of trade on global plastic pollution
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.
Confronting the material and structural leakiness of plastics: insights from multi-sited ethnography in India, Indonesia and the Philippines
Researchers used multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines to challenge OECD frameworks that attribute plastic pollution primarily to mismanaged waste in low- and middle-income countries, arguing that upstream petrochemical production in the Global North is a structurally obscured driver of plastic leakage.
A Critical Analysis of the Rising Global Demand of Plastics and its Adverse Impact on Environmental Sustainability
This critical review examined global trends in plastic demand and mismanaged plastic waste, identifying the top contributing countries and evaluating plastic replacement alternatives, arguing that reducing consumption and improving waste management infrastructure are more impactful than material substitution alone.
Waste Management in the Global South: an Inquiry on the Patterns of Plastic and Waste Material Flows in Colombo, Sri Lanka
This dissertation analyzed plastic and waste material flows in Colombo, Sri Lanka, examining the social dynamics, governance structures, and ecological impacts of waste management in a developing city context. The research highlights how plastic waste management challenges in the Global South are deeply intertwined with urbanization, inequality, and colonial legacies.
Evaluating the Parameters Influencing Plastic Recycling
Researchers examined factors influencing plastic recycling rates — including GDP, education, pricing, and cultural attitudes — finding price to be the predominant factor, with a linear regression model confirming the relationship between cost and recycling behavior.
Towards a Just Circular Economy Transition: the Case of European Plastic Waste Trade to Vietnam for Recycling
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.
A Regional Difference Analysis of Microplastic Pollution in Global Freshwater Bodies Based on a Regression Model
Analysis of microplastic data from 37 freshwater locations worldwide found pollution is highest in Asia, that developing countries have more contamination than developed ones, and that urban areas exceed rural areas. Population density and GDP both correlated with microplastic concentrations, confirming human activity as the primary driver.