Bruna Alves
Research lead covering environment and sustainability
Waste trade worldwide - statistics & facts
Every year, thousands of shipping containers filled with recyclable waste are exported around the globe. While an exporting country’s scrap can be a valuable source material for importers, many consider this a new form of colonialism. Due to a lack of control and regulations, exported waste often ends up in low-income countries lacking the infrastructure to safely manage the materials received. But how does the situation vary for different materials and how much can waste trade foster a circular economy?
With many developing countries now restricting waste imports, the largest waste trade flows have become intraregional, with Canada and Mexico accounting for more than half of U.S. plastic waste exports and Turkey ranking as the main destination for EU waste exports. In 2023, the European Union agreed to ban plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries by 2026.
New regulations regarding plastic shipments under the Basel Convention came into effect in 2021, although their enforcement still needs significant improvement.
Between reforms to the Basel Convention and updates in the Harmonized System, the world has made stride towards better regulating waste trade and reducing the amount of waste ending up in landfills and leaking to the environment. However, only when regulations are properly enforced will the trade of waste across the globe truly contribute to a circular economy.
Plastic waste: a tale of bans and illegal shipments
Exports of plastic waste worldwide have been on a downward spiral for roughly a decade. In recent years, less than five million metric tons were exported annually, down from more than 15 million tons in 2010. This reduction is in large part related to China’s “National Sword” policy. For years the main destination for the world’s waste exports, China began restricting the import of certain waste materials in 2017, coming to a full ban on most plastics a year later. Following China’s suit, many countries, such as Malaysia, have since also severely restricted waste imports, sending back thousands of ships full of illegal contaminated material that cannot be recycled back to their country of origin.With many developing countries now restricting waste imports, the largest waste trade flows have become intraregional, with Canada and Mexico accounting for more than half of U.S. plastic waste exports and Turkey ranking as the main destination for EU waste exports. In 2023, the European Union agreed to ban plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries by 2026.
New regulations regarding plastic shipments under the Basel Convention came into effect in 2021, although their enforcement still needs significant improvement.
Metal waste trade
Unlike plastics, metals maintain most of their properties through the recycling process, and therefore can be recycled into high quality new materials. In 2023, exports of ferrous scrap and waste amounted to some 45 billion U.S. dollars, while exports of copper scrap neared 30 billion dollars. The U.S. was by far the leading exporter of scraps of both these metals, while Turkey and China were the main destinations for iron and copper scrap, respectively. The global supply of new raw materials is usually the main factor dictating the demand for scrap metal trade, with exports typically rising when global production is low.Electronic waste trade
Electronic waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams and is also a valuable source of metals for reuse. In 2019, electronic waste exports worldwide were estimated at more than five million tons. Asia was the main exporter and importer of e-waste that year. Nevertheless, e-waste trade is mainly conducted in an uncontrolled manner. Due to limited and unharmonized global data, properly estimating and tracking electronic waste trade has been a challenge for years. New codes added in an update of the Harmonized System in 2022 are one step toward the better monitoring of e-waste flow around the globe.Between reforms to the Basel Convention and updates in the Harmonized System, the world has made stride towards better regulating waste trade and reducing the amount of waste ending up in landfills and leaking to the environment. However, only when regulations are properly enforced will the trade of waste across the globe truly contribute to a circular economy.
