East Java, Indonesia. Foreign plastic waste was found in a dump outside of Wirobiting Village in August 2023. The waste comes from paper mills that import paper waste, which often far exceeds the 2% contamination limit of other materials. Paper mills sometimes sell the contaminated portion of the paper waste to those who hope to collect some high value materials like metal, despite the Indonesian government forbidding this practice (in favor of incineration by the plant). This portion will also include low- or no-value plastic, which will often end up in a dump as seen here. (Photo Credit: Ecoton)

The EU continues to flood Asia and Turkey with plastic waste

European countries promoting the “circular economy of plastics” are the largest plastic waste exporters, proving it to be a cynical concept as they seek to avoid paying the cost of managing their own plastic waste. EU countries, which are shutting down domestic plastic recycling operations due to high energy costs and weak demand for recycled plastics, are significantly increasing plastic waste exports to non-OECD Asian countries and Turkey, according to our latest data.

Japan continues dumping on its Asian neighbors. Japan exported 47.3 million kg/month in July 2023 to non-OECD countries. This is equal to 296 shipping containers of plastic waste per day.

Australia increases plastic waste exports to Asia. Australia exported 5.5 million kg/month in May 2023 to non-OECD countries.

The EU continues to increase plastic waste exports to Asia. Total EU exports to non-OECD countries rose to 57.7 million kg/month in June 2023 from 28 million kg/month in May 2022. Exports to non-OECD countries:

• Germany: 14.3 million kg/month (June 2023)
• Netherlands: 16.7 million kg/month (May 2023)
• Spain: 8.6 million kg/month (June 2023)
• Belgium: 6.6 million kg/month (June 2023)
• Italy: 5.8 million kg/month (May 2023)

The EU also continues to flood Turkey with plastic waste. EU countries exported 35 million kg/month in June 2023 to Turkey. This is equal to 219 trucks of plastic waste per day.

Check here for these annual summaries and the latest monthly data.  

Check here for annual summaries and the latest monthly data. 

“There are different sorts of onramps to the highway to solutions. But I think everybody recognizes that the status quo is just not an option… We have to recycle as much as we can. But as we look at it now, plastic use is increasing, so what is clear is that we cannot recycle our way out of this mess.”

-- Inger Anderson, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in an interview with AFP, speaking about the global plastics crisis and the treaty being negotiated to address it, for which a starter (zero) draft was recently released.

The Nordic Council, of which many member countries are founding members of the so-called “High Ambition Coalition” to negotiate a global plastics treaty, commissioned a recently published report by Systemiq, a consulting group that has advised the fossil fuel and plastics industries. Systemiq also recently co-wrote a report with UNEP, highly criticized for its co-option of the concept of "turning off the tap" as meaning "more recycling and incineration rather than avoiding plastic production and especially promoting incineration of plastic waste in cement kilns as a key strategy. The report further excluded many scientists’ input on the draft due to an administrative snafu. Experts warn that these repeat publications pointing to downstream management rather than upstream solutions can begin to create a feedback loop where they legitimize each other. (Graphic Source: #BreakFreeFromPlastic)

Ban EU Plastic Waste Exports: #BreakFreeFromPlastic petition – by #BreakFreeFromPlastic

Sign this petition to tell EU governments to support the plastic waste export ban.

Zero draft for global plastics treaty released

The UN Environment Programme and the chair of the INC released a starter  "zero" draft to kick start drafting of the new Plastics Treaty to be taken up at the INC-3 meeting in November in Nairobi, Kenya. The draft lays out several potential options and will serve as the basis for discussions. The options range from very promising to highly problematic. They include mandated progressive reductions in plastic production, transparency of the chemical composition of all plastics and plastic products including additives, and the elimination of short-lived and avoidable plastics on the positive side, to the promotion of national non-binding plans, or plans focused on waste management after it has already been produced and released into the environment.  In the section on transboundary movements of plastic, the zero draft similarly keeps avenues open for discussion, and much relies on the definitions of terms, particularly that of “plastic waste.” The draft may expand prior informed consent (PIC) controls to that which Basel currently defines as “non-hazardous” (B3011) if the definition of “plastic waste” follows that of the Basel Convention. However, the draft omits certain important requirements of the Basel Convention, such as PIC also being required for transit countries. Of paramount importance going forward is that the new treaty complements and strengthens what has already been built in the Basel Convention, rather than duplicating or contradicting it.



New Zealand falls short of a plastic waste export ban

Following a petition to end plastic waste exports to developing countries, New Zealand’s Environment Committee recommended improving the monitoring of plastic waste exports, not supporting the call to end the trade outright. The petition focused on the country’s exports to Malaysia and cited the mismanagement of waste, including illegal dumps and burning within communities, and the leaching of microplastics into waterways even when the waste is processed in state-of-the-art facilities. The committee’s response was influenced by PlasticsNZ, an industry group, which told the committee there was not enough capacity in the country to handle the waste, and without export it would end up in a landfill. Further, the group expressed that the exports helped keep these foreign recycling operations economically viable and cited a "just transition" for those in the informal waste sector as a reason to continue the export of waste. In conclusion, the committee recommended that the Government set a deadline for the phase-out of unlicensed plastic waste exports except to Australia, increase monitoring of exports to ensure Basel Convention compliance, consider regulations to strengthen the licensing and monitoring of waste exports, and increase investment in plastic reprocessing in New Zealand and Australia.

Uganda abruptly bans import of secondhand clothes

Uganda has announced a total ban on the import of secondhand clothes. The ban, which took effect September 1, is meant to promote domestic manufacture of textiles, which the president says cannot maintain their viability due to the oversupply from secondhand markets. Though not cited as a reason, these imports also are a hidden pathway for plastic waste, as today's clothing is 60% synthetic plastic, a ban would significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the country. A recent report by Changing Markets Foundation on secondhand clothing markets in Kenya found that 20-50% of imported clothes were deemed unsellable by traders, and were dumped or burned in the receiving country. Uganda has attempted this ban twice before in 2016 and 2020. 

RDF export ban needed to support ETS, says ESA

The Environmental Services Association (ESA), an industry group representing the UK’s resource and waste management industry, is recommending a ban on refused-derived fuel (RDF) exports following the news that Energy from Waste (EfW) will be included in the government’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). This inclusion will extend carbon pricing to all waste incineration and EfW technologies by 2028, which may cost the sector up to £800 million a year. In lieu of this, the ESA wants to ensure no “perverse outcomes” from this added cost, including landfilling and export of waste as less costly options. In a recent report, they recommend a phased approach, including a ban on RDF exports, effective regulation and enforcement of waste crime, and alignment of landfill taxes so that carbon pricing does not undermine the waste hierarchy. The RDF Industry Group has responded to these proposals, calling them “protectionist” and advocating for free allowances and carbon border adjustments instead of a ban.

Biden has totally failed to curb plastics pollution; I have a plan to fix it – by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

--  Zero Waste To Zero Emissions: How Reducing Waste is a Climate Gamechanger – Report by Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives

--  Reducing Plastic Production to Achieve Climate Goals: Key Considerations for the Plastics Treaty Negotiations – Report by Center for International Environmental Law

--  Disposable paper-based food packaging: the false solution to the packaging waste crisis – Report by Profundo

--  A Zero Waste Vision for Fashion - Chapter 1: All We Need Is Less – Report by Zero Waste Europe

--  Third Session (INC-3): Pre-session submissions – Submissions compiled by INC Secretariat 

-- Reducing single-use cutlery with green nudges: Evidence from China’s food-delivery industry – Report by Guojun He, Yuhang Pan, Albert Park, Yasuyuki Sawada, and Elaine S. Tan 

--  Analysis of ortho-phthalates and other plasticizers in select organic and conventional foods in the United States – Report by Roopa Krithivasan, Gillian Zaharias Miller, Michael Belliveau, Jeff Gearhart, Vimalkumar Krishnamoorthi, Sunmi Lee, and Kurunthachalam Kannan