"Good Intentions" -- Single-use plastic packaging used to wrap United Nations plastic-free reusable water bottles delivered to the International Negotiating Committee meeting. (photo credit: Basel Action Network, 2024).

EU, UK, and Japan Increase Flood of Plastic Waste to Asia and Turkey

Key Messages: The EU’s ban on plastic waste exports cannot wait until mid-2026, it must be implemented now as countries like Germany are flooding Malaysia with plastic waste. OECD countries promoting the “circular economy of plastics” myth are the largest plastic waste exporters, proving it to be a false concept as they cannot manage their plastic waste.

EU Plastic Waste Exports to Asia Increased 17% from February 2023 to February 2024. Total EU exports to non-OECD countries rose to 71 million kg/month in February 2024 from 61 million kg/month in February. Latest EU country exports to non-OECD countries:

• Germany: 18.9 million kg/month (March 2024)
• Spain: 18 million kg/month including 4.2 million kg/month to Egypt (February 2024)
• Netherlands: 17.0 million kg/month (February 2024)
• Belgium: 7.3 million kg/month (February 2024)
• Italy: 7.1 million kg/month (January 2024)

Monthly UK Plastic Waste Exports to Turkey Increased 82% from 2023.

• To Turkey: UK exported 21.6 million kg/month in March 2024 up from 11.9 million kg/month in March 2023. 
• To Non-OECD Countries: UK exported 4.6 million kg/month in March 2024.



Japan Continues to Flood Asia with Plastic Waste

• Japan exported 64.2 million kg/month in March 2024 to non-OECD countries. This is equal to 402 shipping containers of plastic waste per day.

Check here for these annual summaries and the latest monthly data. Full-year data for 2023 is beginning to be published by government agencies.

Check here for annual summaries and the latest monthly data. Full 2023-year data is expected to be published by government agencies by March 2024.

“The new regulation on waste shipments will ensure that when the EU exports waste, this waste arrives at destinations where it can be managed sustainably and support a clean and circular economy. The new regulation is an important part of the green transition in which waste will more and more be turned into valuable resources. It will make shipments smoother, easier and digital, facilitating the growth of the recycling industry and reducing pollution from bad management and illegal trafficking of waste.”

-- Virginijus Sinkevičius, EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, on the revised EU Regulation on waste shipments, which entered into force on May 20, 2024. The Regulation includes a ban on all plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries that will go into effect after 2.5 years (likely near the end of 2026) and all plastic waste shipments to OECD countries outside the EU will be subject to the prior-informed-consent notification procedure.

Graphic Source: #BreakFreeFromPlastic

Duel – by #BreakFreeFromPlastic

BAN warns of an increase in illegal e-waste exports

Following the news of three raids by Malaysian authorities in March, Basel Action Network (BAN) has raised the alarm over what appears to be another wave of illegal trafficking of e-waste, which contains difficult-to-recycle plastics, that is now finding its way to Malaysia. Investigations reveal e-waste shipments primarily departing from the Port of Los Angeles. In March, three raids in Malaysia uncovered clandestine e-waste operations with workers, including underage and illegal immigrants, found in dire conditions. BAN emphasizes Malaysia's increasing attractiveness as a destination for e-waste due to stricter regulations elsewhere, echoing the "whack-a-mole" pattern seen after crackdowns in China and Hong Kong. Following their warning in March, Malaysian authorities have found 29 imported containers filled with e-waste, scrap metal, and plastic waste, which will be ordered to be returned to their countries of origin, and another government raid led to the arrests of 33 foreign nationals working illegally in an e-waste factory with evidence of human trafficking. The Global e-Waste Monitor 2024 underscores the severity of the e-waste crisis, with 62 million metric tonnes generated globally in 2022, of which 17 million tonnes are plastics.

Australia weakens its plastic waste export “ban”

As part of the new federal budget, the Australian government has dropped a levy on waste exporters that was due to be implemented in July. The Environment Minister announced the removal of the $4 per tonne levy, after listening to industry pressure, who argued that it would be a tax on the recycling industry and lead to higher prices for consumers and local governments, in addition to sending more waste to landfills. However, this rests on the assumption that all exported waste is recycled and that plastic recycling has no effect on the environment. In reality, the vast majority of plastic has never been recycled, and the countries that receive the most imported plastic have the highest rates of waste mismanagement. Additionally, imported waste displaces domestic capacity for recycling in the receiving country. In a study of a UK plastic recycling facility, researchers found the equivalent of 3 million pounds of microplastics in a year in the facility’s wastewater even after filtering, representing between 6-13% of the weight of the incoming waste. By removing this levy, the government has re-incentivized the problematic practice of plastic waste export to countries that cannot handle this waste, instead of internalizing the cost of these unsustainable materials on its shores

European Waste Shipment Regulation enters force

The revised EU Waste Shipment Regulation has entered into force as of May 20, 2024, following its final endorsement by the European Council in March. The regulation will update EU procedures and control measures for waste shipments and greatly limit the movement of plastic waste outside and within the EU. All plastic waste exports from the EU to non-OECD countries will be banned on November 21, 2026, which will now include even those plastics in the non-hazardous B3011 category under the Basel Convention. Beginning in May 2027, it will allow one narrow exception for non-OECD countries that can meet stringent waste management standards, though that is unlikely to be possible for most of these countries. For OECD countries, all exports of plastic waste will be subject to the prior-informed consent procedures, and non-recyclable contamination beyond 2% of the total load for those shipments is not permitted. Within the EU, the shipping of waste for disposal will only be allowed exceptionally. Meanwhile, exports of plastic waste from the EU increased by 26% from 2023 from 2022 to 1.32 billion kg, with over 57% of shipments going to non-OECD countries.

Numerous fires at plastic facilities in India

Several fires have broken in the past month in recycling plants and storage facilities that deal with plastic waste in India. These fires, often caused by negligence, damage nearby buildings, and emit plumes of toxic and carcinogenic gases into the surrounding areas. In New Delhi, a massive fire broke out on three floors of a plastic factory that went on for twelve hours before being contained. Another fire ravaged a factory in Bhopal housing several tons of plastic scrap, which also proved difficult to control because of the flammability of the material. In Mumbai, a fire broke out in a scrapyard containing plastic waste, in an area of three-quarters of a square mile.

Plastic Pollution is a Crime Against People and the Planet – by Erica Cirino

Contamination Levels

The Basel Convention's 2019 Plastic Waste Amendments utilize the term "almost free from contamination" as one criterion for whether the plastic waste shipment will be uncontrolled. This term has not been given an international quantitative value, leaving the Parties to define it on a national basis. Enclosed are the known levels adopted by certain countries to date. If readers know of other country interpretations, please let us know.

-- End Waste Colonialism, Governing Plastic Pollution: Japan’s Opportunity to Lead Asia out of the Plastic Crisis – Report by C4 Center

-- Plastic waste management in recycling facilities: Intentionally generated MPs as an emerging contaminant – Report by Emine Büşra Çolakoğlu, İbrahim Uyanık

-- A Zero Waste Vision for Textiles – Chapter 2: Circular and toxic-free material flows – Report by Zero Waste Europe

-- New Regulation on shipments of waste – Presentation by the European Commission during the expert group meeting, May 13, 2024