Monitoring trade in plastic waste and scrap
Trade in plastic waste and scrap plays a potentially important role in helping to
strengthen markets for recycled plastics as it can help to achieve economic efficiency
through for instance economies of scale. But such trade has also been criticised for
leading to plastic pollution when recipient countries lack capacity to treat such
waste in an environmentally sound manner. This report aims to identify and assess
trends in trade patterns of plastic waste and scrap in the context of recent policy
developments, particularly the strengthening of controls applied in the context of
the Basel Convention, which came into force at the beginning of 2021. One of the findings
is that OECD Member Countries continue to make up a significant share of global trade
in plastic scrap and waste (89% of global reported exports and 67% of global reported
imports by weight), but that the trade surplus has continued to shrink, as well as
the overall volume of trade.
Available from April 20, 2022
In series:OECD Environment Working Papersview more titles