The buildup of global waste throughout the years is not an enjoyable subject to dwell on. However, given how certain countries and communities around the world bear more of the burden of plastic pollution than others, it is necessary to consider how current global waste production and waste management practices exacerbate inequalities.
In focusing specifically on the horrors of waste exporting, this piece will argue that, despite recent efforts to curb waste exporting abroad, this does not change the fact that countries have found ways around these new laws, or that the practice has worsened -- and will keep worsening as long as it continues -- global inequalities. Not only this, but the practice of waste exporting shows a lack of leadership on the part of the Global North to lead the efforts on climate action.
Export waste is the practice that occurs when countries transport their waste that they deem recyclable abroad, and it is typically transported from developed countries to developing countries. Given that in 2021, plastic production had skyrocketed to a total of 10 billion tons, and that, between 1988 and 2021, around 250,000 million tons of said plastic waste was transported abroad, it is clear that the Global North has taken full advantage of the practice of exporting waste.
However, it is a dangerous practice and outright exploitative of the Global South, considering that the countries that waste has been sent to over the years do not have the tools to safely dispose of it. For instance, data from Plastic Pollution Coalition demonstrates that, in 2018, the United States shipped over one million tons of plastic abroad, and 78% of this waste was shipped to countries that lacked safe waste management regulations.
Not only does export waste display a lack of accountability on the countries participating in the practice of managing their own waste production, but there are also many harmful effects that accompany waste mismanagement. Because of this, waste exporting further exemplifies a lack of care on the part of countries participating in the practice for the health and well-being of both the environment and people’s physical health. To put this into perspective, a lot of foreign plastic sent to Vietnam is processed on the informal scale, which requires many resources and leads to both air and water pollution. Additionally, in North Sumengko in Indonesia, farming used to be widespread, though today, the land in this area has been adversely transformed by plastic waste exports.
Overall, a 2021 report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) records that the global waste trade harms both environmental health and water quality, triggers air pollution, and contributes to both biodiversity loss and to climate change. As for additional direct harm done to communities, the global waste trade can heighten the impacts brought on by natural disasters and can lead to toxic chemicals being unleashed into communities. It is vital that countries responsible for exporting waste are held accountable for burdening communities with their trash, because grave environmental and health problems have been literally and metaphorically “dumped” on communities, and they should not have to provide their own environmentally sound solutions to dealing with said waste.