Waste Trade: Asia Pacific

This communications pack is designed to mobilize research institutions, NGOs, and media personnel to gather evidence to strengthen the implementation of the revised EU Waste Shipment Regulations.

This policy brief critically examines how continued plastic waste trade under the guise of recycling, is a symptom of plastic over-production, and how the Global Plastic Treaty can fix it.

Top exporters such as the United States, Germany, the UK, Japan and Australia are placing a disproportionate toxic burden on the environment and communities in importing countries. A Global Plastics Treaty can enact stricter measures on the waste trade to prevent environmental injustices.

This report examines the governance of the plastic waste trade by considering the case study of Japan as an exporting country and Malaysia as an importing country. It discusses trade and pollution through the lens of waste colonialism, raising questions about the transparency, traceability, and accountability of governance frameworks.

A report on youth activist, Aeshnina Azzahra Aqilani's action at the fifth intergovernmental negotiations for the Global Plastics Treaty, in Busan, South Korea. Through her inspired action, she calls for a global reduction in plastic production and a ban on toxic chemicals in plastic manufacturing.

Nina's Journey at INC4 - Aeshnina Azzahra Aqilani, or Nina, was invited by the UN Environment Programme to attend the Global Plastics Treaty talks in Ottawa, Canada, from April 23-29, 2024. Representing Indonesia among 170 countries, and as a global youth ambassador, Nina actively participated in discussions, workshops, and rallies, sharing her insights on the plastic waste crisis and proposing innovative solutions. Here's a report on her incredible advocacy efforts at the INC-4.

In the wake of UNEA 5.2, as global leaders work towards an international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution, the issue of plastic waste trade is largely ignored. This briefing paper tackles the elephant in the room, with a focus on issues in Asia Pacific, to make a case for issuing stringent controls to protect weaker economies from plastic waste trade from developing countries.