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Plastic Waste Trade Watch
May 2025
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Plastic Waste Trade Watch is a monthly review of information on the international trade in plastic waste. It is produced by Basel Action Network's (BAN) Plastic Waste Transparency Project, which undertakes campaigns, networking, research, and statistical analysis of the trade in plastic waste. The project also maintains the Plastic Waste Transparency Hub on the BAN website, which serves as an overall clearinghouse for news, data, campaigns, and resources.
To join or sign up new members to the Plastic Waste Trade Watch, click here.
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EU, UK, and Japan are flooding Asia and Türkiye with high levels of plastic waste
Key messages: February/March 2025 brought a flood of plastic waste to Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Türkiye. Many of the major exporters of plastic waste have aligned themselves with the “High Ambition Coalition” (HAC), which claims to seek a strong treaty on plastic waste prevention. However, instead of responsibly managing their own waste domestically, many of these same HAC countries are sending massive volumes to developing nations, Türkiye, or Mexico where it is only partially recycled, with residues commonly dumped or burned. We continue to call on the HAC countries to live up to their high ambitions and cease exporting their plastic waste. HAC countries are noted below.
Monthly UK (HAC) plastic waste exports to Türkiye and non-OECD countries remain high with a big increase to Indonesia
- To Türkiye: UK exported 12.9 million kg/month in March 2025.
- To non-OECD countries: UK exported 11.8 million kg/month March 2025.
- To Indonesia: UK exported 5 million kg/month of plastic waste, including 3.2 million kg “other” plastic waste in February 2025. The “other” customs code (HS 39159080) is used for mixtures of plastic waste. This type of plastic waste is not recyclable and is often relegated to being burned in cement kilns or incinerated. We call on UK authorities to investigate the shipments of “other” plastic wastes to Indonesia and other countries.
EU plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries have doubled from 2021 (39.6 million kg/month) to February 2025 (80 million kg/month). Latest EU country exports to non-OECD countries:
- Germany (HAC): 22 million kg/month (February 2025)
- Spain (HAC): 15 million kg/month (February 2025)
- Netherlands (HAC): 11 million kg/month (December 2024)
- Belgium (HAC): 7.6 million kg/month (January 2025)
- Italy (HAC): 3.1 million kg/month (December 2024)
EU plastic waste exports to Türkiye skyrocketed in February (39 million kg/month). Latest EU country exports to Türkiye:
- Germany (HAC): 12 million kg/month (February 2025)
- Spain (HAC): 4 million kg/month (January 2025)
- Netherlands (HAC): 2.6 million kg/month (December 2024)
- Italy (HAC): 4 million kg/month (December 2024)
California exported 2.4 million kg of plastic waste exports to Mexico in March 2025 (15 truckloads/day). Analysis of CalRecycle state data by Basel Action Network proved that the California plastic waste exports have about 50% contamination with unrecyclable plastic trash.
Japan increases its flood of plastic waste to Asia
- Japan (HAC) exported 40 million kg/month in March 2025 to non-OECD countries. This is equal to 248 shipping containers of plastic waste per day.
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“We demand exporting countries to remediate dioxin contamination and stop waste colonialism. Exploiting other countries as dumping grounds is irresponsible and unethical, especially when the receiving country has limited capacity to manage domestic waste and struggles with funding, weak regulations, and low public awareness in improving waste management systems. Every country should be responsible for managing its own waste and stop shifting its waste problems to other countries…”
-- Aeshnina Azzahra, River Warrior
This quote is in regard to the Indonesian environmental organization Ecoton’s calls on the Indonesian government for emergency action to crack down on the use of imported plastic waste for fuel in tofu factories. The burning of the imported plastic waste in factories releases high levels of toxic microplastics and dioxins into communities and local food production.
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Graphic credit: Table 1 Litigation risk across the plastic value chain, by Planet Tracker.
This new analysis by Planet Tracker estimates that the range of litigation risks above could cost companies $20 billion US by 2030. Meanwhile, on 25 April 2025, the maker of Ziploc bags, S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., was sued in a class action lawsuit over allegations that “microwave safe” and “suitable for freezer use” marketing claims about bags from Ziploc are false, since polyethylene and polypropylene release dangerous microplastics when exposed to heat or cold. The case alleges violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, Consumers Legal Remedies Act, and unjust enrichment.
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BAN alerts led to container seizures of illegal e-waste
Recent government seizures of intermodal containers containing illegal shipments of electronic waste (e-waste) from the United States to Thailand and Malaysia have taken place, as a result of a renewed campaign of citizen alerts known as "Operation Can Opener". Initiated by BAN together with environmental organizations in Asia, Operation Can Opener provides actionable intelligence to customs and environmental agencies in waste-targeted countries, informing authorities of precise shipments likely to contain waste contraband, in time for the agencies to conduct search-and-seizure activities at the ports upon arrival.
In Malaysia 122 containers were detained and confirmed to be carrying e-waste. Further investigations revealed that the importers had made false declarations to smuggle the waste into the country. As a result, 119 Notices were issued to the importing companies requiring the return of the containers to the country of origin. In Thailand, 6 containers alerted via Operation Can Opener were found to contain contraband e-waste.
E-waste typically contains large amounts of plastic and e-waste brokers often have significant overlaps with plastic waste brokers.
Spanish police bust international plastic waste trafficking organization
Spanish police have broken up a criminal organization that allegedly illegally dumped smuggled agricultural plastic waste from Europe to other continents for years. They were reportedly responsible for storing over 41,000 tons of plastic waste illegally, and for dumping nearly 23,000 tons in countries such as India, Turkey, and Thailand. The illegal material was hidden in containers hidden behind clean bales of used plastic to avoid detection.
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New brief on conflict of interest in the Global Plastics Treaty
The Center for International Environmental Law has released a brief that outlines conflict of interest risks in the Global Plastics Treaty and that provides key recommendations.
EU launches enforcement group on illegal waste shipments
The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) held the first meeting of the Waste Shipment Enforcement Group (WSEG) in Warsaw, Poland, on 22-23 May. The WSEG came into being from the waste shipment regulation, which gives WSEG the mandate to improve enforcement with the EU and non-EU countries.
New studies on plastic harms
Phthalates, especially DEHP, used in plastics are linked to cardiovascular disease, contributing to nearly 10.47 million years of life lost (YLL) globally. Additionally, roughly 350,000 global deaths in 2018 were attributed to DEHP exposure, and 98% of those deaths were directly tied to plastic exposure. A study finds that starch-based plastics might be as toxic as petroleum-based plastics. This initial study shows that exposure to starch-based plastics in animals led to liver damage and gut microbiome imbalances. Microplastics are also threatening bees, with potentially serious impacts to food systems. In testing 315 honeybee colonies across Europe, microplastics such as PET were found in most of the hives. A pilot study by UCLA’s Samueli School of Engineering found that microplastics are present in chewing gum with routine gum chewers potentially being exposed to thousands of microplastic particles each year.
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Basel COP draft report and calls for information released
Basel COP-17 was held in Geneva from 28 April to 9 May, and the unedited advance copy of adopted decisions has been released. The Secretariat has also released a call for information in follow-up to COP-17 that covers two important issues relevant to plastic waste trade:
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Number 10, on “Further consideration of plastics waste”, calls for submissions on the “implementation, challenges and impacts” of the plastic waste ban amendments by 28 February 2028. This will be a critical opportunity for advocates to provide comments on key gaps, such as the need to extend Basel controls to B3011 (non-hazardous plastics) and “forgotten plastics” like textiles, rubber, RDF, and plastic mixed with paper.
- Number 18, on the Open-ended Working Group workplan, requests “comments, including relevant data where applicable, regarding experiences, challenges and costs related to trade in used textiles and textile wastes, as well as views on how transboundary movements of textile wastes and their management could be addressed under the Basel Convention” by 15 November 2025.
Free trade zones and Basel
A new information note by UNEP on free trade zones (FTZs) notes the concerning trend that some countries are not considering stops at FTZ’s as counting as “transit” under Basel, and thus are not following Prior Informed Consent procedures. However, the paper does not meaningfully address cases when countries assert that wastes moving into an FTZ do not qualify as transboundary movement if it is processed or recycled within that zone, and thus that Basel rules need not apply. Such an interpretation does not comply with Basel – Free Trade Zones are not “Basel Free Zones”.
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