ETC/CE Report 2023/2 The fate of EU plastic waste

Publication date: 20 Feb 2023

Authors: Alessio D'Amato, Francesco Nicolli, Susanna Paleari, Mathias Schluep, Adrien Specker, Jessica Tuscano, Carlo Piscitello, Henning Wilts, Tobias Nielsen

The report investigates the dynamics of plastic waste trade within the EU and exports from the EU. It demonstrates that EU plastic waste exports continue to decline and are concentrated in few receiving countries. Raising environmental concerns, case study results also indicate that plastic waste leaving the EU is of much lower quality than that traded within the EU (albeit there is a slight improvement in recent years), and that receiving countries often lack proper waste management infrastructure.

Download report: ETC/CE Report 2023/2 The fate of EU plastic waste — 1.69 MB