When one cannot bypass the byproducts: Plastic packaging waste embedded in production and export

Abstract

While packaging is praised for reducing waste of perishable food products, packaging waste is a growing concern. Its least recyclable type, plastics waste, is increasingly polluting the marine environment and many developing countries are now refusing to take the waste from developed countries. Before responsibility can be established, one has to identify the key producers and consumers. This paper adjusts the packaging waste satellite account in EXIOBASE 3 by combining the official waste data published by the World Bank. Based on input–output methods, we find that the world's top suppliers of plastic packaging waste are the United States, China, and Brazil. Food and beverage products constitute the bulk of the problem. Yet, 21% of these countries’ plastic packaging waste is induced export. At the global level, it is 25.8%. About 76.0% of export‐induced plastic packaging waste corresponds to packaging of the exported goods that will ultimately be disposed of in the destination country; while the others correspond to the packaging used in their supply‐chain and wasted domestically. We conclude that international efforts need to assign shared responsibility and promote improvement in plastic packaging recyclability.

Special Issue: Enabling Research in Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging

“…The properties of plastics mean they will continue to play a role in society for the foreseeable future, and we believe that the growing appreciation of sustainability and circularity at a global level will see the design and development of novel processes and products involving polymers included in next generation plastics. [19][20][21] Understanding plastic stock and flows at a global level 22,23 underpins the effective management of these resources within a circular economy. [24][25][26] We hope this collection inspires scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds to engage with the sustainability and circularity agenda.…”

Direct, Embedded, and Embodied Trade of Arsenic: 1990–2019

“…The undervaluation of resource consumption and the environmental impact of arsenic are intensified in specific regions or countries. To comprehensively understand the overall environmental burdens associated with global arsenic trade flows, the embedded and embodied emissions of arsenic at the production and consumption stages must be considered …”

“…To comprehensively understand the overall environmental burdens associated with global arsenic trade flows, the embedded and embodied emissions of arsenic at the production and consumption stages must be considered. 38 On the basis of the above analysis, this study combines MFA and embodied emission factors to estimate embedded and embodied arsenic trade during 1990−2019, encompassing 18 arsenic-containing products among 244 countries/regions, with physical trade (also known as embedded trade) and virtural trade (also known as embodied trade). The detailed contents of the study encompass the following aspects: (i) a detailed exploration of the temporal and spatial characteristics of global embedded arsenic trade, (ii) a characterization of the embedded arsenic trade flows and transfer between countries/ regions, (iii) a comparative analysis of embedded (including direct and indirect trade) and embodied arsenic trade flows, and (iv) a targeted trade-related arsenic problem analysis and corresponding policy recommendations for different types of countries.…”