Plastic Recycling, Disposal, and the Plastic Waste Trade

A Plastics Treaty for Healthy Environments

IPEN calls for a Plastics Treaty with restrictions to prevent the recycling and reuse of plastics that contain hazardous chemicals. So-called “advanced” and chemical recycling schemes, which create large toxic waste streams while recycling little or no plastic, should not be included in a Treaty as acceptable technologies for plastic waste disposal.

The Treaty should exclude incineration, waste-to-energy processes, and co-processing in cement kilns, and promote safer, non-combustion technologies. A Treaty should promote a transition to a non-toxic materials economy that is just and inclusive to workers across the plastics supply chain and lifecycle, to provide opportunities for decent work in conditions of equity, security, and human dignity.

Plastics Poison the Circular Economy

A “circular economy” looks to minimize the extraction of natural resources and waste creation, designing products for sustainability and favoring products that maximize an item’s lifespan; are easier to use, recycle, and repair; and that incorporate more recycled materials and limit single-use. Since many toxic chemicals are used in plastics, plastics are inherently incompatible with a circular economy.

Plastic Recycling Dangers

IPEN and its members have conducted several studies showing the dangers from plastic recycling to consumers, communities, and plastic waste workers. IPEN’s report produced with Beyond Plastics, “Chemical Recycling: A Dangerous Deception” debunks the plastic industry’s claims that plastic chemical recycling will play a significant role in reducing global plastic pollution, demonstrating that chemical recycling is a dirty, dangerous technology that has failed for decades.

Plastic, Plastic Waste and the Waste Trade

IPEN members produce original data and research from their countries on plastic waste, recycling, and the waste trade while also working to end the toxic trade in plastics and dumping of plastics – including textiles/clothing, e-waste, and other plastic waste.

Refuse Derived Fuel

Using plastic waste as fuel is a growing market, with growing concerns, particularly around the trade in plastic waste used as fuel, often called refuse derived fuel (RDF). In 2022, IPEN exposed exports of RDF that contradicted Australia’s ban on plastic waste exports and later released a briefing on RDF as plastic waste in disguise. See the IPEN webinar on “Exporting Plastic Waste Fuels” and reports on RDF in IPEN members’ countries.