State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
J Environ Manage. 2023 Dec 15;348:119422. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119422. Epub 2023 Oct 24.
International trade of plastic waste promotes the global plastic circular economy and improves resource efficiency, but exacerbates the ubiquitous plastic pollution. Understanding the drivers behind the evolution of the global plastic waste trade network (GPWTN) is pivotal for developing new international instruments to end plastic pollution and fostering clean solid-waste trade. Employing social network analysis (SNA) and quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) model, this study structures the GPWTN using bilateral trade data, revealing shifts from highly centralized to cross-layered networks and relevant drivers. It is suggested that Malaysia and Turkey has become the new key recipients of the GPWTN, replacing China, accompanied by the launch of new environmental regulations in some countries. Transportation cost is the most critical factor for the formation of the GPWTN, followed by gaps in resource demand, bio-based resource availability, and transportation accessibility. Trading partners in closer proximity, especially those with contiguous borders, are more likely to trade in waste plastics, while coastal countries play an important role in these partnerships. Economies with more abundant biomaterials, higher incomes, and greater environmental burdens are more likely to be exporters, while economies with scarcer resources and more compelling demands are more likely to import plastic waste. Countries involved in the trade in plastic waste, as either importers or exporters, receive varying degrees of economic benefits but bear potential environmental impacts. Therefore, global plastic pollution control and trade prosperity necessitates necessitate coordinated endeavors from nations and intergovernmental bodies for a mutually advantageous denouement.
国际塑料废物贸易促进了全球塑料循环经济，提高了资源效率，但加剧了普遍存在的塑料污染。了解全球塑料废物贸易网络（GPWTN）演变的驱动因素对于制定新的国际文书以终结塑料污染和促进清洁固体废物贸易至关重要。本研究采用社会网络分析（SNA）和二次分配程序（QAP）模型，利用双边贸易数据构建了 GPWTN，揭示了从高度集中到跨层网络的转变以及相关驱动因素。研究表明，马来西亚和土耳其已成为 GPWTN 的新的主要接收国，取代了中国，同时一些国家也出台了新的环境法规。运输成本是形成 GPWTN 的最关键因素，其次是资源需求差距、生物基资源可用性和运输可达性。地理位置较近的贸易伙伴，特别是那些拥有接壤边界的国家，更有可能进行废塑料贸易，而沿海国家在这些伙伴关系中发挥着重要作用。拥有更丰富生物材料、更高收入和更大环境负担的经济体更有可能成为出口国，而资源稀缺且需求迫切的经济体更有可能进口塑料废物。参与塑料废物贸易的国家，无论是作为进口国还是出口国，都能获得不同程度的经济利益，但也可能带来潜在的环境影响。因此，全球塑料污染控制和贸易繁荣需要各国和政府间机构协调努力，以实现互利共赢的结局。
