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The increase in plastic production has led to a major environmental concern: plastic pollution. Throughout their life cycle, plastics can harm the environment: from the carbon footprint and pollution generated during their production/manufacturing, to leaks into the environment at the end of their life[1]. In particular, single-use products are one of the main causes of plastic pollution.
International trade and border policies appear to have a key role to play in combating plastic pollution.
1. Plastic production and trade
1.1 The emergence of the global plastics problem
Production, packaging, and poor waste management have led to plastic pollution becoming one of the most pressing environmental concerns (Moisé and Tresa, 2023). International trade via global value chains has fostered the development of the plastics sector in many countries and illustrates certain dynamics. Like other industries with labor-intensive final assembly stages, the plastics production chain is characterized by significant fragmentation and the presence of many dominant companies that do not have their own manufacturing facilities (Murphree and Anderson, 2018).
The traceability of plastic also depends heavily on trade, due tohiddenplastic flows, which include plastics used in pre-packaged products and incorporated into consumer and household goods traded internationally and difficult to track through data.Preliminary studies suggest that in 2018, hidden flows accounted for an additional 70 million tons in plastic trade flows (Boucher, Paruta, and Deere Birkbeck, 2021) and that hidden flows of plastic packaging exceeded official trade flows of « empty » plastic packaging captured by customs (Deere Birkbeck and Sugathan, 2022).
According to a recent report by Plastics Europe, the reuse rate of plastic products as part of the circular economy in global new plastic production is close to 10% in 2021 (compared to 12.4% for European plastic production). After a decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, plastics production is soaring again, reaching 390.7 million tons in 2021. According to the report « Plastics – The Facts 2022 » released by Plastics Europe, the majority of this production comes from fossil materials. European plastic production amounts to 57.2 million tons in 2021. In the absence of concrete measures, it is expected to almost triple between 2019 and 2060, rising from 460 million tons to an impressive 1,231 million tons (Mt), with plastic waste increasing in the same proportion, from 353 Mt to 1,014 Mt (OECD, 2019).
1.2 Plastic production chains
Plastic production involves several stages, including the supply of raw materials, the manufacture of primary and final plastics, and the final stage of plastic waste management and treatment[3].
For mostplastics,the upstream stages includethe discovery and extraction of raw materials and the production of primary plastics. Most plastics are derived from fossil fuels. In general, polymers are produced from materials derived from fossil fuels. Bio-based plastics account for less than 1% of total plastic use[4]. Plastics produced from biomass, particularly those that can biodegrade under specific conditions, have several advantages, but scientific evidence shows that they also present challenges and trade-offs in terms of sustainability[5].
The intermediate stagesof plastics production involve the manufacture of products such as plastic sheets, rods, tubes, films, valves, etc. The final plastic products phase encompasses the manufacture of a multitude of final plastic products that contain plastics, ranging from « plastic packaging, consumer goods, industrial goods, and automotive parts to adhesives, foams, paints, coatings, and sealants, to various synthetic fibers and rubber tires » (Barrowclough and Deere Birkbeck, 2022).
The downstream stagesof the plastics life cycle include several phases, such as recycling, reuse, or reprocessing of plastic waste, as well as landfilling, open burning, and incineration, with or without energy recovery, and can contribute to leakage into the environment. One of the first downstream steps is the collection and sorting of plastic waste. Recycled plastics accounted for only 8% of total plastics production (OECD, 2022), despite a fourfold increase in this share over 20 years. It is important to note that the value of recycled plastics depends on the level of purity that can be achieved after recycling, which in turn depends on the initial plastic waste stream. According to the waste treatment hierarchy, there are five levels of waste treatment: prevention (which most experts recommend prioritizing), reduction, recycling, return, and disposal (Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion).
2. The role of trade policies in combating plastic pollution
In a context of growing attention in national policies to promoting the sustainable production and use of plastics, and given the dispersion of production and consumption, trade policy choices must play a role in resolving the problems outlined above. An increase in trade in plastics could lead to an increased risk of plastics leaking into the environment if it ends up in countries with limited waste management capacity. Trade policies can have a significant impact on the growth of markets for environmentally friendly and effective substitutes for plastics, as well as helping to ensure the economic viability of the recycling market (Moisé and Tresa, 2023).[6]
2.1 Tariffs and bans
Lowering tariffs will have an impact on the economic viability of alternatives to environmentally harmful plastic products, particularly single-use plastics. This is because tariffs on plastic substitutes, including reusable non-plastic substitutes, tend to be higher than those applied to the corresponding plastics (UNCTAD, 2023). In France, one of the objectives of the « 3R potential »[7]is to aim for a 100% reduction in « unnecessary » single-use plastic packaging, such as plastic blister packs around batteries and light bulbs, by the end of 2025.
Several countries have opted for export restrictions or bans on plastic waste and certain single-use plastics destined for developing countries. In particular, single-use plastic bags are a significant source of environmental pollution (Jambeck et al., 2015; Xanthos and Walker, 2017). At the national level, France introduced the Law Against Waste and for the Circular Economy (AGEC), adopted in 2020. Several empirical studies in Europe have examined the effectiveness of plastic bag taxes as a tool for governing plastic bags (Convery et al., 2007; Martinho et al., 2017; Oosterhuis et al., 2014) and demonstrate the effectiveness of this policy in steering consumers towards alternative products.
With regard to the waste trade, bans or high customs duties are also among the policies that can reduce plastic pollution, especially in countries with less restrictive environmental policies.[9]The European Union has banned the export of plastic waste to non-OECD countries, with the exception of clean plastic waste intended for recycling. Bans on plastic waste exports can result in plastic waste leaking from countries with more stringent environmental policies to countries with less stringent policies.
2.2 Administrative procedures at the border
The addition in 2019 of most types of plastic waste to the list of wastes controlled under the Basel Convention allows a limited category of plastic waste to be traded freely, provided that it is sorted, clean, uncontaminated, and efficiently designed for recycling.[10]Significant delays in obtaining consent for individual or multiple shipments can create significant disincentives to cross-border reuse, recovery, or recycling operations. Companies express concerns that the time, effort, and legal uncertainties associated with administrative requirements at the border may outweigh the costs of investing in recycling capacities that allow for economies of scale, especially given the low prices of virgin plastic (World Economic Forum, 2020).
Easy identification by customs authorities of goods made from recycled or recyclable plastics could be facilitated through internationally agreed environmental labels or the use of new identification technologies such as digital product fingerprints and barcode readers. In this regard, the European Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUP Directive) provides for the affixing of a specific marking on certain single-use plastic products placed on the market from July 3, 2021.[11]This marking, used in a harmonized manner throughout the European Union, informs users of the presence of plastic in these products, of incorrect sorting practices (not to throw them away in the environment or in toilets) and of the harmful impact of these products on the environment in the event of incorrect sorting or illegal dumping[12].
2.3 Regulatory measures
Technical regulatory measures, standards, labeling schemes, and conformity assessment procedures have implications for circular plastic value chains and the use of recycled materials. Such regulations and policies can support the design of products that are less polluting at every stage of the plastics life cycle and can be repaired, reused, refurbished, and recycled in an environmentally friendly manner (eco-design).
France, Finland, Indonesia, and Luxembourg have successfully reduced plastic bag waste levels through voluntary initiatives (Larsen and Venkova, 2014). For example, France reported a decrease in the use of single-use plastic bags (SUPB) from 10.5 billion in 2002 to 800 million in 2013 through voluntary initiatives focused on promoting reusable shopping bags. In March 2024, the European Union reached a provisional agreement on new legislation, not yet voted on, aimed at reducing packaging waste and banning single-use plastics, such as supermarket bags for fruit and mini shampoo bottles in hotels. The European Parliament agreed on packaging reduction targets of 5% by 2030 and 15% by 2040, and that all packaging should be recyclable by 2030.[14]
Trade in services can also play an important role in promoting circularity along the plastics value chain, including promoting new circular business models (e.g., those focused on product rental, reuse and refilling, and repairability); improving the circularity of plastic products through research and development (R&D) and eco-design; contributing to the circular economy of the chain by collecting, sorting, and recycling materials; and remanufacturing or refurbishing products (Tamminen et al., 2020).
2.4 Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes
EPR extends producer responsibility for a product to the post-consumer phase of a product’s life cycle and can also help promote circularity in plastics value chains[15]. In the European Union, the Waste Framework Directive requires Member States to introduce EPR fees that take into account, as far as possible, the durability, reparability, reusability, and recyclability of a product, as well as the presence of hazardous substances.EPR schemes can also help address the loss of plastic pellets during transport and in production and conversion facilities (which accounts for 18% of microplastics in the oceans). There are proposals, for example, for supply chain regulatory measures that would make buyers responsible for certifying that the sources of pellets for their products are not associated with pellet loss in the environment.
2.5 The role of public support
The impact of public support on the cost of primary and intermediate plastics production can be a key factor in both the growth of the plastics sector and the economic viability of circular solutions. Preliminary evidence suggests that this support applies mainly upstream to activities related to fossil-based raw materials, precursors, and primary plastics, rather than downstream to intermediate activities (i.e., the production of intermediate and final plastic products) or downstream to waste collection and recycling companies (OECD, 2023).. However, further downstream in the production chain, government subsidies to companies involved in waste collection and recycling could promote the expansion of waste collection, sorting, safe disposal, and recycling capacity. In this way, they would help reduce or even avoid the negative environmental effects associated with open dumping or incineration.
Government support for investment in waste management has also played a key role in OECD countries (OECD, 2019). Several governments are using green public procurement as part of their policies to reduce plastic pollution and improve circularity. For example, the 2018 European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy highlights the role that public procurement can play in improving recyclability and reducing waste, and encourages national and regional authorities to favor reusable and recycled plastics in public procurement. The Strategy supports the European Union Ecolabel and Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria to improve the recyclability of plastics. As part of the French circular economy law—which sets public procurement targets of 20% to 100% reused or recycled products for central government and local authorities—a series of « green clauses » have been developed to help purchasing entities meet targets for reused and recycled plastic in electronic office equipment.
3. Towards an international treaty on plastic
Given that pollution from the production and consumption of plastics is a global environmental problem that crosses national borders, a global treaty to harmonize different policies on plastic products would be conceivable. However, given that the economic interests of several countries rely mainly on the production of fossil fuels, there is little incentive to reduce plastic production.
In March 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly mandated an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop a legally binding international agreement on plastic pollution. The most recent and third session (INC-3) took place in Nairobi, where the coalition advocated a broad approach that would encompass the entire life cycle of plastics. On the other hand, some less ambitious members prefer to limit themselves to the end-of-life stage of plastic (waste management, recycling), thus excluding the issue of plastic production from the future treaty.
In November 2020, a group of World Trade Organization (WTO) members launched an initiative to explore how the WTO could contribute to efforts to reduce plastic pollution and promote the transition to more environmentally sustainable trade in plastics[18]. The Dialogue on Plastic Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Trade in Plastics is open to all WTO Members and seeks to complement discussions within the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) and other fora. WTO Members and stakeholders are therefore seeking to compile a possible declaration on plastic pollution, including trade-related practices, which could be published at the Thirteenth Ministerial Conference (MC13) in February 2024.
Given the contribution of international trade through global value chains to the development of the plastics sector worldwide, it is becoming essential to establish an international agreement and harmonize national measures throughout the plastics production chain.
Muposhi, A., Mpinganjira, M., & Wait, M. (2022). Considerations, benefits and unintended consequences of banning plastic shopping bags for environmental sustainability: A systematic literature review.Waste Management & Research,40(3), 248-261.
Moïsé, E., & Tresa, E. (2023). Trade policies to promote the circular economy: A case study of the plastics value chain.
Murphree, M. and J. Anderson (2018), Journal of International Management, pp. Countering overseas power in global value chains: Information asymmetries and subcontracting in the plastics industry.
Boucher, J., P. Paruta and C. Deere Birkbeck (2021), Tracing ‘Hidden’ International Trade Flows in Plastics: Methodological Approaches and Findings, https://doi.org/TESS Research Brief.
Barrowclough, D. and C. Deere Birkbeck (2022), “Transforming the global plastics economy: the role of economic policies in the global governance of plastic pollution”, Social Sciences,https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11010026.
UNCTAD (2023), Plastic Pollution. The pressing case for natural and environmentally friendly substitutes to plastics.
OECD (2022), Global Plastics Outlook: Policy Scenarios to 2060, https://www.oecdilibrary.org/sites/aa1edf33-en/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/aa1edf33-en.
OECD (2022), Global Plastics Outlook: Economic Drivers, Environmental Impacts and Policy Options, OECD Publishing, Paris,https://doi.org/10.1787/de747aef-en.
Jambeck, J. R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T. R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., … & Law, K. L. (2015). Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean.Science,347(6223), 768-771.
Xanthos, D., & Walker, T. R. (2017). International policies to reduce plastic marine pollution from single-use plastics (plastic bags and microbeads): A review.Marine pollution bulletin,118(1-2), 17-26.
Convery, F., McDonnell, S., & Ferreira, S. (2007). The most popular tax in Europe? Lessons from the Irish plastic bags levy.Environmental and resource economics,38, 1-11.
Martinho, G., Balaia, N., & Pires, A. (2017). The Portuguese plastic carrier bag tax: The effects on consumers’ behavior.Waste management,61, 3-12.
Oosterhuis, F., Papyrakis, E., & Boteler, B. (2014). Economic instruments and marine litter control.Ocean & coastal management,102, 47-54.
Gupta, K. (2011).Consumer responses to incentives to reduce plastic bag use: Evidence from a field experiment in urban India. SAMDEE.
Muposhi, A., Mpinganjira, M., & Wait, M. (2022). Considerations, benefits and unintended consequences of banning plastic shopping bags for environmental sustainability: A systematic literature review.Waste Management & Research,40(3), 248-261.
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[1]According to the draft update of the Basel Convention’s technical guidelines for the identification and environmentally sound management (ESM) of plastic waste and its disposal, « plastic is generally a synthetic material, either a polymer or a combination of high molecular weight polymers modified or compounded with additives such as fillers, plasticizers, stabilizers, lubricants, and pigments. » (Basel Convention Secretariat, 2022[5])
[2]For example: textiles, clothing, toys, basic consumer goods, and consumer electronics, etc.
[3]Depending on the stage of production, plastics are classified as: primary plastics, intermediate plastics, intermediate manufactured plastic goods, final manufactured plastic goods, and plastic waste.
[4]The term « bio-based plastics » refers to plastics that are wholly or partially derived from biomass and/or capable of decomposing in certain receiving environments at the end of their life cycle (i.e., biodegradable plastics). In particular, bio-based plastics are manufactured using entirely or partially biomass as a raw material (rather than petroleum or waste).
[5]Even when the production of bio-based plastics generates fewer greenhouse gas emissions than fossil-based plastics, it is important to assess their impact relative to fossil-based plastics from a full life cycle perspective, allowing, for example, for the consideration of negative effects related to indirect land use changes (OECD, 2022).
[6]Through access to goods, services, and technologies for collection, waste management, recycling, and reuse of plastics, and the viability of repair and refurbishment operations for products containing plastics.
[7]The 3R potential corresponds to Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling.
[8]Commitments in this area include ending single-use plastics by targeting the products most commonly discarded in the environment, improving recovery, recycling, and reuse, supporting eco-design, and banning certain products that release microplastics. For more information:Légifrance – Official publications – Official Journal – JORF No. 0035 of February 11, 2020 (legifrance.gouv.fr)
[9]China was a major importer of plastic waste until the entry into force on January 1, 2018, of Operation National Sword (ONS), which significantly restricted foreign imports of waste and scrap metal.
[10]The OECD Waste Recovery Control System specified that, as of January 1, 2021, each member country, including France, retains the right to control non-hazardous plastic waste as identified under the provisions of the Basel Convention in accordance with its national legislation and international law.
[11]The products concerned are sanitary towels, tampons and tampon applicators, wet wipes (for personal and domestic use), tobacco products with filters and filters sold separately, and paper-cardboard cups with plastic film.
[12]To avoid the destruction of excessive stocks of products without marking, producers had until December 31, 2022, to sell off their stocks.
[13]According to The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ (2020), better product and packaging design in high-income countries could increase the share of recyclable plastic from nearly 22% in 2019 to 54% by 2040.
[14]More information at:Packaging: Council and Parliament strike a deal to make packaging more sustainable and reduce packaging waste in the EU – Consilium (europa.eu)
[15]The OECD defines extended producer responsibility (EPR) as an environmental policy approach in which a producer’s responsibility for a product extends to the post-consumer stage of its life cycle. An EPR policy is characterized by: (i) the transfer of responsibilities (physical and/or economic; total or partial) upstream from municipalities to producers; and
(ii) encouraging producers to take environmental considerations into account when designing their products.
[16]Marking large plastic parts to facilitate sorting, designing plastic packaging for recyclability, designing items that are easy to disassemble in furniture and computers, etc.
[17]This is particularly the case in Russia, China, the Gulf countries, and several developing countries, which consider plastic to be an essential element of their economic development.
[18]Currently, 76 WTO Members are participating in the Dialogue on Plastic Pollution.
