Honors Theses
From Basel (1989) To Busan (2024): Developments and Contradictions in the Global Plastic Waste Trade
Date of Award
Spring 5-2025
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Croft Institute for International Studies
First Advisor
Nora Sylvander
Second Advisor
Alice Cooper
Third Advisor
Oliver Dinius
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
In 1989, the international community convened in Basel to adopt groundbreaking, legally binding legislation on the transboundary movement of hazardous waste. Plastic waste was notably absent from the initial Basel Convention due to the perceived economic value in plastic recycling despite social, economic, and environmental harms. Consequently, the transboundary sale of plastic waste for recycling– known as the Global Plastic Waste Trade (GPWT)– has proceeded largely unregulated, enabling unsustainable plastic consumption while exacerbating environmental justice divides between developed and developing nations. Recent commitments in the GPWT, such as the European Commission Circular Economy Action Plan (2015), China’s National Sword policy (2017), and the Basel Plastic Waste Amendment (2019), reflect growing international interest in governing the GPWT and mitigating its harmful consequences. Ongoing waste trafficking in Europe, challenges faced by developing countries in asserting agency in the GPWT, and the inconclusive 2024 Global Plastics Treaty negotiations in Busan all highlight persistent failures in plastic waste trade mitigation. To understand these failures, this thesis traces the evolution of the GPWT from its origins in the 1980s to its peak in 2016 and connects this development to current plastic waste governance challenges. It explores the evolving challenges of international plastic waste regulation with attention to how different countries respond to global frameworks and the tensions between producer and recipient states. By analyzing key developments in the GPWT through a conceptual framework grounded in environmental governance, the waste hierarchy, waste colonialism, environmental justice, and circular economy principles, this study explores thematic links between plastic trade policy developments and sustainability efforts and offers an academic analysis of the GPWT’s most recent legislative progress.
Recommended Citation
Hughes, Megan E., "From Basel (1989) To Busan (2024): Developments and Contradictions in the Global Plastic Waste Trade" (2025). Honors Theses. 3349.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3349
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