#STOPSHIPPINGPLASTICWASTE
Ending waste exports from rich to weaker economies is crucial to reducing plastic pollution, and protecting communities from the impacts of the plastic waste trade.
This petition urges shipping companies to #stopshippingwaste in a bid to effectively address plastic pollution. Join us in calling on shipping companies to #StopShippingPlasticWaste from the world’s wealthy economies, including the USA, EU, UK, Japan and Australia, to weaker economies in the Asia Pacific region, Africa, and Latin America.
A Call to Action
Activists Call on Shipping Lines to Stop Exporting Plastic Waste to Developing Countries
In February 2021, 52 environmental and social organizations around the world called on the major shipping lines to prove their sustainability commitments and keep their promises to protect the marine and terrestrial environment by pledging not to transport plastic waste to countries that are ill-equipped to handle it in an environmentally sound manner.
The organizations wrote letters to the nine largest global shipping lines: Hapag-Lloyd (Germany), Maersk (Denmark), CMA CGM (France), MSC (Switzerland), Hamburg SUD (Germany), Hyundai Merchant Marine (Korea), Evergreen (Taiwan), COSCO (China), and Orient Shipping (Jordan), urging them to establish policies and implement procedures to:
Decide to prevent the export of plastic wastes of all kinds moving from OECD to non-OECD countries or the OECD countries Turkey and Mexico.
The Policy Decision record of these 9 companies will be recorded in our official Shipping Lines Plastic Waste Campaign Score Card:
The Plastic Waste Export Crisis
Plastic waste exports are highly likely to be unsorted, contaminated, and illegal, which will cause much of the imported waste to be dumped and burned in the recipient countries or processed in a hazardous manner, damaging the health of workers or local communities.
On January 1, 2021, it became illegal for 187 countries, including China, Mexico, Malaysia, India, and Indonesia that are parties to the Basel Convention, to receive a variety of mixed and contaminated plastic wastes from the United States and the European Union member countries. Further, other shipments require the consent of the importing country before it can be transported but that will not stop brokers from exporting the waste. Despite the new rules, the massive number of containers, and lack of inspection and enforcement at exporting and importing ports, it is feared that the unethical waste trade will continue without the help of the shipping lines.
In October 2020 alone, Malaysia received 16,740 TEU shipping containers (89 million kg) of plastic waste from around the world.[1] That’s 558 shipping containers per day arriving to one small country. Brokers are expected to continue this trade, even after the new rules are in effect. Interpol’s 2020 report on illegal plastic waste trafficking shows that plastic waste trade regulations are routinely and brazenly ignored by exporters. For a look at the export data, click here.
Important Documents
The Letters to Shipping Lines (PDFs)
Shipping Lines Campaign News
Reports
See something that’s not right?
If you see governments or corporations acting irresponsibly when it comes to waste policy or management, please let us know.
Author: Ashka Naik
Plastic has allowed many food industry giants to become the massive entities they are today. For example, Coca-Cola generates 3 million tons of plastic packaging a year; PepsiCo has been found to use nearly 2.3 billion tons of plastic each year for its bottles and packaging; and McDonald’s has been called out for generating the weight of “100 Eiffel Towers” worth of packaging waste.