Scrap plastic exports from the U.S. 2015-2023
The United States exported around 920 million pounds of scrap plastic in 2023, a decrease of 4.6 percent when compared to the previous year. When compared to 2015, the volume of scrap plastic exported by the North American country has dropped by nearly 80 percent.
Where do U.S. plastic scraps go?
In 2023, neighboring countries Canada and Mexico were the leading destinations for U.S. plastic scrap exports, accounting combined for more than half of exports that year. Asian countries such as India, Malaysia, and Vietnam, received the second largest share of U.S. plastic scrap exports. Up until 2017, China was the main destination for U.S. plastic waste, until a total ban on recovered plastic imports imposed by the Asian country took effect as of January 2018.
Why is plastic waste exported?
As a valuable raw material, the plastic waste trade makes sense from an economic standpoint. Low-income nations can benefit from a cost-effective material supply, while industrialized nations lacking the infrastructure to recycle it domestically can ship their waste to countries with lower energy and labor costs. However, despite only accounting for two percent of the plastic waste generated, exports of plastic waste worldwide can lead to concerning environmental and health risks, as poorly managed waste might leak into the ocean, waterways or landfills. As a result, there has been increased pressure in recent years to either ban plastic waste shipping worldwide or raise the standards and monitoring of materials dispatched.
