Global plastic waste exports amounted to 4.21 million metric tons in 2022, a year-over-year decline of roughly 16 percent. In comparison to 2010, when global exports surpassed 15 million metric tons, shipments decreased by more than 70 percent. Plastic waste trade has dropped considerably since 2018, when China – then the world's largest plastic waste importer – declared a ban on imports of this material.
In 2022, Germany was the leading exporter of plastic waste worldwide.
Exports of plastic waste worldwide from 2010 to 2022
(in million metric tons)
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OWID. (October 9, 2023). Exports of plastic waste worldwide from 2010 to 2022 (in million metric tons) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388764/plastic-waste-export-volume-worldwide/
OWID. "Exports of plastic waste worldwide from 2010 to 2022 (in million metric tons)." Chart. October 9, 2023. Statista. Accessed November 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388764/plastic-waste-export-volume-worldwide/
OWID. (2023). Exports of plastic waste worldwide from 2010 to 2022 (in million metric tons). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: November 21, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388764/plastic-waste-export-volume-worldwide/
OWID. "Exports of Plastic Waste Worldwide from 2010 to 2022 (in Million Metric Tons)." Statista, Statista Inc., 9 Oct 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388764/plastic-waste-export-volume-worldwide/
OWID, Exports of plastic waste worldwide from 2010 to 2022 (in million metric tons) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388764/plastic-waste-export-volume-worldwide/ (last visited November 21, 2024)
Exports of plastic waste worldwide from 2010 to 2022 (in million metric tons) [Graph], OWID, October 9, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1388764/plastic-waste-export-volume-worldwide/
