Landfilling in Developing Countries Due to The Global Waste Trade: Critics for Developed Countries

Abstract

Waste trade is a quick way to manage waste. Rather than building a waste management system, it’s cheaper to pay the destination country to import waste. The waste trade, on the other hand, will generate a new challenge for the destination country: landfilling. In this article, the author discusses the increasing waste in developing countries as a result of waste trade with industrialized countries. This article focuses on developed nations in North America and Europe, whereas developing nations in Southeast Asia are discussed. In the last 10 years, the United States exported 1.21 billion pounds of scrap plastic, whereas the European Union exported 1.14 million tons of plastic waste. Since China banned international waste imports in 2018, the amount of waste imported into Southeast Asia from North America and Europe has increased. The article uses green theory and eco-imperialism to explore the history, effects, and criticism of the waste trade between developed and developing countries. To comprehend the topic, the article uses qualitative research techniques and descriptive analysis. The references in this text refer to a period beginning in 2018, as China no longer permits the import of foreign waste.