Regulate waste recycling internationally

China’s 2017 ban on several types of waste import, and subsequent bans by countries in southeast Asia, stimulated a global trade in plastic waste. I call for improvements in the system to optimize the environmental benefits of waste reuse.

Recycling accords with the principles of a circular economy (see Y. Geng et al. Nature 565, 153–155; 2019). It can conserve resources, protect the environment and help to cut greenhouse-gas emissions (Z. Liu et al. J. Environ. Mgmt 287, 112283; 2021). But poor infrastructure for waste reuse turns some countries — Turkey, for instance — into a dumping ground.

To encourage more countries to recycle global waste, the process needs to be better organized and must conform to a set of international standards and regulations. Setting up an international database would help stakeholders to identify various categories of waste for reuse. Distribution chains from waste exporters to waste importers could become more efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective if backed by proper technical support at both ends.