Waste export
Europe still exports huge amounts of (plastic) waste to countries such as Indonesia and Turkey. There, the local infrastructure is often insufficient to adequately handle the waste. Not only is it necessary to preserve these materials to feed them back into the cycle, we must also take responsibility for our own waste. The negative environmental and health impacts caused by waste exports must end.
Illegal dumps
The vast majority of exports are under the heading of “reuse” or “recycling. But data shows that many of the “reusable” products are actually waste and that recipient countries have insufficient recycling capacity. The result? It is unclear what happens to millions of tons of waste. It ends up in illegal dumps, it is burned illegally or disappears in a landfill. The consequences for local people are significant: they are exposed to toxins that leak into the water, soil and air, and the amount of microplastics in the food chain increases.
Fair Resource Foundation has therefore for years been calling for a ban on exports. We believe that for the waste we generate ourselves, we should also take responsibility. At the same time, it is important that product reuse opportunities remain possible outside of Europe and European capacity for high-quality recycling is increased.
A decisive export ban
An export ban will ensure that valuable materials remain within Europe. This can reduce our dependence on primary raw materials and is necessary for the transition to a fully circular economy to succeed. It is important for our economy that we increase recycling capacity for different types of materials in Europe. Not only for plastic, but also, for example, for (synthetic) textiles.
A ban encourages the market to move faster to increase that capacity. There is also an ethical aspect to the ban. Shipping waste from rich European countries to less prosperous countries has far-reaching consequences for the local population. The environmental impact as well as the negative impact on health is enormous, showed research by the Environmental Investigation Agency. We want to put an end to that by promoting policies that place responsibility on the polluter.
Latest publications
About Waste Export
Where and why: financing of the plastic waste trade
In our previous article, we provided a wide overview of the size and importance of international plastic waste (PW) trade. Subsequently, in this piece, we will shed light on why plastic waste trade is such a profitable sector and which are the incentives to perform this business outside of legality.
Court of Rotterdam sentences several people for illicit plastic waste trade from the Netherlands
On Friday 8th of August 2025 Dutch news outlets echoed about a sentencing on plastic waste smuggling from the Netherlands to various non-EU countries. NL Times, AD, local news outlets, and the Dutch Inspection (ILT) reported the criminal sentencing of 4 people and 3 companies for illicit plastic waste trade, with one of them being also charged with money laundering.
Why is The Netherlands a key player in the global plastic waste market?
Despite its small size, the Netherlands is one of the world’s largest exporters of plastic waste per capita. Thanks to the port of Rotterdam and a strong trading position, the Netherlands acts as an important transit country – even for shipments with shadowy origins and destinations. A lack of enforcement makes the system vulnerable to illegal exports, with waste often ending up in countries with weak environmental regulations. This article
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