IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i7p3662-d524115.html

The Evolutionary Trend and Impact of Global Plastic Waste Trade Network

Author

Listed:
  • Changping Zhao

    (Business School, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500, China)

  • Mengru Liu

    (School of Maritime Economics and Management, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China)

  • Huanzheng Du

    (UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China)

  • Yu Gong

    (Southampton Business School, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK)

Abstract

Marine plastic waste, global warming, and ozone holes have become global environmental problems that need to be resolved urgently. With the promulgation of plastic bans in many countries, the global plastic waste trade will undergo tremendous change. In order to explore the future evolutionary trend of the global plastic waste trade network, this paper focuses on the analysis of the import and export of plastic waste from major trading countries around the world. Based on the bilateral trade volume of plastic waste from 1990 to 2019, a global plastic waste trade network is constructed, and the structure and characteristics of the network are studied. The results show that the global plastic waste trade network has shifted its center of gravity, and the import center has gradually shifted from China to Southeast Asia. The global plastic waste trade network presents a sparse state. Moreover, the dependence of related countries on plastic waste trade decreases, whilst the closeness of trade links also decreases. Sudden factors such as plastic waste import bans have a disruptive impact on plastic waste management.

Suggested Citation

  • Changping Zhao & Mengru Liu & Huanzheng Du & Yu Gong, 2021. "The Evolutionary Trend and Impact of Global Plastic Waste Trade Network," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:3662-:d:524115
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/7/3662/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/7/3662/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giorgio Fagiolo & Javier Reyes & Stefano Schiavo, 2010. "The evolution of the world trade web: a weighted-network analysis," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 479-514, August.
    2. Oecd, 2018. "Improving Plastics Management: Trends, policy responses, and the role of international co-operation and trade," OECD Environment Policy Papers 12, OECD Publishing.
    3. Laurent Lebreton & Anthony Andrady, 2019. "Future scenarios of global plastic waste generation and disposal," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Zongguo Wen & Yiling Xie & Muhan Chen & Christian Doh Dinga, 2021. "China’s plastic import ban increases prospects of environmental impact mitigation of plastic waste trade flow worldwide," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jiale Zhang & Farzana Quoquab & Jihad Mohammad, 2023. "What Do We Know About Plastic Pollution in Coastal/Marine Tourism? Documenting Its Present Research Status from 1999 to 2022," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    2. Junwen Cao & Qingya Lei, 2025. "Global agricultural trade network characteristics and its influencing factors," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.
    3. Moon, DongWhoi & Wang, H. Holly & Hao, Na, 2023. "Consumer behavior in choosing microplastic contaminated seafood across different countries: The role of cultural and attitudinal factors," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 290-306.
    4. Unfried, Kerstin & Wang, Feicheng, 2022. "Importing Air Pollution? Evidence from China's Plastic Waste Imports," IZA Discussion Papers 15218, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Nesreen El-Rayes & Aichih (Jasmine) Chang & Jim Shi, 2023. "Plastic Management and Sustainability: A Data-Driven Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-15, April.
    6. Florin-Constantin Mihai & Sedat Gündoğdu & Laura A. Markley & Arianna Olivelli & Farhan R. Khan & Claire Gwinnett & Jutta Gutberlet & Natalia Reyna-Bensusan & Paula Llanquileo-Melgarejo & Christia Mei, 2021. "Plastic Pollution, Waste Management Issues, and Circular Economy Opportunities in Rural Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-48, December.
    7. Changping Zhao & Xinli Qi & Jin Wang & Fengyang Du & Xiaolan Shi, 2022. "Predicting Possible New Links to Future Global Plastic Waste Trade Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-22, April.
    8. Daming Li & Canyao Liu & Yu Shi & Jiaming Song & Yiliang Zhang, 2022. "Trade Flow Optimization Model for Plastic Pollution Reduction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-18, November.
    9. Wenlong Yu & Tianhui Tao, 2022. "Scenario Simulation for the Urban Carrying Capacity Based on System Dynamics Model in Shanghai, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-18, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Changping Zhao & Xinli Qi & Jin Wang & Fengyang Du & Xiaolan Shi, 2022. "Predicting Possible New Links to Future Global Plastic Waste Trade Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-22, April.
    2. Fredy Cepeda-Lopez & Fredy Gamboa-Estrada & Carlos Leon-Rinc�n & Hern�n Rincon-Castro, 2022. "Colombian Liberalization and Integration into World Trade Markets: Much Ado about Nothing," Revista de Economía del Rosario, Universidad del Rosario, vol. 25(2), pages 1-44.
    3. Ana B. Cuevas & David E. Leiva-Candia & M. P. Dorado, 2024. "An Overview of Pyrolysis as Waste Treatment to Produce Eco-Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-32, June.
    4. Changping Zhao & Juanjuan Sun & Yun Zhang, 2022. "A Study of the Drivers of Decarbonization in the Plastics Supply Chain in the Post-COVID-19 Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-20, November.
    5. Kawther Saeedi & Anna Visvizi & Dimah Alahmadi & Amal Babour, 2023. "Smart Cities and Households’ Recyclable Waste Management: The Case of Jeddah," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-23, April.
    6. Carattini, Stefano & Fankhauser, Sam & Gao, Jianjian & Gennaioli, Caterina & Panzarasa, Pietro, 2023. "What does network analysis teach us about international environmental cooperation?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    7. Stoett, Peter & Scrich, Vitória M. & Elliff, Carla I. & Andrade, Mariana M. & de M. Grilli, Natalia & Turra, Alexander, 2024. "Global plastic pollution, sustainable development, and plastic justice," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    8. Fathin Faizah Said, 2017. "Global Banking on the Financial Network Modelling: Sectorial Analysis," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 49(2), pages 227-253, February.
    9. Eduardo Barberis & Daniela Freddi & Raffaele Giammetti & Paolo Polidori & D?sir?e Teobaldelli & Elena Vigan?, 2020. "Trade Relationships in the European Pork Value Chain: a Network Analysis," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 22(1), pages 1-23.
    10. Iván Arribas & Francisco Pérez & Emili Tortosa-Ausina, 2014. "The dynamics of international trade integration: 1967–2004," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 19-41, February.
    11. Rafael Estevez & Laura Aguado-Deblas & Francisco J. López-Tenllado & Felipa M. Bautista & Antonio A. Romero & Diego Luna, 2024. "Study on the Performance and Emissions of Triple Blends of Diesel/Waste Plastic Oil/Vegetable Oil in a Diesel Engine: Advancing Eco-Friendly Solutions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-17, March.
    12. Cordier, Mateo & Uehara, Takuro & Baztan, Juan & Jorgensen, Bethany & Yan, Huijie, 2021. "Plastic pollution and economic growth: The influence of corruption and lack of education," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    13. Amna Farrukh & Aymen Sajjad, 2024. "Investigating sustainability tensions and resolution strategies in the plastic food packaging industry—A paradox theory approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 2868-2889, May.
    14. María Fernanda Funes & Teresa María Reyna & Carlos Marcelo García & María Lábaque & Sebastián López & Ingrid Strusberg & Susana Vanoni, 2025. "Estimating Macroplastic Mass Transport from Urban Runoff in a Data-Scarce Watershed: A Case Study from Cordoba, Argentina," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-23, July.
    15. World Bank, 2024. "Unlocking Financing to Combat the Plastics Crisis - Opportunities, Risks, and Recommendations for Plastic Credits," World Bank Publications - Reports 41866, The World Bank Group.
    16. Shade T Shutters & José Lobo & Rachata Muneepeerakul & Deborah Strumsky & Charlotta Mellander & Matthias Brachert & Teresa Farinha & Luis M A Bettencourt, 2018. "Urban occupational structures as information networks: The effect on network density of increasing number of occupations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-14, May.
    17. Giovanni Carnazza & Paolo Liberati & Agnese Sacchi, 2024. "Political instability and international trade in the European Union: A network-based approach," Discussion Papers 2024/319, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    18. Huijie Yan & Mateo Cordier & Takuro Uehara, 2024. "Future Projections of Global Plastic Pollution: Scenario Analyses and Policy Implications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-18, January.
    19. Kai Li & Hauke Ward & Hai Xiang Lin & Arnold Tukker, 2024. "Economic viability requires higher recycling rates for imported plastic waste than expected," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    20. Zongning Wu & Hongbo Cai & Ruining Zhao & Ying Fan & Zengru Di & Jiang Zhang, 2020. "A Topological Analysis of Trade Distance: Evidence from the Gravity Model and Complex Flow Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:3662-:d:524115. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.