The world-wide waste web

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the global waste trade network, revealing asymmetries, risks of waste congestion in low-performance countries, and evidence of pollution from improper waste handling.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive network analysis of worldwide waste flows and models waste stress propagation, highlighting countries at high risk of improper waste disposal.

Findings

Most hazardous waste traded between developed nations

Disproportionate flow from developed to developing countries

Identification of 28 high-risk countries with low Environmental Performance Index

Abstract

Countries globally trade with tons of waste materials every year, some of which are highly hazardous. This trade admits a network representation of the world-wide waste web, with countries as vertices and flows as directed weighted edges. Here we investigate the main properties of this network by tracking 108 categories of wastes interchanged in the period 2001-2019. Although, most of the hazardous waste was traded between developed nations, a disproportionate asymmetry existed in the flow from developed to developing countries. Using a dynamical model, we simulate how waste stress propagates through the network and affects the countries. We identify 28 countries with low Environmental Performance Index that are at high risk of waste congestion. Therefore, they are at threat of improper handling and disposal of hazardous waste. We find evidence of pollution by heavy metals, by volatile organic compounds and/or by persistent organic pollutants, which are used as chemical fingerprints, due to the improper handling of waste in several of these countries.