IRRESPONSIBLY MANAGED PLASTIC WASTE TRADE HAS NO PLACE IN A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

THE PLASTIC WASTE TRADE MANIFESTO

Plastic waste trade creates immeasurable harm to society, health and the environment that is felt disproportionately across the world, and has been happening for decades. While those benefiting from plastic waste trade argue that it is necessary in a globalised circular economy, we believe that plastic waste trade disregards the proximity principle and evades responsibility for ensuring correct waste management and is therefore unfit for a true and safe circular economy.

We cannot aim to achieve a truly safe circular economy with ambitious reductions in resource use, while we continue to offload the burden of our plastic waste elsewhere. This manifesto is a call to European Union institutions to legislate, through the Waste Shipment Regulation, an end to plastic waste exports from the Union and intra-EU management of European plastic waste that is in line with a genuine circular economy, as outlined in the Circular Economy Action Plan and Green Deal.

Tell the EU Council to ban EU plastic waste exports now

In January 2023, the EU Parliament voted to BAN the dumping of its plastic waste abroad. Now, the only thing standing in the way of ending this unethical practice is the 27 Environment Ministers from EU countries who will soon revise and discuss the potential law that could end plastic waste exports.

We are calling for these Ministers to aim for ambitious legislation that puts an end to plastic waste exports and finally stems the tide of EU plastic pollution.
Show your support, sign our petition
  • Alice Elfassi
  • Anne Aitomaki
  • Cesar Luena
  • Christie Keith
  • Cyrus Engerer
  • Eleonora Evi
  • Gaelle Haut
  • Grace O'Sullivan
  • Istvan Ujhelyi
  • Jutta Paulus
  • Lauren Weir
  • Lindsay Wuisan

In this effort, we ask that you read through our manifesto to learn more about the issue, and sign it to urge policymakers to take action.

For more information or questions, please contact Pierre Condamine, pierre@zerowasteeurope.eu

36 Supporting Members of the European Parliament

Eleonora Evi – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – Italy
Grace O’Sullivan – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – Ireland
István Ujhelyi – Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament – Hungary
César Luena – Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats – Spain
Martin Hojsík – Renew Europe Group – Slovakia
Jutta Paulus – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – Germany
Piernicola Pedicini – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – Italy
Cyrus Engerer – Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament – Malta
Marie Toussaint – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – France
Sara Matthieu – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – Belgium
Martin Häusling  – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – Germany
Pär Holmgren – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – Sweden
Sarah Wiener  – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – Austria
Manuela Ripa – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – Germany
Michèle Rivasi – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – France
François Alfonsi – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – France
Benoît Biteau – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – France
Damien Careme – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – France
David Cormand – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – France
Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – France
Karima Delli – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – France
Yannick Jadot – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – France
Caroline Roose – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – France
Mounir Satouri – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – France
Salima Yenbou – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – France
Claude Gruffat – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – France
Aurore Lalucq – Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament – France
Mick Wallace – The Left group in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL – Ireland
Günther Sidl – Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament – Austria
Özlem Demirel – The Left group in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL – Germany
Isabel Carvalhais – Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament – Portugal
Francisco Guerreiro – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – Portugal
Milan Brglez  – Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament – Slovenia
Alviina Alametsä – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – Finland
Kira Marie Peter-Hansen – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – Denmark
Margrete Auken – Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance – Denmark

89 Supporting organisations:

Zero Waste Europe – EU
Microplastic Research Group – Turkey
Consumers’ Association of Penang – Malaysia
Recycling Netwerk Benelux – Netherlands
NABU – Germany
Zero Waste Alliance Ireland – Ireland
Changing Markets Foundation – Netherlands/United Kingdom
Environmental Investigation Agency – EU
Ekologi brez meja (Ecologists without borders) – Slovenija
Zero Waste France – France
Polish Zero Waste Association – Poland
VšĮ “Žiedinė ekonomika” – Lithuania
Gallifrey Foundation – Switzerland
Society for Earth (TNZ) – Poland
GLOBAL 2000 – Austria
OceanCare – Switzerland
Surfrider Foundation Europe – Belgium
Zero Waste Romania – Romania
Thankful – Denmark
Go Zero Waste – Spain
NABU – Germany
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia) – Malaysia
Stowarzyszenie Mukszty – Poland
Center for international Environmental Law (CIEL) – Switzerland
Health Care Without Harm Europe – Belgium
Circular Living Ireland – Ireland
The Greens Movement of Georgia/Friend of the Earth-Georgia – Georgia
Oceana – Spain
Plastic Change – Denmark
The Last Beach Cleanup – USA
Health Care Without Harm SE Asia – Philippines
Red de Acción por los Derechos Ambientales – Chile
Health and Environment Justice Support – International
Zero waste North West – Ireland
DION (Development Indian Ocean Network) – Mauritius
Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance – Việt Nam
goBackToOrigin – Austria
Nipe Fagio – Tanzania
Ecoteca – Romania
Quercus-ANCN – Portugal
Zero Waste Alliance Ireland – Ireland
eko-logicznie.com – Poland
Centre for Environmental Justice – Sri Lanka
Basel Action Network – USA

Nexus3 Foundation – Indonesia
Associação de Combate aos Poluentes – Brasil
Alarm dla Klimatu Piaseczno – Poland
“Pēdējais Salmiņš” (The Last Straw) – Latvia
Retorna – Spain
MoreSe – Croatia
AEEFG – Tunisia
Regain de l’Estérel – France
No Plastic In My Sea – France
Sea Hugger – USA
Makara.earth – Netherlands
Zero Waste Belgium – Belgium
Global Alliance for Incineration Alternatives – International
Küste gegen Plastik e.V. – Germany
Greenpeace – Global
European Environmental Bureau – EU
Trash Mob – USA
Arnika – Toxics and Waste Programme – Česko
A.N.G.E.V. ODV – Sede Operativa – Italia
Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand
Galway Cycling – Ireland
Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism – Malaysia
Humusz Szövetség – Magyarország/Hungary
Break Free From Plastic UK – United Kingdom
Friends of the Earth Europe – Belgium
Central Colorado Climate Coalition – USA
Humanium – Switzerland, Germany and France
Fronteras Comunes – Mexico
Sciaena – Portugal
Surfrider Foundation Germany – Germany
WECF e.V. – Germany
Common Seas – UK
Plastic Soup Foundation – The Netherlands
Circuito de Interação de Redes Sociais (CIRCUS) – Brasil
Zero Waste Montenegro – Montenegro
Planetgroups – France
Friends of the Earth Slovakia – Slovakia
Green Vientiane – Laos
Safe Healthy Playing Fields, Inc. – USA
Verein Plastic Planet Austria – Austria
End Plastic Pollution Uganda  – Uganda
Zeru Frazu – France
Instituto SUSTENTAR Interdisciplinar de Estudos e Pesquisas em Sustentabilidade – Brazil
Social Democratic Party of Austria – Austria
Collectif 3R – France

  • Mageswari Sangaralingam
  • Manuela Ripa
  • Martin Hojsik
  • Martin Hausling
  • Meda Bagdonaite
  • Michael Jedelhauser
  • Michele Rivasi
  • Ozlem Demirel
  • Par Holmgren
  • Sara Matthieu
  • Sedat Gundogdu
  • Tim Grabiel

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#WasteTrade
#WasteShipment | #BreakFreeFromPlastic | #BaselConvention | #CircularEconomy
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www.breakfreefromplastic.org

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