Scrap plastic exports from the U.S. 2015-2022

The United States exported around 950 million pounds of scrap plastic in 2022, a decrease of almost 23 percent when compared to the previous year. The volume of scrap plastic exported by the North American country has fallen considerably since 2015, when shipments totaled 4.5 billion pounds.

Where do U.S. plastic scraps go?

In 2022, neighboring countries Canada and Mexico were the leading destinations for U.S. plastic scrap exports, accounting combined for more than half of exports that year. Asian countries such as India, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia received the second largest share of U.S. plastic scrap exports. Up until 2017, China was the main destination for U.S. plastic waste, until a total ban on recovered plastic imports imposed by the Asian country took effect as of January 2018.

Why is plastic waste exported?

As a valuable raw material, the plastic waste trade makes sense from an economic standpoint. Low-income nations can benefit from a cost-effective material supply, while industrialized nations lacking the infrastructure to recycle it domestically can ship their waste to countries with lower energy and labor costs. However, despite only accounting for two percent of the plastic waste generated, exports of plastic waste worldwide can lead to concerning environmental and health risks, as poorly managed waste might leak into the ocean, waterways or landfills. As a result, there has been increased pressure in recent years to either ban plastic waste shipping worldwide or raise the standards and monitoring of materials dispatched.