Trends in trade flows across the life cycle of plastics: Preliminary Review

The document examines the scale and transparency of global plastics trade, noting that the 2021 trade value reached at least $1.2 trillion. It argues that current statistical classification methods hinder the transparency needed for effective policymaking to end plastic pollution.

• In 2021, the global trade in plastics was valued at a minimum of $1.2 trillion, which accounts for approximately 5% of all global trade.
• Current methods of classifying trade flows for official statistics restrict the transparency of the plastics life cycle, which negatively impacts the development of policies aimed at ending plastic pollution.

APA

C., D. B., D., B., M., S., C., B., & L., S. C. R. (2023). Trends in trade flows across the life cycle of plastics: Preliminary Review. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs. https://tessforum.org/latest/trends-in-trade-flows-across-the-life-cycle-of-plastics-preliminary-review

Chicago

C., Deere Birkbeck,, Barrowclough, D., Sugathan, M., Bellmann, C., and Souza Campos Rodrigues, L. Trends in trade flows across the life cycle of plastics: Preliminary Review. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs, 2023. https://tessforum.org/latest/trends-in-trade-flows-across-the-life-cycle-of-plastics-preliminary-review.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=C. |first1=Deere Birkbeck, |last2=D. |first2=Barrowclough, |last3=M. |first3=Sugathan, |last4=C. |first4=Bellmann, |last5=L. |first5=Souza Campos Rodrigues, |title=Trends in trade flows across the life cycle of plastics: Preliminary Review |publisher=Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs |date=25 May 2023 |url=https://tessforum.org/latest/trends-in-trade-flows-across-the-life-cycle-of-plastics-preliminary-review |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{c2023trends, author = {C., Deere Birkbeck, and D., Barrowclough, and M., Sugathan, and C., Bellmann, and L., Souza Campos Rodrigues,}, title = {{Trends in trade flows across the life cycle of plastics: Preliminary Review}}, institution = {Forum on Trade, Environment, \& the SDGs}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://tessforum.org/latest/trends-in-trade-flows-across-the-life-cycle-of-plastics-preliminary-review}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }