The 2018 ban by China on waste exports contributed to unveil the truth about European waste and its destination, as a large quantity is shipped across the sea causing disastrous, health, social and environmental impacts. As after China, more countries are deciding to ban the import of such waste while rules have been strengthened at the international level, this webinar will look at whether it’s time the EU implemented a full ban on the export of its waste and what impact this would have.

2021 saw growing recognition that the problem of waste trade goes beyond tweaking shipments rules but lies with overconsumption and the need for waste generators to take full responsibility. As the European Commission has just published a new proposal for the Waste Shipment Regulation, the webinar was convened to understand what policies the EU should be aiming for, how these can help prevent communities around the world from receiving Europe’s unwanted trash and how the practice of trading waste can be linked to the concept of waste colonialism.

This webinar goes into greater depth to answer these key questions:

• What can the EU do regarding its waste shipment practices? Should it go as far as banning all exports of waste outside of its territory?
• What are the impact of EU waste shipment in receiving countries and what should it do about it?
• Looking at the EU practice of shipping waste, can we talk about waste colonialism?