“Waste Colonialism”: Study on global plastic pollution slammed for downplaying role of wealthy nations

A new study on global plastic pollution published by the University of Leeds in the Nature Journal is facing criticism for failing to account for the impacts of ‘waste colonialism’—the practice of high-income countries exporting plastic waste to lower-income nations.

The study, published on 04 September, claims that more than two-thirds of the annual 57 million tons of plastic pollution originate from countries in the Global South. It identifies India, Nigeria, and Indonesia as emerging plastic pollution hotspots and predicts that Sub-Saharan Africa could become the world’s largest source of plastic pollution in the coming decades.