Emerging criminal trends in the global plastic waste market
27 August 2020
INTERPOL have published a new open-source strategic analysis report on global plastic waste management that highlights an alarming increase in illegal plastic pollution trade across the world since 2018.
Funded by the LIFE SMART Waste project, the report indicates that there has been a considerable increase over the past two years in illegal waste shipments, primarily rerouted to South-East Asia via multiple transit countries to camouflage the origin of the waste shipment.
Other key findings include an increase in illegal waste fire and landfills in Europe and Asia, a significant rise in the use of counterfeit documents and fraudulent waste registrations, with case studies from each of the contributing countries illustrating the extent and complexity of the problem.
Based on open sources and criminal intelligence from 40 countries, the report gives a comprehensive global picture of emerging trafficking routes and crime threats in the plastic waste market, and suggests tailored enforcement responses.
Learn more
Read more about this collaborative work, the resuls and recommendations:
- INTERPOL news article - INTERPOL report alerts to sharp rise in plastic waste crime
- INTERPOL strategic analysis report - Emerging criminal trends in the global plastic waste market since January 2018
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