1.9

Global Waste Flows – Garbage, E-waste and Plastics

In this step we will take a closer look at what happens to garbage that has been discarded, global waste flows, e-waste and plastic pollution. Other types of waste, including their effects on local communities and the environment, will be covered in coming parts of the course.

Growing global population and economies significantly increase material production and consumption, leading to a rise in mismanaged waste. This results in widespread pollution of ecosystems like rivers and oceans. To protect global health and ecosystems, proper waste management is crucial. Furthermore, improving practices like recycling can also reduce the need to produce new raw materials.

Learn more in the key charts on waste management from Our World in Data here, and in the video below you get an introduction to different ways to manage waste.

The dark side of electronic waste recycling

A 2025 report from the UN environment programme states that:

Humanity produces 62 million tonnes of electronic waste every year, enough to fill 1.5 million transport trucks, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing waste streams […]. Less than a quarter of that is properly recycled, leaving mountains of electronics to rot away in unregulated dumpsites, where they can leach chemicals into the soil and water-table

In this video we get to follow investigative reporters from Verge Science working with non-profit Basel Action Network, BAN, in tracking electronic waste (e-waste) originating in Seattle, US. E-waste is a uniquely hazardous and difficult stream of garbage that, despite potential for responsible recycling, is frequently and often illegally shipped overseas by processors for disposal in junkyards in poorer nations.

A project by the MIT Senseable City Lab, Trash Track, used a similar approach in adding trackers to waste that then were transported around the globe, read more here.

Plastic Pollution

The Global Plastics Outlook 2022 from OECD lists the following key findings:

The current plastics lifecycle is far from circular
COVID-19 increased single-use plastic waste, though plastics use fell overall
Mismanaged plastic waste is the main source of macroplastic leakage
Significant stocks of plastics have already accumulated in aquatic environments, with 109 Mt of plastics accumulated in rivers, and 30 Mt in the ocean
The carbon footprint of the plastics lifecycle is significant

Read the full report here.

In the interactive map below you can explore different types of plastic pollution and waste, and how it impacts different parts of the world.

There are more maps and tools available on the Our World in Data website here.

Further reading, learning and references

Our World in Data – Waste Management https://ourworldindata.org/waste-management

The Waste Atlas www.atlas.d-waste.com/

UN environment programme (2025). As electronic waste surges, countries look for answers. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/electronic-waste-surges-countries-look-answers

Basel Action Network, BAN www.ban.org/

The global E-waste Monitor 2024 – Electronic Waste Rising Five Times Faster than Documented E-waste Recycling: UN https://ewastemonitor.info/the-global-e-waste-monitor-2024/

Global E-waste Statistics Partnership https://globalewaste.org/

MIT Senseable City Lab – Trash Track https://senseable.mit.edu/trashtrack/

OECD – Global Plastics Outlook – Economic Drivers, Environmental Impacts and Policy Options www.oecd.org/en/publications/global-plastics-outlook_de747aef-en.html

Our World in Data – Plastic Pollution https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution

© Daniel Mossberg, CEMUS, Uppsala University and Sonali Phadke, studio Alternatives and Stephanie Foote