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The world-wide waste web | Nature Communications
Source: nature.com
Article summary:
1. Globally, 7-10 billion tonnes of waste are produced annually, including 300-500 million tonnes of hazardous waste.
2. The Basel Convention was created in 1989 to monitor global waste trading and has revealed the difficulties to obtain accurate information regarding the magnitude and direction of global HW flows.
3. This article studies the trade networks that account for the legal flow of HW in the world, analyzing the potential risks of improper handling and disposal of HW by individual nations, as well as identifying “chemical fingerprints” that reveal the impact of improper handling and disposal on the environment and human health.
Article analysis:
The article is generally reliable and trustworthy, providing a comprehensive overview of global hazardous waste (HW) trading networks and their potential risks. It provides an extensive analysis of data from 2001-2019 reported by countries and territories on their trade of 108 categories of HW, merging these categories into seven classes of waste to study the trade networks that account for legal flow of HW in the world. The article also discusses potential risks associated with illegal HW trafficking to developing countries, as well as economic benefits for both developed and developing countries from international waste trade.
However, there are some points which could be improved upon in terms of trustworthiness and reliability. For example, while it is noted that some type of waste such as radioactive materials are excluded from reports at BaC database, there is no mention or discussion about other types or sources which may be excluded from this data set (e.g., medical/biological wastes). Additionally, while it is mentioned that “other studies point out a more complex picture with important contributions from South–South trade” there is no further exploration or discussion about this point – what are these other studies? What do they say? How does this affect the overall analysis presented here?
In addition, while it is noted that “the forces that impulse international trade of HW are complex and multifactorial” there is no further exploration or discussion about this point either – what are these forces? How do they interact with each other? How do they affect global HW trading networks?
Finally, while it is noted that “the situation is aggravated by illegal HW trafficking to, and dumping in developing countries” there is no further exploration or discussion about this point either – what are some examples? What can be done to address this issue?
In conclusion, while generally reliable and trustworthy overall