ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Pollution
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1627829
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Marine Environmental Protection: Challenges, Solutions and Perspectives Volume IIView all 26 articles
International Trade and Plastic Waste in Oceans: Legal and Policy Challenges
Provisionally accepted
- 1Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Chongqing, China
- 2University of Sialkot, Sialkot, Pakistan
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Plastic waste pollution in oceans has emerged as a severe global crisis, exacerbated by international trade. The increased movement of goods, particularly plastic-based products, contributes significantly to marine plastic pollution. This study explores the intersection of international trade and plastic waste, focusing on legal and policy challenges. Using a qualitative research design, this paper reviews international legal frameworks such as the Basel Convention, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and regional trade agreements to assess their effectiveness in addressing plastic waste issues. The research highlights critical enforcement gaps, lack of standardized regulations, and insufficient international cooperation as major obstacles to effective plastic waste management. Key findings suggest strengthening international legal frameworks, enhancing monitoring and compliance mechanisms, and promoting sustainable trade practices are crucial for mitigating plastic pollution in oceans. The study underscores the necessity for binding agreements within trade policies to ensure a sustainable balance between economic growth and marine ecosystem preservation.
Keywords: environmental governance, Waste management policies, marine ecosystem degradation, Transboundary pollution, Regulatory enforcement, Circular economy, sustainable development
Received: 13 May 2025; Accepted: 22 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hui, Haider and Khan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Asif Khan, University of Sialkot, Sialkot, Pakistan
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