The hidden flow of Spanish plastic to Malaysia

[Christina Brause]

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Every three and a half days, a waste management plant catches fire somewhere in Spain. These were once isolated incidents. According to authorities, these fires have doubled in recent years, with over 100 facilities burning annually since 2021.

These fires are symptoms of a crisis sparked by a single policy change. When China banned plastic waste imports in 2018, it rerouted global waste flows. Before the ban, Spain alone exported around 115 911 tonnes to the country. By 2024, Spain’s exports to China fell to zero. Yet plastic consumption – in Spain as well as in the rest of the EU – continued rising. Spain’s recycling infrastructure buckled under the redirected waste. The country has struggled for years with hundreds of illegal landfills, prompting the European Commission to refer Spain to the EU Court of Justice over its failure to enforce basic waste rules.