Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System as an International Tool to Reduce Plastic Pollution

Abstract

The article examines the challenges associated with monitoring international trade in plastic goods at each stage of its life cycle. It finds that the 2022 Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Nomenclature (HS) lacks the granularity needed to distinguish between products based on their content of environmentally and health-hazardous chemicals present in plastics, including finished plastic goods and waste. Proposals to amend this nomenclature are substantiated in order to bring it into compliance with the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Wastes and Their Disposal. The key limitations in the current HS classification of plastic goods are analyzed, and the following recommendations for improvement in this field are proposed: adding new subheadings to differentiate packaging types (polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, other materials); enhanced classification criteria based on material composition and production methods; amendments to section Notes for HS Group 39 to better address plastic pollution concerns.