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<p>Disposing of and treating plastic waste has become a pressing concern for environmental sustainability, leading to increasingly strict legislation worldwide. This study presents the first comprehensive comparative analysis of plastic waste legislation in the European Union (EU), the United States (USA), and Brazil, emphasizing how regulatory frameworks, enforcement capacity, and societal participation shape waste management outcomes. In particular, it investigates cross-regional differences, revealing how legislative maturity, cultural context, and economic conditions directly determine the effectiveness of policies. The methodology followed a systematic search of official legal databases and sectoral associations. Boolean keyword strings were applied, retrieving several hundred documents in each jurisdiction, of which a refined pool of national-level laws, decrees, and strategies which contained plastic waste was retained for analysis. The results demonstrate that the EU has developed the most advanced model, achieving recycling (46 wt%) and energy recovery (33 wt%) through integrated legislation, coordinated public strategies, and sustained technological investment within a consolidated circular economy framework. The USA, in contrast, remains highly dependent on landfilling (81 wt%), although recent federal initiatives seek to expand recycling and accelerate circular economy pathways. Brazil has made legislative progress and benefits from the inclusion of waste picker cooperatives, yet structural deficiencies and weak enforcement still result in 39 wt% of plastics being disposed of in open dumps or non-sanitary landfills. These findings highlight that effective plastic waste governance requires not only robust and coherent legislation but also cultural shifts toward sustainable consumption and the active integration of social actors.</p>

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The complexities of plastic waste legislation implementation: a comparative study across the European Union, United States, and Brazil

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月18日

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  • Danilo Lins Sant’Ana de Lima,
  • Alisson Dias da Silva Ruy,
  • José Carlos Pinto,
  • Luiz Antônio Magalhães Pontes

摘要

Disposing of and treating plastic waste has become a pressing concern for environmental sustainability, leading to increasingly strict legislation worldwide. This study presents the first comprehensive comparative analysis of plastic waste legislation in the European Union (EU), the United States (USA), and Brazil, emphasizing how regulatory frameworks, enforcement capacity, and societal participation shape waste management outcomes. In particular, it investigates cross-regional differences, revealing how legislative maturity, cultural context, and economic conditions directly determine the effectiveness of policies. The methodology followed a systematic search of official legal databases and sectoral associations. Boolean keyword strings were applied, retrieving several hundred documents in each jurisdiction, of which a refined pool of national-level laws, decrees, and strategies which contained plastic waste was retained for analysis. The results demonstrate that the EU has developed the most advanced model, achieving recycling (46 wt%) and energy recovery (33 wt%) through integrated legislation, coordinated public strategies, and sustained technological investment within a consolidated circular economy framework. The USA, in contrast, remains highly dependent on landfilling (81 wt%), although recent federal initiatives seek to expand recycling and accelerate circular economy pathways. Brazil has made legislative progress and benefits from the inclusion of waste picker cooperatives, yet structural deficiencies and weak enforcement still result in 39 wt% of plastics being disposed of in open dumps or non-sanitary landfills. These findings highlight that effective plastic waste governance requires not only robust and coherent legislation but also cultural shifts toward sustainable consumption and the active integration of social actors.