Cette thèse propose deux études empiriques consacrées à l’analyse des déterminants du commerce international de déchets plus précisément les déchets dangereux d’une part et les déchets métalliques d’autre part. Cette analyse a été réalisée en utilisant des méthodes économétriques adaptées au contexte et à partir des données statistiques de l’Eurostat (pour les déchets dangereux) et de UN Comtrade (pour les déchets recyclables). Si la littérature sur les déterminants du commerce international de déchets est peu abondante et limitée, c’est à cause de l’absence d’une définition universelle du déchet (due à la pluralité des définitions) débouchant sur l’absence d’une base de données spécifique aux déchets en passant par les problèmes de classification et de non concordance des flux de déchets. Il revient au chercheur de construire sa propre base de données à partir de sa propre définition. Nous proposons dans cette thèse d’apporter des éclairages sur certains points encore peu étudiés. Le premier chapitre s’intéresse à la relation dialectique entre définition du déchet et réglementation s’y afférente et aux aspects théoriques du commerce international de déchets en se basant sur ceux du commerce international de biens normaux. L’analyse révèle que le déchet est un bien particulier ce qui rend son commerce aussi particulier. Aussi, ces définitions se superposent, s'opposent et / ou se complètent. En outre, l’Union Européenne est la zone pionnière en termes de politique de déchet et le déchet est très réglementé notamment avant sa production (prévention) et dès sa production jusqu’à son traitement final. Le deuxième chapitre examine les déterminants du commerce de déchets dangereux de l’UE et demande si la politique européenne en matière de déchets a réussi ou échoué. Nous constatons que la proximité et les différences de capacité de traitement de déchets entre les pays et les réglementations sont des déterminants importants de ce commerce. En particulier, les pays ayant des capacités de traitement des déchets dangereux élevées observent une augmentation de leurs importations de déchets dangereux. Nous constatons également que ces pays ont des indices de performance environnementale élevés . Ces résultats impliquent que la politique de gestion des déchets de l'UE joue un rôle important dans l'élaboration du commerce européen des déchets dangereux. Enfin, il semble qu'il n'y ait pas d'effet havre de déchet pour le commerce des déchets dangereux de l'UE. Le troisième chapitre teste les déterminants du commerce de déchets métalliques plus précisément les hypothèses selon lesquelles la spécialisation industrielle captée par les avantages comparatifs révélés, les prix de la matière vierge et de la matière secondaire sont des déterminants importants pour le commerce de déchets métalliques dans le monde. Nous trouvons que la spécialisation industrielle est un facteur motivant les exportations et décourageant les importations. La décision d’exporter ou d’importer dépend surtout de la sensibilité au prix comparé du métal et des déchets métalliques. Lorsque le métal coûte plus cher que les déchets métalliques les pays importateurs spécialisés dans la métallurgie préfèrent importer des déchets métalliques afin de les substituer à la matière vierge et/ou de conserver cette dernière. Les pays exportateurs préfèrent exporter les déchets métalliques lorsque leur prix est dans la phase ascendante et le prix de la matière vierge est dans sa phase descendante. Ceci, afin de conserver la matière vierge et utiliser la matière secondaire à sa place. Dans tous les cas, un arbitrage se fait entre les prix de la matière vierge et de la matière secondaire. Par ailleurs, l’écart de réglementation joue un rôle important dans l’arbitrage. Les déchets métalliques ne sont pas exportés vers les pays à faible performance environnementale. A l’inverse, les importations sont réalisées en provenance de ces derniers. / This thesis consists of two empirical studies on the analysis of international waste trade determinants, more precisely the hazardous waste on the one hand and the metallic waste on the other hand. Different econometric methods were used on statistical data from Eurostat (for hazardous waste) and UN Comtrade (for recyclable waste). If the literature on the determinants of international trade in waste is scarce and limited, it is because of the absence of a universal definition of waste (due to the plurality of definitions) leading to classification problems, non-matching of waste flows and the absence of a specific database. It is up to the researcher to build his own database from his own definition. We propose, in this thesis, to provide insights on some points which have been too few studied. The first chapter studies the dialectical relationship between waste definition and its related regulations; and focuses on the theoretical aspects of international trade in waste based on those of the international trade in goods. The analysis reveals that waste is a particular good, which makes its trade also particular. Thus, its definitions are superimposed, opposed and / or complement each other. Moreover, the European Union is the pioneer zone in terms of waste policy and waste is highly regulated, especially before its generation (prevention) and from its generation to its final treatment.The second chapter examines the determinants of trade in hazardous waste and asks whether the EU waste policy has succeeded or failed. We find that proximity and differences in waste treatment capacity across countries and in regulations are important determinants of this trade. In particular, countries with high hazardous waste treatment capacities demonstrate increased hazardous waste imports. We also find that these countries have high environmental performance indices. These results imply that EU waste management policy plays an important role in shaping European trade in hazardous waste. Finally, it seems that there is no waste haven effect for the EU hazardous waste trade.The third chapter tests the determinants of international trade in metallic waste, more precisely the assumptions that industrial specialization captured by revealed comparative advantages, virgin material and secondary material prices are important determinants of international trade in metallic waste. We find that industrial specialization is a motivating factor for exports and discouraging for imports. The decision to export or import depends especially on metal and metal scrap price sensitivity. When metal costs more than metallic waste, importing countries specialized in metallurgy prefer to import metallic waste in order to substitute it to the virgin material and / or to preserve the latter. Exporting countries prefer to export metallic waste when its price is in the ascending phase and the price of virgin material is in its downward phase. This, in order to preserve the virgin material and to use the secondary material at its place. In any case, an arbitration is made between the price of the virgin material and the price of the secondary material. Furthermore, the regulation gap plays an important role in arbitration. Metallic wastes are not exported to countries with low environmental performance. Inversely, imports are made from the latter.

This study seeks to understand the role of non-state actors, particularly NGOs, in global environmental governance by spotlighting the EU’s policies on waste trade. To understand the role of NGOs in waste trade, the study traces the waste trade problematisation of the EU and discovers NGOs' strategies and frames to influence the policies of the EU on waste trade. The study uses mixed methods with the help of constructivist and post-structuralist approaches. According to the study, the EU historically approaches the waste trade as an environmental subject outside of the EU with the contribution of NGOs. On the other hand, changes in the global waste trade scene are shifting the EU’s waste trade problematisations within the EU as an economic dependency problem. In this context, by taking a dialogue builder and voice articulator role and creating alliances, NGOs try to change the EU's this two-way approach.  They work to create a global environmental problem understanding for waste trade using mixed frames, which contain both technical and political frames.

Since the 2018 Chinese plastic waste import ban, the global plastic waste trade has been increasingly problematized, especially considering the correlated global environmental issue of marine plastic pollution. Therefore, governance approaches are required to curb marine plastic pollution and regulate the plastic waste trade to prevent situations of “waste dumping” in Global South countries. This thesis will examine the connection between the 2019 changes Basel Convention as a global governance approach and the tendency of Southeast Asian countries to implement import regulations due to an increase in plastic waste exports to the region and resulting environmental concerns.  The empirical context of both plastic problems and the central theoretical concepts of waste distancing and environmental justice associated with a postcolonial, environmental theory approach are discussed in the literature review. The 2019 changes to the Basel Convention will be first examined with a content analysis and then the changing international context resulting in national import regulations will be studied with a process-tracing approach focused on the cases of Malaysia and Thailand. To conclude the Basel Convention provided a regulative framework for certain plastic waste imports and can also be related to the Southeast Asian countries’ response of repatriating illegal imports.

In the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the environmental protection of the marine environment was first addressed in a comprehensive manner on an international level. However, the Convention distinguishes between four different sorts of pollution depending on which source the pollution originates from. Still, one of these sources play a more crucial role in the protection of the marine environment than the other since that source is estimated to stand for 80 percent of all the marine pollution; namely marine pollution from land-based sources. As the throw-away culture has led to products being disposed of at a faster rate than ever before, in particular plastic products, the amount of land-based debris has also substantially increased over the last decades. This increased disposal rate of products in combination with poor waste treatment has consequently led to many kinds of wastes ending up in the ocean and causing severe harm, not only to the marine environment and its living species, but also to humans that eat the fish and use the many other ecosystem services of the Sea. In this thesis, some prominent international conventions on marine pollution from land-based sources are examined; namely the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, as well as the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. To achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 14.1 to significantly reduce marine pollution from land-based sources by 2025, this thesis claims that international laws addressing this sort of pollution need to be implemented. Moreover, this thesis rests on the belief that regional implementation is a crucial component in making states align with international law. However, while regional implementation has been ambitious in the European Union Law, many regions still lack enforceable frameworks that aim to reduce and prevent marine pollution from land-based sources.