Chapter 4Country Case Studies

15 countries and regions across 5 continents, and each with a different story of industry influence to tell. Our global investigation reveals how industry tactics to delay, distract and derail play out across the world.

Firstly, we investigated whether the tide is turning in the United States, where the industry has been extremely successful at preventing any meaningful legislation and shifting the blame on to consumers. Then we looked into the recently adopted EU Single-Use Plastics Directive, investigating how the industry lobbied first at the EU level and later at the national level in different member states. We investigated how the industry is working to delay and weaken the introduction of DRS in Austria, Spain, France, Scotland and the Czech Republic. Finally, we investigated how the plastic industry influences policies in China and Japan, Kenya, Bolivia and Uruguay, each of which reveals a range of different tactics in the corporate playbook on the ground.

Download the full chapter below or head back to the map to explore the countries.