  Countries globally trade with tons of waste materials every year, some of
which are highly hazardous. This trade admits a network representation of the
world-wide waste web, with countries as vertices and flows as directed weighted
edges. Here we investigate the main properties of this network by tracking 108
categories of wastes interchanged in the period 2001-2019. Although, most of
the hazardous waste was traded between developed nations, a disproportionate
asymmetry existed in the flow from developed to developing countries. Using a
dynamical model, we simulate how waste stress propagates through the network
and affects the countries. We identify 28 countries with low Environmental
Performance Index that are at high risk of waste congestion. Therefore, they
are at threat of improper handling and disposal of hazardous waste. We find
evidence of pollution by heavy metals, by volatile organic compounds and/or by
persistent organic pollutants, which are used as chemical fingerprints, due to
the improper handling of waste in several of these countries.
