UK waste exports to Turkey increased by 60% between 2022 and 2023, according to a new analysis of data by Greenpeace Türkiye.
The analysis of UN Comtrade data shows the UK was the largest exporter of waste to Turkey in 2023, with 140,907 tonnes sent to the nation across the year compared to 87,900 in 2022.
The amount of waste the UK exports to Turkey year-on-year:
|
Year |
Weight (Tonnes) |
|
2019 |
153,967 |
|
2020 |
209,640 |
|
2021 |
122,892 |
|
2022 |
87,900 |
|
2023 |
140,907 |
|
2024 (Until September) |
112,872 |
Rudy Schulkind, political campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said the UK Government should ban all waste exports.
Schilkind commented: “The UK can’t keep using nations like Turkey as a dumping ground for the mountains of waste we produce each year.
“This scandal is a symptom of the fact we produce far more waste than we can ever expect to deal with safely or effectively. We have to start taking responsibility and stop treating it with a harmful ‘out of sight, out of mind’ attitude.”
A 2021 report by Greenpeace found that plastic bags and packaging from the UK were being dumped and burned across southern Turkey.
Exports from the UK had declined from a peak of 209,640 in 2020 to a low of 87,900 tonnes in 2022.
The Global Plastics Treaty presents our greatest opportunity to end Türkiye’s role in Europe’s plastic waste trade.
However, Greenpeace said the increase in 2023 suggests this was a “temporary blip”, with figures for the first five months of 2024 already showing an acceleration in waste exports.
Greenpeace said the rise in plastic waste exports to Turkey began in January 2018 when China banned plastic waste imports.
Greenpeace Türkiye’s plastics campaign lead, Nihan Temiz Ataş, said: “Our field research has shown that Türkiye’s soil, air, and water have been irreversibly contaminated by imported plastic waste.
“We call on the UK government to ensure full transparency and take full responsibility for managing its own waste.
“The Global Plastics Treaty presents our greatest opportunity to end Türkiye’s role in Europe’s plastic waste trade.
“If the treaty is strong enough, it could ensure concrete steps to prevent plastic pollution at every stage, from production to disposal.”
