While European Union (EU) countries are looking for new ways to remove plastic waste, Türkiye continues to be the most important address of this giant waste flow. Data emerging in recent years reveal that garbage imports have become increasingly complex with both environmental, economic and social dimensions. Both official figures, reports of non-governmental organizations and academic evaluations reveal the increase in Türkiye’s waste imports. According to research conducted in recent years, EU countries export more than 30 percent of their plastic waste to Türkiye, and this rate corresponds to approximately 45 thousand 923 tons of plastic waste. It is claimed that the total amount directed by the EU to other buyers in the same period fell far behind the volume received by Türkiye alone.
NOTICEABLE INCREASE
Türkiye is the primary target country for plastic waste exports not only to EU countries but also to the UK. It is stated that with the UK re-regulating its waste shipments after Brexit, there has been a remarkable increase in the amounts heading to Türkiye. According to Eurostat data, the total amount of waste exported by the European Union outside the EU reached 32 million tons by 2022, while 12.4 million tons of it was sent to Türkiye. Well One in every three tons of waste exported by Europe went to Türkiye. The picture has not changed in 2024; The total amount of waste coming to Türkiye from 27 EU countries was recorded as 12.3 million tons. The amount of plastic waste in this huge volume was around 425 thousand tons.
ENGLAND IS IN THE FIRST PLACE
Türkiye was among the countries that received the most waste from the European Union in 2024. Plastic waste imports, which were 314 thousand tons in 2023, increased to 425 thousand tons in one year, an increase of nearly 35 percent. In the reports of Greenpeace Akdeniz, it was stated that Türkiye received a total of 456 thousand 507 tons of plastic waste from the EU and the UK in 2023. This figure is almost 14 times the level of 33 thousand tons in 2016. According to recent data, England is one of the countries that sends the most plastic waste to Türkiye. While England exported 140 thousand 907 tons of plastic waste to Türkiye in 2023, Germany sent 87 thousand 109 tons of waste to Türkiye.
THE EU IS OFFICIALLY ESCAPE
According to Greenpeace’s report, this increase in the amount of plastic waste directed by the EU to Türkiye is directly linked to the rising disposal costs in Europe. Rather than processing plastic waste within their own borders, European countries are transferring the cost and environmental responsibility to countries like Türkiye. The economic value of the EU’s total waste exports to Türkiye is pronounced as 4 billion 182 million euros by 2024. On the other hand, while iron, steel and aluminum scraps create economic value as they are reused as raw materials in the Turkish industry, plastic waste is seen as an equally recyclable potential.
TOO MUCH WATER IS SPENDED
Former Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization Prof. Dr. Mustafa Öztürk is “Although plastic waste recycling is considered an environmentally friendly activity, this process is water-intensive and energy-intensive. Additionally, a significant amount of wastage occurs during the recycling process. This wastage rate can reach up to 40 percent in some facilities. Plastic residue that cannot be recycled is often burned or landfilled; “This causes harmful compounds such as microplastics, dioxins and furans to be released into the atmosphere,” he said.
TARGET 60 PERCENT
On the other hand, within the scope of Türkiye’s Zero Waste program, the recovery rate of general waste was announced as 34.92 percent as of 2023. The goal is to increase this rate to 60 percent by 2035. However, in order to achieve this target, waste must be collected from domestic sources, recycling technologies must be developed and the import-based system must be reduced.
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