Туреччина стала головним одержувачем пластикових відходів із Європи - Bloomberg

21.10.2026, 01:10◉ 02 min readEditorial team “SHCHO STALOSIA”

Велика Британія та Європейський Союз торік відправили до Туреччини майже 650 тисяч тонн пластикових відходів - більше, ніж до будь-якої іншої країни, але забруднення, пов’язане з їх переробкою, затьмарює екологічні амбіції Анкари напередодні кліматичного саміту COP31. — Укрінформ.

English translation is temporarily unavailable. The Ukrainian original is shown.

Туреччина стала головним одержувачем пластикових відходів із Європи - Bloomberg

This is stated in a Bloomberg article, Ukrinform reports.

Ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference COP31, which will be held in Antalya from November 9-20 this year, Turkish officials and environmental groups are pushing for tougher action on plastic pollution and recycling.

In total, more than 2.5 billion tons of waste are generated worldwide each year.

“Europe cannot demand higher environmental standards from the rest of the world and not take responsibility for the waste it generates. If European plastic pollutes other people's rivers, soils or communities, it is not recycling. This is the transfer of pollution abroad, "MEP, former European Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius was quoted as saying.

However, according to a study published this year, the concentration of microplastics in watercourses downstream from processing plants in Adana, in the southeast of the country, was up to 132 times higher than upstream. Plastic particles enter irrigation canals, the Ceyhan River and the Mediterranean Sea, and sea currents spread pollution along the coast.

Context

“Last year, global negotiations on limiting plastic waste collapsed as some countries wanted to focus on collection and recycling rather than limiting production. Now Turkey is seeking to commit to halving the growth of global waste by 2035,” the publication notes.

Imports of plastic waste into Turkey have increased sharply after China stopped accepting it from abroad in 2018. The lack of domestic recycling capacity and the ease of export make it difficult for European countries to abandon this waste trade. At the same time, Turkey gains jobs and relatively cheap raw materials for industry.

What's next

“Much of the world is struggling with the growing amount of discarded plastic, and Turkey is a major recipient of plastic waste from the UK and the EU. It imports hundreds of thousands of tons a year, which can poison the marine environment, contaminate agricultural land and enter the human food chain. Waste consumption in the country is expected to grow, ”the publication notes.