Turkey faces growing litter pollution on Antalya beaches and Adana's Seyhan River

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Gökoğlu, a marine scientist at Akdeniz University, reported that Antalya’s Konyaaltı Beach is littered with up to a hundred cigarette butts per square metre and large amounts of plastic waste recovered during a recent dive. The city has recently banned smoking on several beaches, but discarded butts and other waste continue to accumulate, threatening the coastal ecosystem and reducing groundwater flows into the Mediterranean.

In Adana, residents and tourists have complained that the Seyhan River and its banks are clogged with plastic bottles, bags and other debris. Local activist Abit Kaplan said he has never seen the river cleaned, and urged municipal authorities to take action to improve the area’s image for visitors.

Both locations illustrate how insufficient waste‑management and lax enforcement are degrading Turkey’s natural waterways and tourist sites.