Turkey faces surge in plastic waste imports harming agriculture

In 2024 Turkey received more than 500,000 tonnes of plastic waste from the European Union and 139,000 tonnes from the United Kingdom, a rise of about 19 % over the previous year. The waste is processed at recycling facilities near Adana, where testing of nearby irrigation canals revealed high concentrations of micro‑plastics. These canals feed the fertile Çukurova plain, raising concerns about crop yields and food‑safety risks. Activists and scholars describe the flow of waste as “waste colonialism” or “ecological imperialism”. Sedat Gündoğdu, a marine biologist at Sabancı University, has called for a total ban on plastic‑waste imports, warning that the contaminated water threatens both agriculture and public health. The Guardian reported that roughly 13 % of the waste arrived at eight facilities in the Adana region, and that the United Kingdom, despite pledging to curb plastic pollution, has not imposed an export ban. EU waste shipments have similarly increased, making Turkey one of the largest recipients of European plastic waste.