Alanya Mayor Highlights Microplastic Pollution Threat to Turkish Mediterranean Coast

Alanya Mayor Osman Tarık Özçelik said intensive microplastic contamination on Alanya’s beaches is linked to illegal discharges from nearby plastic‑recycling plants in Mersin and Adana. A joint scientific study with Çukurova University and Sabancı University researchers is being conducted to document the source and extent of the pollution, with the report to be released to national media. Özçelik warned that Turkey’s tourism revenue – projected at over $60 billion in 2025, with Antalya accounting for about $17 billion – could suffer serious losses if the problem persists.

Antalya Governor Hulusi Şahin confirmed that the Levant current is transporting microplastics to the Antalya coast and that the Ministry of Environment, City and Climate Change is taking “very serious” measures, including an upcoming inter‑ministerial workshop on microplastic mitigation. Professor Sedat Gündoğdu added that complaints about microplastics have been recorded from Adana’s shoreline up to Kemer and Fethiye, underscoring the regional scale of the issue.