| 12:48:53 PM - Mon, May 17th 2021 |
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UK plastic waste being dumped and burned in Turkey, says Greenpeace
UK plastic waste is slotxo being exported to Turkey and then illegally dumped and burned, according to a new report.
Greenpeace said about 40% - or 210,000 tonnes - of the UK's plastic waste exports were sent to Turkey last year.
But rather than being recycled, investigators saw some of it dumped by roads, in fields and in waterways.
The UK is a "global leader in tackling plastic pollution", the government said - after Greenpeace called for it to "take control" of the problem.
Greenpeace's report warned Turkey was becoming Europe's "largest plastic waste dump".
The charity said it had investigated 10 sites across southern Turkey and found plastic bags and packaging from UK supermarkets and retailers at all of them.
Packaging for a coronavirus antigen test was also found, indicating the waste was less than a year old, the report said.
The UK generates more plastic waste per person than any other country apart from the US, the report added.
Turkey, Malaysia and Poland received the largest amounts of plastic waste exports from the UK in 2020.
'Waste dump'
Turkey received nearly 40% of the UK's plastic waste exports in 2020 - an increase by a factor of 18 since 2016, when 12,000 tonnes were sent.
European Union member states also sent 20 times more plastic waste to Turkey last year compared to 2016.
Nihan Temiz Atas, biodiversity projects lead from Greenpeace Mediterranean, based in Turkey, said: "Around 241 truckloads of plastic waste come to Turkey every day from across Europe and it overwhelms us.
"As far as we can see from the data and the field, we continue to be Europe's largest plastic waste dump."
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