Thread by @RazAkkoc

What happens to Europeans plastics when it is exported by countries including the UK & France to Turkey? I, @yasinnakgul & @volkikam went to Gaziantep & Adana to find out last month after Turkey last year became the main destination for the EU's waste. france24.com/en/live-news/2…

According to @EU_Eurostat via @Greenpeace_Med, in 2019, the monthly average plastic imports increased to 48,500 tonnes from around 4,000 in 2016. The top 5 exporters to Turkey in 2019 were the UK, Italy, Belgium, Germany and France. bianet.org/english/enviro…

But the issue is tonnes of the plastic packaging ends up in rivers, ditches and roadsides of southern Turkey, as these pictures taken last month in Adana show. We went to multiple sites and found similar images. The next couple of tweets will be a closer look at these areas.

Calling attention especially to Brits! I came across plastic packaging for baked beans, @sainsburys Taste the Difference products, and @ASOS and @Debenhams bags used for online orders. The images were taken in Adana, in southern Turkey, from different dumping sites.

There's more! Even came across a 1995 romance novel called Steamy December, copies of @MetroUK, McCain chips & @CostaCoffee packaging. My photos.

What I haven't yet mentioned is some of this ends as microplastics in rivers or burned, sending hazardous chemicals into the air.

There are other European countries' plastics as well, including France. Images my own from Adana again. @gundogdu_sedat0 told AFP last month European citizens needed to think carefully about where the recycling they carefully separate ends up.

But there are companies like GAMA Recycle which import plastic bottles from the US and Europe and turn it into fibre and thread, some of which is used by H&M, Zara, Ikea and Turkish fashion retailers like LC Waikiki. Some pictures from that process in Gaziantep taken last month.

GAMA Recycle chairman Zafer Kaplan told AFP even if Turkey collected all of its waste, there would still be a need to import. Mehmet Dasdemir, of GAMA Recycle, insisted the company's efforts was "good for the environment" because the material would not decompose if left alone.

Alongside these issues, Turkey is striving to develop its waste collection system while First Lady Emine Erdogan leads a #zerowaste movement since 2017. Last year a Zero Waste Blue Project launched while Turkey banned plastic bags at the start of 2019. tccb.gov.tr/en/news/542/83…

In September, the environment ministry said the recycling industry must source a maximum of 50% of what it needs through imports while the rest had to be sourced domestically. Parliament also last week passed a bill to set up an environment agency. evrensel.net/haber/420289/t…)

One thing that was really stressed to me, and which @POLITICOEurope covered well recently, was how much we needed to move away from relying on recycling to justify our consumption, especially of plastics. I recommend reading this politico.eu/article/recycl…

You can watch @volkikam's video via @AFP's YouTube page here:

And for the Brits, there is more detail about British plastics ending up in Turkey via this link from the BBC earlier this year:

Belgian journalist @SarahLamote (an absolute wonder) has been a leading force on this subject in Europe and we've periodically discussed the issue so I want to share her work. knack.be/nieuws/belgie/…

Her more recent stuff from October this year lighthousereports.nl/ourprojects/20…

Further reading/videos on this subject if anyone wants:

📺france24.com/en/tv-shows/fo…

✍️🏽aljazeera.com/economy/2020/4…

✍️🏽
politico.eu/article/why-tu…

Developments I want to share:

I fully recommend this photo gallery via @DailySabah of @yasinnakgul's images from Antep and Adana. dailysabah.com/gallery/europe…

The environment minister responded via Hurriyet hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/bakan-h…

And some angry redditors reddit.com/r/Turkey/comme…

I am really glad to see @LastWeekTonight @iamjohnoliver take on plastics

Turkey was the largest destination for waste exported from the EU, with a volume of around 13.7 million tonnes in 2020 - more than three times as much as in 2004 and up from 11.4 million tonnes in 2019, according to @EU_Eurostat data published Tuesday
ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/p…

@EU_Eurostat Turkey is the main receiver of UK plastic waste (209,642 tonnes – 39%), according to a @Greenpeace report. As uncovered by many before and the group today, it is dumped, burned or ends up polluting rivers and the sea. theguardian.com/environment/20…

Full report: greenpeace.org.uk/wp-content/upl…

"In just five years, Turkey has gone from being a minor player in the global waste trade to effectively becoming the new China."