BRUSSELS — The European Union will continue to export hundreds of thousands of tons of plastic waste to Turkey each year, despite finding evidence of environmental damage that could breach EU rules. The decision means the EU's most important market for trash — Turkey receives more than a third of the EU's exported plastic waste — will remain open for business. A Commission assessment, obtained by POLITICO, reported a long list of concerns with Turkey's treatment of EU waste, highlighting the often murky, hard-to-monitor world of the international waste trade.
Its concerns included “limited” information on how plastic waste is managed, uncertainty over how the EU regulation is being implemented and enforced, and limited stakeholder input into how the policy is implemented. The Commission interviewed several stakeholders who estimated that only around 10% of plastic waste is recycled in Turkey, while the majority still goes to landfills, is mismanaged, or leaks into the environment — which are cited as potential reasons to suspend exports under Article 45 of the EU's Waste Shipment Regulation. Nevertheless, the EU executive concluded waste shipments should be allowed to continue.
The assessment focused on Turkey because it's the biggest importer of European waste by far. Last year the country imported 510,000 tonnes of EU plastic waste, the equivalent of about 25 billion 500ml soft drink bottles. This represented 70% of plastic waste exported to OECD countries, and 36% of all exported plastic waste.
Under the bloc’s Waste Shipment Regulation — which restricts exports of certain types of EU waste to third countries to curb pollution — the Commission was required to assess by May 21 this year whether OECD countries importing large amounts of plastic waste are not causing major environmental or health damages to the country. Despite flagging “serious problems” linked to domestic and imported plastic waste in its delayed assessment, dated Sept. 1, the Commission determined exports could continue. It found Turkey had strengthened its legal framework for plastic waste management, which “broadly aligns” with international and EU rules, and had improved the enforcement of its environmental legislation.
The report shows a “troubling disconnect” between the Commission’s findings and its interpretation of the regulation, Lauren Weir, senior campaigner at the Environmental Investigation Agency and Rethink Plastic alliance, said. Dr Sedat Gündoğdu, an environmental researcher at Cukurova University and head of the Turkey-based Microplastic Research Group, said EU law “explicitly mandates action” in cases where there is insufficient evidence of environmentally sound management. The EU should take responsibility for the pollution it has generated and suspend waste shipments to Turkey instead of legitimizing this pollution,” he said.
The report highlights “both progress made and gaps that still need to be addressed to support environmentally sound waste management,” said a Commission spokesperson. The Commission will continue to work closely with Turkey and “carefully monitor” developments to help strengthen sustainable waste management, they added. A re-assessment of the situation will take place before 2028.
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