This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: At first glance, the canal near which Ibrahim Yildiz grazes his sheep in the southern Adana province appears idyllic, framed by rows of clementine trees—until the mountains of plastic shavings come into view. "It's been like this for a decade.
Around here, we call it the 'canal of filth.' My animals no longer produce milk," sighed the 65-year-old shepherd. As the leading destination for plastic waste from the European Union, with 510,000 tonnes (562,000 tons) imported in 2025, alongside another 140,000 tonnes (154,000 tons) from Britain, Turkey has become "Europe's dumping ground," environmental campaigners say as the U.N. COP31 climate conference starts in Antalya.
Valued at 94 million euros ($105 million) in 2025 by the European Commission, this trade is polluting both the Mediterranean and the Turkish agricultural landscape—largely through nonrecyclable plastics. Abandoned in nature or burned in the open air, the waste is transformed into mountains of filthy plastic shavings. Poorly shredded, the remains often reveal their origins: a plastic pack of French ham, an empty potato chip bag from Austria, a used packet of tomato sauce from Britain.
Nearly 60% of this waste is transported to Adana, where around 170 recycling companies are located in the heart of this fertile farmland that produces more than a third of Turkey's citrus fruits. According to marine biologist Sedat Gundogdu of the Microplastics Research Group (GRM), the particles are carried by rivers and floods from Adana to the Mediterranean, where they could be seen building up along the Turkish coast this summer. "We measured microplastic concentrations in the Mediterranean up to 65 times higher than levels previously seen.
Up to 93% come from waste shredded at recycling centers," he told AFP. "It's an ecological disaster because it's permanent. Once it reaches the sea, the entire Mediterranean is polluted." But Environment Minister Murat Kurum denied garbage was being imported, instead saying what did come in was recyclable matter in a form that could be used as raw material.
"We absolutely do not allow waste imports. Ground granule material which is used as raw material in production," he told journalists on Oct. 23. Where illegal waste imports had been identified in Adana, "we have closed down the businesses we identified and we have imposed penalties," he said.
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