Campaigners find UK plastic waste dumped as far away as Turkey | UK News

The UK continues to dump waste in other countries with supermarket packaging and plastic bags found as far away as Turkey, according to a report.

Greenpeace investigators have found piles of illegally dumped rubbish by the side of the road, in fields or flowing into waterways at 10 sites scattered around Adana province in the south. turkey.

UK plastic has been found at all of these sites, including evidence of plastic packaging and bags from major UK supermarkets and stores, according to Greenpeace’s Trashed report.

Packing for one COVID-19[female[feminine the antigen test was among the elements found.

The campaign group claims more than half of the UK’s plastic waste is sent to Turkey and Malaysia, with the equivalent of three and a half Olympic swimming pools of waste being sent overseas each day.

Nihan Temiz Atas, biodiversity projects led by Turkey-based Greenpeace Mediterranean, said the country was overwhelmed with plastic waste from other countries.

“The uncontrolled imports of plastic waste only aggravate the problems existing in Turkey’s own recycling system,” she said, revealing that around 241 trucks of plastic waste arrive in Turkey every day from Turkey. all of Europe.

“Based on the data and the field, we continue to be the largest plastic waste dump in Europe.”

Nina Schrank, plastics campaign manager at Greenpeace UK, said: “It is appalling to see plastic from UK supermarket shelves being left 3,000 kilometers away in flaming piles on the side of Turkish roads.

“We need to stop dumping our plastic waste in other countries. The heart of the problem is overproduction – the UK is the second largest user of plastic waste per person in the world, behind the US.”