UK plastic waste pollutes Turkey’s farming canals with microplastics

A Guardian investigation has uncovered high levels of microplastic contamination in irrigation canals near a recycling hub in Adana, Turkey, that receives plastic waste from British companies. The pollution, found in waterways that flood agricultural fields and feed a larger canal used for crop irrigation on the fertile Çukurova plain, raises concerns about food safety and environmental harm. The findings, published on August 4, 2026, highlight the ongoing issue of "waste colonialism," where rich nations export plastic waste to poorer countries with less regulated waste management. The UK, one of the world's largest plastic waste exporters, shipped 139,000 tonnes to Turkey in 2025 out of a total 675,000 tonnes exported that year, its highest in eight years. According to an analysis by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), about 13% of UK plastic waste sent to Turkey between May 2021 and July 2024 went to eight facilities in the Adana recycling zone, with 13 British companies sending 545 shipments totaling 52,000 tonnes. Sedat Gündoğdu, a marine biologist at Sabancı University's Istanbul Policy Center, conducted microplastic sampling and found levels downstream from the recycling zone were 10 times higher than upstream sites, with pellets, films, and fragments characteristic of recycling processing. He warned that microplastic-laden wastewater discharged into irrigation canals threatens agricultural contamination and food safety, and ultimately reaches the Mediterranean Sea, exacerbating marine plastic accumulation. Gündoğdu called for a ban on all plastic imports to Turkey and mandatory microplastic filtration at facilities. Amy Youngman, a legal specialist at the EIA, said the UK's reliance on exports rather than domestic recycling has created a "structural imbalance," passing harm to communities in Turkey. The UK government pledged to reduce plastic pollution during global plastics treaty talks, which collapsed last year and are expected to resume in 2027, but has not committed to an export ban. A Defra spokesperson stated there are strict controls on waste exports and that businesses must ensure environmentally sound management. The EU, which exported over 500,000 tonnes of plastic waste to Turkey in 2025, a 19% increase, will ban exports to non-OECD countries from November, potentially increasing shipments to Turkey, an OECD member. A 2021 Greenpeace investigation found UK supermarket waste dumped and burned in Adana, and Turkey briefly banned certain plastic imports that year before revoking the ban under industry pressure. The Turkish government did not respond to requests for comment.