this post was submitted on 01 May 2026
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Germany was largest exporter of plastic waste in 2025, sending 810,000 tonnes overseas, analysis finds (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by schizoidman@lemmy.zip to c/europe@feddit.org
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Much of the waste was sent to Turkey, followed by Malaysia, with Indonesia also a regular destination. Investigations have repeatedly linked the plastic recycling industry in these countries to environmental damage, illegal dumping and burning, and labour abuses.

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[โ€“] atro_city@fedia.io 11 points 1 day ago

wHy aRe ThE pOoR CoUnTrIeS pOlLutInG sO MuCh??!1!!!!?11

Because we export our fucking plastic there to absolve ourselves of the responsibility. Exporting waste to third-world countries should quite simply be banned and I'm glad at least the EU will do so.

The EU has agreed to ban exports of plastic waste to countries outside the group of mostly rich OECD nations by November 2026, yet half is still being sent to those destinations. Much of the remainder goes to Turkey, now the largest recipients of European plastic waste.

With the ban approaching, there are concerns that all exports could be redirected to developing OECD countries such as Turkey, as well as parts of eastern Europe, which lack the capacity to manage higher volumes.

Then they can finally shut up about "most pollution to seas some from these 3 Asian countries" and walk in their shoes for a while. Even the UK is suffocating under their waste and it's being dumped everywhere. Tough to blame immigrants when you're doing the polluting and it ends up in your own backyard.

But the people will find a way to blame immigrants anyway. Anything to avoid taxing the rich and their wealth.