Multinational corporations and waste brokers exploit legal grey areas to offload low-grade waste onto Türkiye.
The report reveals how major EU exporters—including the UK, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands—take advantage of regulatory gaps to mislabel contaminated or mixed plastic as recyclable, circumventing EU and international law s . Türkiye’s weak enforcement, fragmented regulations, and entrenched corruption make it an easy target for both legal and illegal waste flows. Ports like Adana, Mersin, and Ambarlı have become hotspots for plastic waste imports , with Adana alone handling over 60% of the national total. Satellite imagery, field interviews, and customs data consistently show open dumping, illegal burning, and hazardous storage of waste, much of which is unsuitable for recycling. Multinational corporations and waste brokers exploit legal grey areas to offload low-grade waste onto Türkiye, bypassing their environmental responsibilities. Through subcontracting, blending of waste types, and obfuscating end destinations , they create a system of plausible deniability and profit. O...