UK Plastic 'Waste Colonialism' Found to Be Polluting Turkey's Farming Heartland A recent investigation by The Guardian has exposed Britain's continued involvement in "waste colonialism," a term used to describe the export of plastic waste from affluent nations like the UK to poorer countries with less stringent waste management regulations.
According to data analyzed by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), British companies have been shipping massive quantities of plastic waste to Turkey, where it ends up contaminating agricultural fields and contributing to the Mediterranean Sea's growing plastic pollution problem.
In 2025 alone, the UK exported a staggering 675,000 tonnes of plastic waste, with 139,000 tonnes of it sent to Turkey.