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Turkey is bearing the weight of the UK's plastic waste crisis. Our BFFP member Sedat Gündoğdu, marine biologist at Sabancı University's Istanbul Policy Center, has been monitoring pollution in Adana's Çukurova plain, now overwhelmed by plastic waste imports. 🧵1/3

6/8/26, 12:28 pm1 repost3 likes

Break Free From Plastic

@breakfreefromplastic.org

6 Aug

Read the full @guardian investigation: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/04/plastic-waste-microplastics-exports-recycling-turkey-farmers-pollution-environment-recycling

Break Free From Plastic

@breakfreefromplastic.org

6 Aug

The UK shipped nearly 140,000 tonnes of plastic waste to Turkey in 2025, its highest volume in 8 years. #PlasticPollution #Breakfreefromplastic

Break Free From Plastic

@breakfreefromplastic.org

6 Aug

His water sampling downstream of the Kemal Deniz recycling zone found a 10-fold increase in microplastics vs. upstream sites. Separate canals downstream of other Adana facilities showed concentrations 132x higher than upstream. Farmers use these canals to irrigate crops.