ANKARA BANS MOST PLASTIC IMPORTS AS EU TRASH FOUND DUMPED ON ROADSIDES

Greenpeace welcomed a ban by Ankara on imports of most plastic waste after the environmental group said it uncovered exports, some possibly illegal, from the UK and Germany that created ‘mountains’ of trash in southern Turkey. Greenpeace teams visited 10 sites in Adana and found plastic waste – most either burned or on fire – mainly from the UK, Germany, Poland and other EU countries. The plastics were left on roadsides, in fields, or spilling into water sources. The country’s trade ministry said it removed polyethylene plastic from the list of polymers allowed into the country as of July 3. It would cover 74% of the plastic the country imported last year – some 660,000 tonnes of waste – including 95% of UK imports, according to Nihan Temiz Atas, Biodiversity Projects Lead from Greenpeace Mediterranean. REUTERS