Waste Import from England on Parliamentary Agenda

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İYİ Party Kocaeli MP Lütfü Türkkan has submitted a parliamentary inquiry to the Speaker's Office regarding the plastic waste import from England.

In his parliamentary inquiry addressed to Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum, Türkkan has asked, "Even though Turkey is among the least successful 20 countries of the world in terms of recycling plastic waste, why has it been importing waste?"

Emphasizing that China, Malaysia and Vietnam have prohibited waste import due to its negative environmental impacts, Kurum has stated that England, which originally intended to send its waste to Poland, has turned its attention to Turkey in the wake of a new regulation introduced in Poland.

It has more than doubled in a year

Citing the statistical information regarding the waste that has been imported from England, Türkkan has said,

"In the first three months of 2018, 27 thousand 34 tons of plastic waste was sent from England to Turkey with ships. In the same period last year, this figure was 12 thousand 22 tons."

Why are we importing waste?

Underlying that Turkey has been one of the least successful 20 countries of the world when it comes to the issue of recycling its plastic waste, Türkkan has asked a series of questions including:

"Who has been importing this plastic waste in Turkey, which is the second country accepting waste from England?

"Considering the capacity of recycling facilities in Turkey, from which countries is Turkey importing waste, in what amounts and of what types?" (HA/SD)