Plastics importers to be licensed again

ANKARA

A ban on polyethylene plastics waste imports was lifted according to a presidential decree published on the Official Gazette.

Nearly 1,350 plastics recycling companies will have to apply for a license in accordance with their thermoprocessing capacity, the Turkish Plastics Industry Foundation (PAGEV) said.

Turkey’s imports of 438,000 tons of polyethylene plastics imports last year is slightly below the petrochemical industry giant Petkim’s annual output and around 20 percent of the overall demand in the country, PAGEV head Yavuz Eroğlu said.

Imports of polyethylene plastics helped bring down average prices nearly 30 percent prior to the ban, which was introduced on May 18, Erdoğlu added.

A Greenpeace investigation earlier this year found plastics waste being dumped or burned in the southern province of Adana.

Britain exports more plastic waste to Turkey than any other country since China banned imports in 2018.

U.K. exports to the country increased from 12,000 tons in 2016 to 209,642 tons in 2020, about 30 percent of the U.K.’s plastic waste exports.

Other European countries have also chosen Turkey as the main receiver of their rubbish. About 241 lorry-loads of plastic waste come to Turkey every day from across Europe, 20 times more than was imported in 2016.