Germany was the world’s largest exporter of plastic waste in 2025 and sent more than 810,000 tonnes abroad, according to analysis of trade data carried out for the Guardian.

Leana Hosea

The UK followed close behind, according to the analysis by Watershed Investigations and the Basel Action Network. It exported more than 675,000 tonnes, its highest level in eight years and enough to fill about 127,000 shipping containers.

Much of the waste was sent to Turkey, followed by Malaysia, with Indonesia also a regular destination. Investigations have repeatedly linked the plastic recycling industry in these countries to environmental damage, illegal dumping and burning, and labour abuses.

Sedat Gündoğdu, a Turkish marine biologist who investigates plastic pollution, said: “The Turkish Mediterranean coast is the most polluted coast in the whole Mediterranean because of the plastic waste from the recycling factories. There’s huge amounts of microplastics – sometimes people can’t even get into the sea because of all the waste.”

Larger countries, such as the US and China, export less plastic waste partly because more is handled domestically, through landfill, incineration or recycling, and they are not subject to the same recycling target pressures as Europe and the UK, where exports can count towards official recycling rates. The US exported 385,000 tonnes in 2025, making it the world’s fifth biggest exporter, while in 2024 China was the 18th biggest exporter….

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/30/germany-largest-exporter-plastic-waste-2025

++++++++++++++++

The world is burning. Who can convince the comfortable classes of the radical sacrifices needed?

Richard Smyth: Nature does not care

Karl Marx in the Anthropocene: the post-capitalist, green manifesto captivating Japan

Corine Pelluchon: Ecology as new Enlightenment

How the small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu drastically cut plastic pollution