Korean Media: 8.1 Million Tons, Germany Becomes the World's Largest Exporter of Plastic Waste!
On June 1, Korean media outlet Economic Global published an article stating that Germany has become the world's largest exporter of plastic waste, reigniting concerns over structural issues in Europe's recycling policies.
Data shows that Germany exported over 8.1 million tons of plastic waste last year, ranking first globally. The UK followed closely behind, with exports of approximately 675,000 tons—its highest level in nearly eight years.
The primary destinations for this waste are Turkey, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Analysts point out that these countries are especially plagued by environmental pollution, illegal dumping, and open burning. In particular, Turkey is the largest importer of European plastic waste, with its waste management capacity already severely overloaded. The country generates around 3.3 million tons of waste annually—more than double its recycling capacity.
Sedat Gündoğdu, a marine biologist from Turkey, stated: “The Mediterranean coastlines are suffering severe microplastic pollution; in certain areas, people can hardly access the sea due to massive garbage accumulation.”
Surprisingly, large nations such as the United States and China have relatively smaller waste export volumes. This is because they process a higher proportion of their domestic waste, and their exports are not counted toward recycling performance metrics like those in Europe. The U.S. exported about 385,000 tons of waste in 2025, ranking fifth globally.
To address this issue, the EU has decided to ban the export of plastic waste to non-OECD countries starting this November. However, currently about half of all plastic waste exports still go to these countries, raising doubts about the effectiveness of this regulation.
Therefore, some predict that after the new rules take effect, plastic waste exports may concentrate on OECD developing countries such as Turkey or certain parts of Eastern Europe. Critics argue that these regions also lack adequate waste management infrastructure, which could further exacerbate environmental burdens.
It has been pointed out that the root cause lies in recycling expansion policies failing to yield substantial results, as the cost of producing new plastic remains lower than that of recycled materials.
The UK is also seeking to restrict waste exports to non-OECD countries but has not yet reached the final implementation stage. By 2025, about 20% of the UK’s plastic waste exports will still be directed toward non-OECD countries, with exports to Malaysia increasing by approximately 60% compared to the previous year.
Experts emphasize that simple export restrictions alone are insufficient to solve the problem. They believe that unless plastic production itself is reduced, waste is highly likely to continue being shipped to other countries.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866797451694411/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) alone.