Signal Guardian/EIA Investigation Finds UK Plastic Waste Contaminating Turkish Farmland

Summary

A joint investigation by The Guardian (reporters Karen McVeigh and Ayça Aldatmaz) and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), published August 4, 2026, found high levels of microplastics in a waterway near a major recycling hub in Turkey that processes plastic waste from British companies. The polluted waterway feeds into a canal used for irrigating crops on the Cukurova plain in Adana, one of Turkey's largest and most fertile agricultural basins. Research by Sedat Gündoğdu, a Turkish marine biologist at Sabancı University's Istanbul Policy Center, found microplastic concentrations in samples taken downstream of the recycling zone were 10 times higher than upstream sites, with pellets, films, and fragments highly characteristic of waste recycling processing. Since China's 2018 ban on plastic waste imports, Turkey has become a primary destination for plastic waste from the EU and UK, with Adana alone receiving 60% of Turkey's plastic waste imports. The findings reignite concerns over 'waste colonialism' — the export of plastic waste by wealthy nations to countries with less regulated waste management. The UK government has pledged to reduce plastic pollution but has not committed to banning plastic waste exports.