the mechanism
- eu citizen “recycles” plastic/electronics
- waste collected, counted as “recycled”
- waste exported to malaysia, turkey, indonesia, ghana
- waste burned, dumped, or “processed” in poor conditions
- pollution occurs in destination country
- eu reports high “recycling rates”
- eu criticizes destination country’s pollution
plastic waste data
export volumes
| year | eu plastic waste exports | primary destinations |
|---|
| 2016 | 1.6 million tonnes | china (pre-ban) |
| 2018 | 1.4 million tonnes | malaysia, turkey, indonesia |
| 2020 | 1.1 million tonnes | turkey, malaysia, indonesia |
| 2021 | 1.0 million tonnes | turkey (33%), malaysia, indonesia |
china banned plastic waste imports in 2018 (“national sword” policy). eu waste redirected to other countries.
what happens to exported “recyclables”
| destination | documented outcome |
|---|
| turkey | illegal dumping, burning documented |
| malaysia | illegal processing facilities |
| indonesia | contamination of agricultural land |
| vietnam | import bans triggered by eu waste |
e-waste data
| metric | figure |
|---|
| eu e-waste generated | 12+ million tonnes/year |
| ”officially recycled” | ~40% |
| actually traced to proper recycling | much lower |
| exported (legal + illegal) | significant portion |
agbogbloshie, ghana
- world’s largest e-waste dump
- significant portion: eu-origin electronics
- documented by basel action network
- health impacts: lead poisoning, respiratory disease
- workers: often children
the flow:
- eu “donates” used electronics as “charity”
- electronics don’t work
- classified as “used goods” not waste (evades regulations)
- dumped in ghana
- burned for copper recovery
- toxic fumes, contaminated soil
the recycling statistics
| what eu reports | what actually happens |
|---|
| ”recycled” | exported |
| ”recovered” | burned for energy |
| ”processed” | unknown fate after export |
eu definition of “recycled”:
- includes: sent to recycling facility
- does not require: actually recycled
- does not track: post-export fate
- result: inflated recycling rates
basel convention
the law
- bans export of hazardous waste to non-oecd countries
- eu is signatory
- e-waste is hazardous waste
the evasion
| method | how it works |
|---|
| ”used goods” classification | call broken electronics “donations" |
| "recycling” classification | claim waste will be recycled abroad |
| misdeclaration | label waste as something else |
| mixing | hide hazardous waste in legal shipments |
the ocean plastic narrative
eu messaging
| claim | common source |
|---|
| ”asia responsible for ocean plastic” | various eu studies |
| ”rivers in asia main source” | eu-funded research |
| ”eu leads on plastic solutions” | eu communications |
what the data shows
| factor | implication |
|---|
| eu exports plastic waste to asia | origin is eu |
| waste mismanaged in destination | management failure, not origin |
| ”asian rivers” carry eu waste | geography, not responsibility |
| per capita plastic consumption | eu higher than many asian countries |
case study: turkey
| metric | data |
|---|
| eu plastic waste to turkey 2021 | 330,000+ tonnes |
| turkey’s own plastic waste | already struggling to manage |
| illegal dumping documented | yes (bbc, dw investigations) |
| burning documented | yes |
the irony:
- turkey is eu candidate country
- eu criticizes turkey on various issues
- eu sends turkey waste it can’t handle
- turkey’s environment damaged by eu waste
- eu doesn’t count this in own environmental footprint
the colonial pattern
| colonial era | current era |
|---|
| colonies as resource extraction | global south as resource extraction |
| colonies as dumping ground | global south as waste destination |
| wealth flows to europe | clean statistics stay in europe |
| harm stays in colonies | pollution stays in destination |
the destinations share characteristics:
- lower gdp per capita
- less regulatory enforcement capacity
- less geopolitical power
- often former colonies
what this suggests
| eu domestic narrative | export reality |
|---|
| ”we recycle” | we export |
| ”circular economy” | linear to africa |
| ”we’re reducing emissions” | offshored to china |
| ”we’re safe” | exported harm |
the waste pattern mirrors the emissions pattern: externalize harm, claim credit for cleanliness.
sources
- basel action network. e-waste tracking studies.
- eurostat. waste export statistics.
- bbc investigations. turkey plastic dumping.
- deutsche welle. illegal waste trade documentation.
- european environment agency. waste statistics.
- interpol. environmental crime reports.
- greenpeace. plastic waste export tracking.
rune.ᛞ
