The European Union shipped more waste plastics to Turkey last year than ever before. According to preliminary data from the European statistics office Eurostat, exports from the 27 member states totalled 503,000 tonnes in 2025, exceeding the previous year’s level by 19 per cent. Turkey was therefore by far the largest destination for plastic waste exported from the EU to non-member countries.
Overall, 1.46 million tonnes of plastic "waste, parings and scrap" were shipped to countries outside the EU in 2025. That was 2 per cent less than in the previous year. Around one third of exports went to Turkey.
Other major destinations were Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. While shipments to Indonesia increased four per cent, export trade with Malaysia saw a marked decline in volumes. This decrease is likely to have been primarily due to stricter import regulations introduced by Malaysia last year....
