The UK Government must end its waste colonialism by banning plastic waste exports now - EIA

UK's Plastic Waste Problem

The UK produces the world's second highest amount of plastic waste per person, with an estimated 1.7 billion items of plastic discarded weekly, averaging almost 90 billion items per person each year.

More than half of this plastic waste is incinerated, a volume which rose from 46 per cent in 2022 to 58 per cent in 2024, disproportionately affecting those living in deprived neighbourhoods in the UK and polluting our land and water.

Beyond incineration, just 17 per cent of plastic is recycled at home because the UK's domestic infrastructure cannot cope with the escalating volumes of plastic consumed in the country.

The UK Government must end its waste colonialism by banning plastic waste exports now

The UK's plastic problem doesn't stop at our shores, with plastic waste being exported and sorted in other countries, such as Istanbul, Türkiye.

Author's summary: UK must ban plastic waste exports to stop waste colonialism.

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EIA EIA — 2025-10-26

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