“We do not want this sector to disappear,” said Tolga Yücel, plastics project manager of WWF Turkey. “Before long, we will manage to sort more of our waste, and when that time comes, these facilities will be indispensable.”
Garbage collectors
Doing a better job of collecting and recycling Turkish waste would mean a dramatic change to an industry that employs some of the country’s poorest people.
In Turkey, recycling bins are uncommon. Most household waste is collected in a single bin. What sorting does exist is mainly handled by private waste collectors who roam the streets with their wheeled sacks to recover recyclable waste from the bins. They then sell the materials to recycling facilities.
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These people have been hurt by the wave of European waste coming to Turkey, as the prices of papers and plastics have plummeted, Recep Karaman, head of the Street Waste Collectors Association, told Turkey’s Sözcü newspaper.
“Earlier, a collector would earn about 100 liras (€11) for a day’s work, whereas now, they are getting paid 30-35 liras for collecting the same amount,” Karaman said.
That’s not the only problem caused by Turkey’s open door to foreign waste.
Source link : https://www.politico.eu/article/why-turkey-became-europes-garbage-dump/
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Publish date : 2020-09-18 03:00:00
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