On 16 September 2025, ENDS report released a three-part podcast named Boy Wasted. It looks at the risks of the UK’s plastic waste exports to Turkey. This includes workplace deaths, unsafe conditions, and weak oversight and regulation.
- The main case was based on a young Afghan refugee of unspecified age who died in a shredding accident in a Turkish recycling factory in September 2022.
- As part of the investigation, the producers commissioned the organisation ISIG Meclisi to conduct analysis of recycling-related deaths in Turkey.
- ISIG Meclisi is a credible Turkish labour watchdog known for monthly workplace fatality reports.
- The organisation found that on average, two people die each month – crushed, torn, or burned – in Turkish recycling plants, a consistent trend over the past decade. Over 200 deaths have been recorded, many involving migrant and refugee workers. ISIG Meclisi notes that this likely represents only part of the total deaths in the sector.
- Greenpeace analysis of UN Comtrade data shows that the UK exported 140,907 tonnes of plastic waste to Turkey in 2023, up from 87,900 tonnes in 2022 — a 60% increase. This made the UK the largest exporter of waste to Turkey that year. Greenpeace said that oversight remains minimal as only 0.02% of the nine million waste containers passing through UK ports annually are inspected. According to Greenpeace, plastic waste exports to Turkey grew after China banned imports in 2018, and increased further when Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam did the same.
- Circular supply chains are in-scope with regards to recycled content under the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). This means that companies will need to carry out due diligence on the “feedstock” of recycled content and not just on recyclers themselves. If retailers are using recycled feedstock from Turkey, this would be considered a high-risk issue due to the workplace safety risks highlighted above.