Letter from more than 80 green groups calls for a total ban on exporting waste, much of which ends up in poorer countries.
As British waste exports to the Netherlands rose by more than 60 percent between 2020 and 2021, green charities fear that the plastic waste sent for recycling is being dumped and burned after being shipped to other countries by Dutch middlemen. Dutch plastic exports to Latin America, Asia, and Africa more than doubled over the same period.
The British government intends to ban plastic waste exports to poorer countries outside of the OECD, but it proved ineffective as the plastic shipped to the OECD country Netherlands was transshipped by middlemen to poorer countries. More than 80 green groups have written to Thérèse Coffey, the environment secretary, warning that only a total ban will be enough to stop this.
By shipping our waste – at the expense of the taxpayer – to proxy countries like the Netherlands, the UK Government is shirking its responsibility to properly deal with our rubbish, the green groups protested. Most of the new waste exports have been sent to Indonesia and Vietnam, where plastic has been documented as being dumped and burned.
In 2021, the Netherlands exported almost 70 million kg of plastic waste to Indonesia – about a tenth of the country’s entire recycling capacity.
Sian Sutherland, the co-founder of A Plastic Planet, said only a total ban would be truly effective.
The Government has promised to “lead the world” in tackling plastic pollution, both internationally and in the UK, one of the largest producers of plastic waste per capita and the biggest plastic waste exporter. Several initiatives intended to tackle low recycling rates have been delayed or dropped in recent years, including plans to levy a deposit on plastic bottles.
Recipients of UK waste in countries within the OECD, particularly Turkey and Poland, are also suspected of dumping and burning plastic.
UK plastic meant for recycling dumped in poorer countries by Dutch traders
