Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Adnan Khan

Dirty Work—The Hidden Machinery and Human Toll of Europe’s Broken Recycling Trade
An illegal dump in Adana, Turkey in 2020. Plastic packaging from popular British supermarkets like Sainsbury's and French frozen food retailer Picard is ending up being dumped illegally in the Turkish countryside. (Yasin Akgul/AFP via Getty Images)
Migrant Workers

Dirty Work—The Hidden Machinery and Human Toll of Europe’s Broken Recycling Trade

As Europe sends increasing amounts of illegal waste to Turkey, activists and investigators are revealing how the country’s state-backed recycling boom depends on fraud, off-the-books subcontracting and a rising death toll of migrant laborers.
Adnan Khan • 15 min read
A Deadly Trade—Refugee Labor in Turkey and Europe's Plastic Waste
Workers separate waste at a recycling factory, Antalya, Turkey, 2021. Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesHayat and Khalid load plastic into a dilapidated shredder at the plastic recycling factory where they live and work in the Cebeci industrial district of Istanbul. Photo courtesy of the author.Hayat takes a rest from shredding plastic waste to call his mother in Afghanistan at the plastic recycling factory where he lives and works in the Cebeci industrial district of Istanbul. Photo courtesy of the author.Naseem in the converted storage closet he shared as a bedroom with Hayat and Khalid. Naseem has managed to leave Turkey, arriving in Europe in the summer of 2023 after more than a year living and working in the factory. Photo courtesy of the author.
Current Analysis

A Deadly Trade—Refugee Labor in Turkey and Europe's Plastic Waste

China's ban on plastic waste imports and EU efforts to curb migration have converged in Turkey, enabling a dangerous industry.
Adnan Khan • 16 min read