Plastic waste sent for recycling in the UK is being dumped and burned after being shipped to other countries by Dutch middlemen, green charities fear.
The Government intends to ban plastic waste exports to poorer countriesoutside of the OECD, but 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.
The letter, coordinated by Greenpeace UK and the Environmental Investigation Agency, points out that only 9 per cent of UK plastic waste exports are currently sent to non-OECD countries.
They said the Netherlands may have become a “proxy” country for UK household plastic recycling to reach poorer countries, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, since a ban was first announced. Telegraph.
Instead of just burning plastic trash in the UK for energy, Dutch middlemen ship UK plastic 'recycling' to Vietnam… where it is burned for energy.
— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) May 17, 2023
Hard to know which is dumber: Greens and their policies or the regular people who fall for them.https://t.co/bWZNAaGaNw