According to statistics, German plastic waste exports to Asia increased by almost half last year. In 2023, around 158,000 tons of plastic waste were shipped from the Federal Republic to Asia, around 51,000 tons more than a year earlier, the waste disposal association BDE said in response to a dpa request. Exports had already increased in 2022, but at that time they only rose slightly by six percent. It’s about exports to countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
More than six million tons of plastic waste are recycled in Germany every year, and the proportion of this exported to Asia is small. They are not considered waste, but rather as raw materials that are processed into textiles, street bollards or benches. From the perspective of the waste management industry, a certain amount of such exports is part of normal business in times of globalization. Ultimately, this could satisfy the need for such raw materials in other regions of the world and, if used appropriately, would provide added value for the economy.
However, environmentalists point out that regulations and controls are weaker in poorer countries and that such exports sometimes end up as garbage in the landscape and the seas. The Greenpeace organization is calling for a ban on such exports.
