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Berlin (dpa) - The plastic waste exports from Germany to other countries have fallen significantly.

In 2020, an estimated 986,000 tons of plastic waste were transported across the border, 10 percent less than in the previous year, the Federal Association of the German Waste Management, Water and Raw Materials Management (BDE) announced in Berlin on request.

The amount makes up almost a sixth of all plastic waste collected in this country.

The BDE refers to data from the Federal Statistical Office for the period from January to September, which the association then extrapolated by the end of the year - so overall it is only an estimate.

The price per ton of plastic waste was 249 euros, a decrease of 20 percent.

The BDE did not give a reason.

According to industry experts, strict import barriers in China and other Asian countries play a role that have been in place for several years and have slowed the global waste market somewhat.

In addition, the corona crisis is likely to have an impact - the pandemic did not result in some transactions, also because the supply chains were affected.

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The country with the most plastic waste imports from Germany was - as in the previous two years - Malaysia, where around 151,000 tons were shipped, 32,000 tons less than in 2019. The Netherlands followed in second place with 142,000 tons of plastic waste, the amount remained as high as before.

Turkey now appears in third place in the export table; the country in the eastern Mediterranean has roughly doubled its plastic waste imports to 132,000 tons within a year.

Exports to Turkey have increased significantly since 2017.

Poland, Hong Kong, Austria and Indonesia also play a major role as buyers with around 50,000 tons each.

Garbage exports are controversial.

On the one hand, plastic waste is a raw material that can also be processed in other countries - for example into clothing made of polyester, street bollards or toilet bowls.

From the perspective of representatives of the waste industry, such exports make sense, as they are part of a global circular economy and mean that less plastic has to be burned in power plants - cross-border waste transports are a normal part of the business for them.

In fact, according to the BDE statistics, Germany not only exported plastic waste, but also imported it - 479,000 tons in 2020. 262 euros were paid per ton, a decrease of 13 percent compared to the previous year.

"In a globalized economy based on the division of labor, which is increasingly to become a circular economy, the extraction of raw materials and the trading of raw materials are also very important," says BDE President Peter Kurth.

"This applies to raw materials from nature as well as raw materials from waste treatment."

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On the other hand, critics point out risks.

Photographs of German packaging waste in nature in Malaysia made negative headlines.

Greenpeace criticizes the fact that the whereabouts and actual recycling of a large part of the waste abroad are “completely unclear and uncontrolled”.

The environmentalists complain that checks on waste exports can only be carried out and do not have to be carried out, as is evident from a response from the federal government to a Green inquiry.

"In Germany we live the fairy tale of a recycling lie, based on the motto" Out of sight, out of mind! ", Says Greenpeace consumer expert Viola Wohlgemuth.

With its exports, Germany is shifting its problems with handling the masses of plastic waste to other countries.

From their point of view, all plastic waste exports should be banned - this would increase the pressure to recycle the plastic well or to only produce packaging that is recyclable.

Packaging that cannot be recycled and instead is incinerated, such as certain trays for sausage or beverage cartons made from mixed materials, is still used in food retailing.

The topic is a hot topic, and waste management is also aware of that.

"The sensitivity of society to cross-border trade in plastic waste is understandable," says BDE President Kurth.

"It needs clear framework conditions that are suitable for enforcement, and transparency."

The export and import of waste should serve an improved circular economy.

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"Waste should be used where it can be best treated and not necessarily where it is generated," says the industry representative in favor of exports.

"If the rules on eco-dumping are abused, the cross-border waste shipment must be stopped, otherwise there will be no social acceptance," says Kurth.

"Exporting raw materials that land in landfills in other countries is illegal - and must be effectively prevented."

The BDE boss underpins his demand that industry and trade should use more recyclates - i.e. recycled plastic - overall.

This would stimulate the market and more plastic than before would be recycled and reused.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210109-99-952645 / 2