Turkey is responsible for 110,000 tons of plastic waste that goes into the Mediterranean Sea every year, according to a new World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) report published on Friday.
Turkey’s share is roughly one-fifth of the total amount of plastic waste that pollutes the Mediterranean.
Egypt is the biggest source of plastic waste released in the Mediterranean, with some 250,000 tons, while Italy follows Turkey with 40,000 tons.
According to the report a total of 6.6 million tons of plastic waste is not processed in Mediterranean countries, with two-thirds of this coming from Egypt, Turkey and Italy.
Turkey also produces 20.9 percent of the plastic goods in the region.
On a daily basis some 31 kilograms of plastic waste pollutes the sea from Turkey’s Adana province, which is followed by Spain’s Barcelona with 26.1 kg and Israel’s Tel-Aviv with 21 kg.
Experts say some 247 billion plastic pieces are floating in the Mediterranean Sea and that the number will increase by a factor of four without measures taken.