Customs officials in Greece have prevented 37 containers of German plastic waste from heading to Vietnam.
The plastic waste was collected in Germany and was due to be processed by a Turkish recycling facility in November 2020. However, with the Turkish recycler losing its permit as new quota restrictions were brought in while the material was in transit, it should have been returned to Germany.
But German magazine WirtschaftsWoche reports that there was a dispute between German and Turkish officials over the exact location and quality of the material.
At the end of September, Turkish officials released the 400 containers to go to other destinations, and some are believed to have been sent to the UK and Croatia.
Another 16 have already made it to Vietnam. However, 37 more containers also ended up in Greece and Singapore for transit to Vietnam.
Greek customs officials are now believed to be investigating whether the material is illegal, by breaking EU and Basel Convention rules and may repatriate it back to Germany. It is currently being held in the port of Piraeus while officials decide on the next course of action.
