Germany is exporting significantly less plastic waste abroad than it was 10 years ago, according to official figures.
Last year exports of plastic rubbish were down to around 694,000 tons, a fall of 8% compared to the previous year, the Federal Statistical Office announced on Tuesday. By comparison more than 1.3 million tons was exported from Germany in 2013, so the volume had almost halved since then (minus 48%).
The federal statisticians say one reason for the decline is import restrictions imposed by some Asian countries on plastic waste.
According to the data, the largest amount of waste was exported from Germany to the Netherlands. "At just under 131,600 tons, almost a fifth of all plastic waste exported went to the neighbouring European country, which has an important transhipment point for sea freight in the port of Rotterdam," the statistical office said. This was followed by Malaysia (90,500 tons) and Turkey (87,100 tons).
As in the previous year, Germany is the largest exporter of plastic waste in the European Union (EU). According to the EU statistics authority Eurostat, the Netherlands was again in second place with a 550,500 tons, followed by Belgium with an export volume of just under 436,400 tons.
The Federal Office published the data the mark World Oceans Day on June 8, which is intended to remind people of the ecological importance of the oceans.
It is estimated that between 4.8 and 12.7 million tons of plastic end up in the sea globally every year. The amount of plastic waste produced worldwide threatens to triple by 2060 if nothing changes, according to an OECD study.