Between March and July 2026, “a visible buildup of plastic and microplastic” was detected along the Mediterranean coast from Adana to Fethiye. This pollution has become severe enough to affect tourism activity, which made a scientific assessment necessary.
Research Methodology
The assessment consists of three components:
Field Study: Surface water sampling was carried out at four points along the Alanya coast (Konaklı, Kleopatra Beach, Damlataş Cave, and Dim River), and samples were also collected from wastewater treatment plants. The microplastic particles were examined using “a scientific method used to distinguish whether they originate from a recycling facility.”
Literature Review: Previous studies on the Eastern Mediterranean, microplastics carried by rivers, and Mediterranean current systems were compiled.
Meteorological Data: Rainfall data for the 2025–2026 water year were examined.
Key Findings
Concentration Levels: The microplastic concentrations measured at all four Alanya stations were found to be “between 2 and 65 times the highest value previously reported in the scientific literature for Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.” Depending on the station, 59 to 93 percent of particles carry processing marks specific to recycling facilities.
Location Analysis
- Dim River: Contrary to expectations, this site showed the lowest concentration, because this watershed has no known recycling-facility pressure.
- Damlataş Cave: The heaviest pollution was detected in this area. This is attributed to the fact that coastal headlands form natural accumulation points.
Wastewater Treatment Plants: The outflow waters of the Konaklı and Alanya wastewater treatment plants did not contain microplastics of the type and quantity subject to complaints. This shows that these facilities do not make a significant contribution to the current pollution.
The report points to a combination of three main factors behind this year’s severe pollution:
1. Record Plastic Waste Imports: Following China’s 2017 ban on plastic waste imports, Turkey became the main recipient of waste from European countries. “In April 2026, Turkey’s monthly plastic waste imports reached their highest level in the past 10 years (+80,000 tons).” A significant portion of this goes to recycling facilities in Adana and Mersin.
2. The Rainiest Season in 66 Years: The Mediterranean Region reached “the highest rainfall levels recorded since the 1960s.” This has pushed the flow and surface runoff of the Seyhan, Ceyhan, and Tarsus rivers far above normal.
3. Illegal Discharges from Recycling Facilities: A study conducted in irrigation canals in Adana showed that illegal discharges from recycling facilities “increased the amount of microplastic along the canal by up to 132-fold.” It is thought that the volume of such discharges increases during flood periods, while oversight becomes more difficult.
Microplastics entering rivers around Adana and Mersin during the winter and spring months may have been “carried westward toward the Gulf of Antalya and Alanya via the Eastern Mediterranean’s dominant surface current (the Cilician/Asia Minor Current).” Scientific modeling shows that this transport occurs “with a delay on the order of weeks to months.”
- Agricultural greenhouse-covering activities in Çukurova, Mersin, and Antalya
- Waste arriving from cross-border countries such as Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt
- Tourism activities and shortcomings in urban waste management
Recommendations
The report recommends the following steps to prevent the pollution at its source:
- The wastewater of all recycling facilities in the coastal region should be inspected through real-time analysis
- The permits of facilities without adequate treatment systems should be cancelled
- All facilities should be legally required to achieve zero microplastic leakage
- Plastic waste imports should be halted
- Irrigation canals should be strictly inspected
- Recycling facilities should be prevented from discharging wastewater into the municipal system
- The use of single-use plastics should be ended in the tourism sector
- The use of plastic covering in agriculture should be reduced
- Agricultural covering recycling facilities should be subject to the same inspection standards
Conclusion
The intense microplastic pollution observed on the Alanya coast is estimated to originate from illegal discharges by plastic recycling facilities in Adana and Mersin. This pollution may have been accelerated by the exceptional rainfall and flood regime, and reached Alanya via the Eastern Mediterranean’s dominant current system after a delay of several weeks.