The piles of refuse were part of the plastic waste imports that Turkey receives each year. Last year, the plastic waste sent by European countries exceeded 700,000 tons — a record, according to trade data. All of it was destined for Turkey’s recycling industry.

Much of it was recycled — into plastic bags, irrigation pipes and plastic pellets that manufacturers use to make new products. But a lot of it ended up in the environment alongside great quantities of Turkish trash, both contributing to the very pollution that recycling is supposed to prevent.