Plastic waste in Yangon's Shwepyithar township. /STR/AFPIn a working-class neighborhood of Myanm...
In a working-class neighborhood of Myanmar's Yangon, plastic waste is piled a meter high, the toxic product of what a recent investigation concluded is rampant dumping of Western trash, much of it from goods made by European manufacturers.
Several European countries, such as Germany, the UK, and Italy, rank among the world's largest producers of plastic waste, according to data gathering experts Statista.
For several years sites across Shwepyithar township have been filling up with rubbish that chokes fields, blocks the drainage of monsoon rains and causes fire risks. The garbage is the result of global plastic production, which has more than doubled since the start of the century to reach 460 million tons per year.
"In the past, during the rainy season I could pick watercress from this field to eat," one resident said, asking not to be identified for security reasons. "Because of the plastic waste, now we can't get any watercress to eat. Instead, we get a smell."
An investigation released this week by collaborative newsroom Lighthouse Reports and six partners has found some of the waste dumped here comes from the West.
The mix includes wrapping and containers for products made by European companies. These include yogurt made by French multinational food giant Danone yogurt, Polish company Spomlek's cheese, and items from German-owned UK supermarket Lidl.
