A total of 90 million tonnes of waste has been recycled and reintegrated into the economy under the „Zero Waste” initiative.
- A UN General Assembly resolution adopted on 14 December 2022—tabled by Türkiye and co-sponsored by 105 countries—declared 30 March as the „International Day of Zero Waste”, elevating the Zero Waste Project into a global environmental movement
- Since its launch, Türkiye has generated savings across a wide range of areas — from the environment to energy, from greenhouse gas emissions to landfill capacity — through the Zero Waste Movement, investing both in the economy and in the future
- Recycling efforts have resulted in savings equivalent to 270 billion kilowatt-hours of energy (equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 54 million households), 2 trillion litres of water (equivalent to İstanbul’s two-year water consumption), and 60 billion litres of oil (exceeding the annual fuel consumption of all vehicles combined in Türkiye)
Launched in 2017 by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan — the spouse of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chair of the United Nations Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste — the „Zero Waste Project” has enabled the recycling of 90 million tonnes of waste to date, contributing significantly to the national economy.
According to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, the “Zero Waste Project”, which it initiated under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan in 2017, is grounded in sustainable development principles and aims to ensure effective waste management while safeguarding a clean and liveable environment for future generations.
The initiative has evolved into a global environmental movement recognised by the United Nations. 30 March was officially designated as the „International Day of Zero Waste” by the UN General Assembly on 14 December 2022 in a vote sponsored by Türkiye and co-sponsored by 105 countries.
Last year, awareness was raised under the slogan “Enough is Enough” as part of the International Day of Zero Waste on 30 March activities. Events focusing on “Towards Zero Waste in Fashion and Textiles” were organised across Türkiye’s 81 provinces and at overseas missions, highlighting recycling and sustainable fashion practices.
This year, events marking the International Day of Zero Waste at the United Nations will focus on food waste, Türkiye’s COP31 Presidency, and the hosting process.
In this context, the International Day of Zero Waste on 30 March will be marked through events held at the UN Headquarters in New York, as well as at Türkiye’s Permanent Missions to the UN in Geneva and Nairobi; UNESCO; the UN; the OECD in Paris and Brussels; the FAO in Rome; UNODC; and diplomatic missions in Kosovo, Berlin, Brazil, London, Baku, Vienna, and Gaborone.
Meanwhile, since the launch of the project, Türkiye has generated savings across a wide range of areas — from the environment to energy, from greenhouse gas emissions to landfill capacity — through the Zero Waste Movement, investing both in the economy and in the future.
In this framework, the Zero Waste Management System has been implemented in 217,000 buildings and campuses to date. The recovery rate, which stood at 13 per cent in 2017, has steadily increased to 36.08 per cent in 2024 and to 37.53 per cent in 2025.
Türkiye aims to raise the recovery rate to 60 per cent by 2035 and to 70 per cent by 2053.
- 28 million people have attended “zero waste” training
To enhance the sharing of experience in Zero Waste initiatives, 20 municipalities from Türkiye have joined the International Zero Waste Cities Network, established in 2022 by the Basel Convention Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific. The “Shifting to Zero Waste Against Pollution Initiative”, supported by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme under the coordination of the Ministry, has been launched in Kocaeli.
The “Support for the Women’s Plastics-Free Movement” project, to be implemented in cooperation with UNDP, municipalities, and women’s cooperatives with the aim of reducing plastic use, is planned to be launched in April. The project seeks to reduce single-use plastics, promote the circular economy, support local livelihoods, and empower women’s cooperatives and women producers.
In line with the Zero Waste Training Cooperation Protocol signed between the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, the Ministry of National Education, and the TEMA Foundation, tailored curricula have been developed for pre-school, primary, secondary, and high school levels, along with implementation guidelines.
Through the Zero Waste Training Portal, approximately 1,134,500 children have been reached out to. Under the Zero Waste in Sports Cooperation Protocol signed between the Ministry and the Turkish Basketball Federation, Zero Waste certification has been introduced for basketball clubs, while awareness has been promoted during competitions.
It is intended to ensure that schools under the Ministry of National Education and the industrial sector act jointly in line with the Zero Waste approach, establish the Zero Waste system, and implement permanent practices with active participation from teachers and students through cooperation among the Ministry, the Ministry of National Education, and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye.
Moreover, Zero Waste training was provided to 7,200 VEFA employees and 2,500 ADEM and SODAM coordinators across the 81 provinces, and the infrastructure for household implementation was established in line with the zero waste cooperation protocol between the Ministry and the Ministry of Family and Social Services.
Regional Zero Waste training was provided to rank-and-file soldiers and Zero Waste coordinators within the scope of the Zero Waste cooperation protocol between the Ministry and the Ministry of National Defence.
28 million people have been trained on „zero waste” through these programmes.
- Savings attained equivalent to İstanbul’s 2-year water consumption
From the start of the project through the end of 2025, a total of 90 million tonnes of waste, including 36.1 million tonnes of paper-cardboard, 10.2 million tonnes of plastic, 3.5 million tonnes of glass, 9.6 million tonnes of metal, and 30.6 million tonnes of organic and other recyclable waste, were processed and recycled by enterprises holding environmental licences issued by the Ministry, contributing 365 billion TL to the national economy.
- Recycling efforts have resulted in savings equivalent to 270 billion kilowatt-hours of energy (equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 54 million households), 2 trillion litres of water (equivalent to İstanbul’s two-year water consumption), 60 billion litres of oil (exceeding the annual fuel consumption of all vehicles combined in Türkiye), and a landfill space equivalent of approximately 55,000 football fields has been saved.
As a result of the project, 613 million trees have been saved from being cut down, corresponding to 7% of Türkiye’s forests, and 180 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions have been prevented, equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of approximately 36 million vehicles.
Türkiye in third place globally with 577 Blue Flag beaches
The Zero Waste Blue Movement was launched on 10 June 2019 under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan as part of the Zero Waste Project. Pursuant to the Circular on the Preparation and Implementation of Marine Litter Provincial Action Plans issued in this context, marine litter was collected across 28 coastal provinces while training and awareness-raising activities were rolled out nationwide. From 2020 to 2024, „1.5-Year Action Plans” were implemented. The „2.5-Year Marine Litter Provincial Action Plans” covering the years from 2025 to 2029 were put into effect as of 1 January 2025.
As part of the Zero Waste Blue project remediation efforts, waste collection services are provided at 348 coastal facilities through 64 licensed waste collection vessels and 183 waste reception facilities. As of this year, more than 325,000 tonnes of marine litter have been collected and disposed of. The seas have been cleared of 23 thousand truckloads of waste. Türkiye ranked third globally with its 577 Blue Flag beaches in 2025.
The Mooring Buoy Project was launched with the DERİA application in the Fethiye-Göcek Special Environmental Protection Area, Göcek-Dalaman coves, designated as a pilot region to help safeguard the sensitive ecosystem and ensure the sustainable use of natural resources by preventing random anchoring—thereby protecting seagrass meadows, often referred to as the “lungs of the sea”.
The system, designated to serve a total of 856 boats in 17 coves, can be accessed via the website deria.gov.tr and the mobile application. The app allows users to conveniently make mooring reservations for boats by selecting a cove.
- Deposit Management System in use in 53 provinces
A critical stage of the Zero Waste Movement, the Deposit Management System has been put into use in 53 provinces since it was launched as a pilot application in Sakarya in January 2025
Thanks to 834 deposit return machines installed at various urban locations, packaging waste is source-separated. According to the data, the number of registered users in the system has reached 117,000 as of 13 March. The number of returned packages exceeded 12.5 million, with 64% collected as PET, 31% as glass, and 5% as aluminium.
Approximately 200 tonnes of PET, 504 tonnes of glass, and 11 tonnes of aluminium have been recycled, generating about 3 million TL in direct raw-material gain.
Along with the economic gain, the system also lays the groundwork for energy savings, reducing imports, and creating new employment opportunities. The Türkiye Environmental Agency aims to integrate 25 billion packaging items into the recycling chain through the nationwide expansion of the system. The recovery of 25 billion packaging items within the system is projected to generate a direct economic contribution of approximately 5.8 billion TL.
As part of the Zero Waste Movement, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation, and Climate Change has been implementing another historic step for the environment by promoting the recycling of beverage containers.
The Ministry, which has taken the initiative to phase out single-use plastic products that harm the environment and drive plastic pollution, will circulate the draft regulation for the consideration of relevant institutions in the coming days.
The regulation is expected to enter into force this year after it is finalised following consultations with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and sector representatives.
In this context, the supply of single-use plastic products to the market, such as plastic forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks, plates, food containers made of expanded polystyrene (EPS foam), beverage containers and cups, plastic-stemmed cotton buds, and straws, will be discontinued. In doing so, the initiative will avoid approximately 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions per year and save roughly 1.5 billion TL in waste management.
President Erdoğan as the first signatory of the „Global Commitment to Zero Waste”
30 March was officially designated as the „International Day of Zero Waste” by the UN General Assembly on 14 December 2022 in a vote sponsored by Türkiye and co-sponsored by 105 countries.
On 30 March 2023, Emine Erdoğan spoke at a special UN General Assembly session for the „International Day of Zero Waste”, marking the first moment when a First Lady of Türkiye has addressed the world from the UN podium.
At the same meeting, UN Secretary‑General António Guterres announced the establishment of the „UN Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste” and invited Emine Erdoğan to serve as its chair. Emine Erdoğan accepted this invitation and assumed the role of chairing the Board, which was officially established on 12 April 2023.
On 12 April 2023, the „UN Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste” was officially established. Chaired by Emine Erdoğan, the Advisory Board featured 13 members representing the United States, Sierra Leone, Chile, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, the Netherlands, Morocco, Belgium, and India, as well as UN Under-Secretary-General for Policy Guy Bernard Ryder.
Emine Erdoğan led the inaugural meeting of the UN Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste on 1 November 2023, held at Vahdettin Mansion in İstanbul as part of World Cities Day, with the participation of UN Under-Secretary-General for Policy Guy Bernard Ryder and members representing the United States, Sierra Leone, Chile, Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, the Netherlands, Morocco, Belgium, and India.
The Board convened its second meeting virtually on 5 June, World Environment Day, and held its third meeting in person in İstanbul on 13 December 2024.
The fourth meeting was held on 30 March 2025 at the UN Headquarters in New York, in observance of the International Day of Zero Waste, while the fifth meeting took place on 17 October 2025 in İstanbul on the sidelines of the Zero Waste Forum.
Emine Erdoğan also led an event titled “Towards a Global Zero Waste Movement” at the Turkevi Centre (Turkish House) in New York City on the margins of the 78th UN General Assembly. The event witnessed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan become the first signatory of the „Global Commitment to Zero Waste”.
To date, over 438,000 zero-waste volunteers from 131 countries have signed the Global Commitment on the online platform in support of the movement. Furthermore, more than 50 leaders’ spouses, high-level officials from international organisations, and foreign ministers have endorsed the Global Commitment to Zero Waste.
Zero Waste recognised internationally with an award
Within the scope of the G20 meetings, chaired by India, the UN Resolution No. 77/161 on „Zero Waste Initiatives” was included in the final document of the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministerial Meeting and was adopted unanimously by all countries.
Addressing the G20 Leaders’ Summit held in New Delhi, India, in September 2023, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emphasised the importance of the project conducted under the slogan ‘”The World is Our Common Home”.
Several international organisations have recognised the Zero Waste Project, initiated under the leadership of Emine Erdoğan, with awards. In 2018, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) honoured the project; in 2021, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) followed suit; in 2022, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) and the World Bank acknowledged its achievements; in 2024, the PAM awarded the project for the second time; and in 2026, it received recognition from the Green Organisation.
Inaugural Zero Waste Forum held
Furthermore, the International Zero Waste Forum was held from 17 to 19 October under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Zero Waste Foundation, and the United Nations.
The first edition of the forum provided a prominent international platform for discussions on policies related to sustainability, circular economy, and climate-oriented initiatives.
The forum featured more than 60 speakers, representatives from over 100 countries, 118 institutions and organisations, and UN officials. Participants from public institutions, the private sector, academia, local governments, and NGOs evaluated globally applicable policies and strategies in the field of zero waste.
Throughout the three-day forum, sessions were held on waste management, food loss, sustainable production and consumption, green financing, smart cities, zero waste in education, and international cooperation.
Source: Presidential Administration of Turkey