Erdogan marks ‘International Day of Zero Waste’

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday marked the International Day of Zero Waste, highlighting in particular national efforts.

"I mark with congratulations March 30 International Day of Zero Waste, which was declared by the UN General Assembly as a result of our efforts,” he wrote on Twitter.

“The Zero Waste Movement, which was spearheaded by my dear wife Emine Erdogan and today has become a world brand, will continue on its path with determination," he added.

On Dec. 15, 2022, the UN General Assembly declared March 30 International Day of Zero Waste in a landmark resolution presented by Türkiye along with 105 other countries.

The Zero Waste project was launched by the Turkish first lady with the aim of highlighting the importance of zero waste in fighting the climate crisis.

The project has received international attention, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressing his gratitude to Emine Erdogan during a conference in New York in September.

Erdogan also shared data on the Zero Waste Movement, which was launched in 2017 and spread all over the world.

Accordingly, since the beginning of the movement, zero waste training has been given to 19 million people.

Some 572 million cubic meters of water was saved and 180,000 tons of marine litter collected.

While the use of plastic bags was cut 62.5%, 31,500 tons of greenhouse gas emissions were prevented.

Some 164,000 buildings and campuses were transferred to the Zero Waste Management System.

Economic gains of 62.2 billion lira ($3.24 billion) were achieved with the movement.

The recovery rate rose from only 1% in 2002 to 27% in 2022.

There are hopes to raise the rate to 35% by 2023.