Zero waste unites climate fight paths, says Emine Erdoğan

Emine Erdoğan on Friday opened the Zero Waste Forum 2026 at Istanbul Atatürk Airport, describing the zero waste movement as the most transformative power in the climate struggle and a bridge uniting diverse methods.

Global gathering in Istanbul

She told attendees that officials view the gathering as a historic moment where the international community unites around a common ideal. The strong participation serves as a concrete manifestation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's message that "the world is bigger than five because humanity is bigger than five," she added.

The event hosts representatives from 183 countries, more than 500 institutions, and over 5,000 participants. Erdoğan said she hopes the synergy rising from the forum will lead to new beginnings for humanity's common future.

Environmental crisis and consumption

Erdoğan highlighted the 1.6-million-square-kilometer garbage patch in the North Pacific Ocean — a monument to humanity's reckless consumption spanning nearly twice the size of Türkiye. She warned that this accumulation reveals the deep crisis of waste underlying the climate emergency.

She noted that the daily dumping of plastic waste equivalent to 2,000 garbage trucks into oceans extends beyond mere waste management. The spread of microplastics from Antarctica to Mount Everest signals an extraordinary environmental threat that damages both natural resources and fundamental human values, she added.

Food waste and global hunger

The first lady painted a stark contrast between overflowing landfills and global hunger. She stated that 5.8 trillion plates of food go to waste annually while 673 million people struggle with hunger and more than 2 billion lack adequate nutrition, noting that half of child deaths under age five are linked to starvation.

She emphasized that households generate 60 percent of total food waste. Saving just one-quarter of the more than two billion tons wasted yearly could end global hunger completely — a reality that exposes a broken scale of justice and heavy ecological burden for future generations.

COP31 and strategic positioning

Erdoğan explained that the Zero Waste Foundation launched operations in 2023 following the movement's 2017 inception, elevating this vision to an international level. She noted that the forum coincides with preparations for the COP31 Climate Summit that Türkiye will host, offering a crucial opportunity to explain the strategic value of zero waste in climate action.

She proposed zero waste as a central climate action ahead of the summit. While multiple paths exist to fight climate change, zero waste serves as the unifying bridge and most transformative power in this struggle, offering a concrete mechanism to address the 2 billion tons of food wasted annually.