Zero Waste Village 'Lefty' was the route of COP31 participants

Significant changes were made with environmentally friendly practices in the neighborhood, which was transformed into a "Zero Waste Village" within the scope of the Zero Waste Project initiated under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Old buildings and the school in the neighborhood were renovated, and tables, chairs and clothes were produced from recycled materials in the textile and carpentry workshop.

Natural sand obtained from olive pits was used on the floor of the newly built Zero Waste Children's Park in the neighborhood.

While a cleaner and greener living space was created with the arrangements made in the neighborhood, practices for the reuse of waste were also implemented.

Thanks to the compost machine installed in the neighborhood, food waste is collected and turned into fertilizer. Thus, organic waste that was previously thrown away is re-evaluated.

In Solak, where neighborhood residents have begun to adopt the zero waste approach in their daily lives, it is aimed to transfer environmental awareness to children and leave a cleaner environment for future generations.

Local and foreign participants coming to Antalya within the scope of COP31 also show interest in the neighborhood where exemplary environmental practices are implemented. Participants receive information about the practices in the neighborhood, participate in events and examine local products.

The transformation, carried out with a zero waste approach, offers visitors who come to the city for the conference the opportunity to see sustainable living practices on site.

"ZERO WASTE EVENT AREA HAS BEEN CREATED"

Acting Director of Culture, Art and Social Affairs of Aksu Municipality, Zeynep Demirel, told the AA correspondent that they hosted foreigners who came to the city for COP31 in the Zero Waste Village.

Stating that they set up a Yoruk tent as a municipality in the neighborhood and offered the guests a taste of Solak's famous catfish, Demirel said, "The face of the neighborhood has changed. The people of the neighborhood are very happy with this situation. The school has been renovated. A zero waste activity area has been created. The neighborhood has been made suitable for zero waste, we have workshops where production is made from recycled waste. We have a market without packaging. In fact, the idea of zero waste is always present in the Yoruk culture. They give the food scraps from their homes to their animals and throw them under the trees." "Nomads always respect nature." he said.

NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS THROW THE WASTE TO THE RECYCLING STATIONS

Hafize Yeşilorman, one of the residents of the neighborhood, stated that the neighborhood is very beautiful with the changes made within the scope of COP31.

Stating that they never throw the waste in the trash, they separate it and send it for recycling, Yeşilorman said, "We also tell the residents of the surrounding neighborhoods to bring your waste to us." he said.

Nafiye Uslu, who runs a market in the neighborhood, also stated that many investments have been made in the neighborhood.

Uslu said, "I separate the waste from my market and throw it into the recycling station. Our goal is to ensure that no waste comes out of the neighborhood." he said.

Neighborhood resident Berrin Çom noted that she was happy with the changes in the neighborhood and that she collected the waste from her house and then left it at recycling stations on a daily basis.