Türkiye's Zero Waste Gains: Recycling Rate Increased to 37.53 Percent

With the Zero Waste Movement, Türkiye has made savings in many areas, from the environment to energy, from greenhouse gas emissions to waste storage, and invested in both the economy and the future since 2017.

To date;

-Zero Waste Management System was implemented in 220 thousand buildings and campuses.

-Increasing the recovery rate, which was 13% in 2017, every year and reaching 36.08% in 2024; In 2025, it was increased to 37.53 percent.

-Turkey aims to increase the recovery rate to 60% in 2035 and to 70% in 2053.

-28 million people were educated.

365 BILLION TL CONTRIBUTION TO THE ECONOMY

With 90 million tons of recycled waste, 365 billion TL was contributed to the country's economy.

*270 billion kWh energy savings, equivalent to the 1-year electricity needs of 54 million households, from the collected waste,

* Saving 2 trillion liters of water, equivalent to Istanbul's 2-year water consumption,

* Saving 60 billion liters of oil, equivalent to more than the 1-year fuel consumption of all vehicles in Türkiye,

*An area the size of approximately 55,000 football fields (390 million m³) of waste storage space was saved.

*Cutting down 613 million trees, which corresponds to 7% of the forests in Türkiye, was prevented and 180 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of approximately 36 million vehicles, were prevented.

3 IMPORTANT PROJECTS OF ZERO WASTE MOVEMENT

1-ZERO WASTE BLUE

Within the scope of the Zero Waste Project, the Zero Waste Blue Movement was launched on June 10, 2019, under the auspices of Mrs. Erdoğan. With the Circular on the Preparation and Implementation of Marine Litter Provincial Action Plans published in this context, marine litter was collected in 28 coastal provinces, while education and awareness activities were expanded at the national level. "1st 5-Year Action Plans" were implemented between 2020-2024. The "2nd 5-Year Marine Litter Provincial Action Plans" covering the years 2025-2029 were put into practice as of January 1, 2025. As part of Zero Waste Blue, approximately 375,000 tons of marine litter were collected as of September 2026. Thus, approximately 29 thousand garbage trucks of marine garbage were collected and disposed of and prevented from reaching the sea.

MAPA-BUOY AND FETHİYE BAY BOTTOM MUD CLEANING WITH ZERO WASTE BLUE

Within the scope of the Zero Waste Blue Project, bottom mud cleaning and Mapa-Buoy Management Systems Project was started in Fethiye Bay on September 8. On the one hand, Mapa-Buoy Systems that will protect the sea meadows, which are of vital importance for the marine ecosystem, were put into operation, and on the other hand, efforts were started to clean the bottom mud that accumulated in the Inner Gulf and threatened the marine ecosystem.

16 MILLION 268 THOUSAND 925 CUBIC METERS OF BOTTOM MUD WILL BE EXTRACTED IN FETHİYE GULF

Within the scope of the project, a total of 16 million 268 thousand 925 cubic meters of bottom mud, whose height reaches 2.7 meters in places, accumulated in an area of approximately 600 hectares, will be removed from the Gulf and disposed of. When the project, which will last 3 years, is completed, an average depth of 3.4 meters will be provided in Fethiye Bay. Within the scope of the Eyebolt-Buoy Management Systems Project, eyebolt buoy systems that can serve a total of 856 boats were created using 896 sea eyebolts and 876 vaults in 17 bays in Göcek, which was declared a pilot region.

DERIA SYSTEM

DERIA Göcek Bay Digital Mapa Buoy Management System was established for the digital infrastructure of the project. In this context, digital reservations for boats were provided with DERIA, a mobile application. Thanks to this application, which shows the nearest eyebolt buoy system, the boat suitability and mooring processes of the bays have been moved to the digital environment.

2- DEPOSIT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DOA) IN ZERO WASTE

As of September 25, 326 million 622 thousand PET, aluminum and glass beverage packaging with the DOA logo were collected with the Deposit Packaging (DOA) Management System system, whose national integration process started across Turkey as of July 1, 2026. The number of users registered in the system exceeded 3 million 300 thousand.

With the DOA system carried out by the Turkish Environment Agency (TÜÇA) under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, beverage packaging is now thrown into DOA machines instead of garbage, thus contributing raw materials to the country's economy through recycling. In this system, which also prevents plastics from entering the environment, citizens are paid an incentive fee of 1 TL per package. It is aimed to contribute 30 billion TL to the Turkish economy with this system, in which 25 billion packages will be collected every year.

3- RESTRICTION PREPARATION FOR DISPOSABLE PLASTIC PRODUCTS WITH ZERO WASTE

The Ministry, which has taken action to eliminate single-use plastic products that harm the environment and cause plastic pollution, has reached the stage of completing the preparations for the new regulation.

ZERO WASTE PROJECTS AND COLLABORATIONS

• Zero Waste Themes for 2026: Monthly themes have been determined in order to strengthen Zero Waste awareness and ensure implementation integrity in 81 provinces, and awareness materials are prepared within the scope of the themes and shared with the public every month. The theme of September was "Zero Waste in Schools".

• Color Scale and Pictograms in the Zero Waste Management System: Standard color scale and pictograms were created and published in order to collect waste separately at the source and to ensure uniformity of application throughout the country.

• COP31 – Zero Waste Villages: Within the scope of COP31, Zero Waste Villages are being created in three neighborhoods determined in Antalya's Aksu, Manavgat and İbradı districts, taking into account local needs and existing texture. In addition to practices such as Zero Waste workshops, Zero Waste parks and marketplaces, sample studies on reuse, recycling, upcycling and evaluation of organic waste will be implemented in these villages.

• OPET Petrolcülük A.Ş. Collaboration with: Within the scope of the "Respect Nature with Zero Waste Project", waste collection activities were held in 7 provinces in 7 regions. As of September this year, the "Zero Waste Journey Short Film Competition" was launched.

• Cooperation with the Turkish Basketball Federation: Within the scope of the "Zero Waste in Sports" cooperation, players took to the field in the Turkish Insurance Basketball Super League matches wearing Zero Waste themed t-shirts. Plush toys brought by the audience and left on the field were delivered to those in need. Zero Waste Management System was established within TBF. A Zero Waste Management System will also be established in clubs.

• Cooperation with the Turkish Football Federation: Banners with the phrase "ZERO WASTE: REDUCE WASTE, INCREASE GOOD" were opened in the ceremonies and stands during the Trendyol Super League and Ziraat Turkish Cup matches, contributing to increasing awareness of Zero Waste.

• Cooperation with TRT: The "Zero Waste Ambassadors" project was implemented with TRT in order to develop zero waste awareness in children. 20 special episodes were prepared by integrating 20 different Zero Waste topics into TRT Çocuk's popular cartoon series. In addition, project-specific "Zero Waste Ambassador" characters named "Hale" and "Ömer" were created and the song "Zero Waste Ambassadors" was prepared and broadcast on TRT Children's screens.

• Cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports: In line with the "Zero Waste" and "Youth and Education" themes of the COP31 Action Agenda, the first of the Zero Waste Themed Youth Camps was held on 5-8 June 2026 at Antalya Alaaddin Keykubat Youth Camp, and the second on 23-26 October 2026.

• Zero Waste Cooperation with Turkish Red Crescent: Zero Waste trainings, practical workshops and awareness activities will be held at the Young Red Crescent District Heads Camp and Red Crescent Women's Commission Camps in Heybeliada on 25-27 September and 28-30 September 2026. Zero Waste Management System will be established in Red Crescent facilities and structures.

• Cooperation with the Ministry of National Education and TEMA Foundation: Within the scope of the Zero Waste Education cooperation protocol, teaching programs for pre-school, primary school, secondary school and high school levels were created and an implementation guide was prepared. A total of 1 million 200 thousand children were reached with the Zero Waste Education Portal.

• Cooperation with the Ministry of Family and Social Services: Zero Waste Management System was established in ADEM and SODAM centers. Zero Waste training was provided to 7200 VEFA employees and 2500 ADEM and SODAM coordinators in 81 provinces, contributing to Zero Waste infrastructure efforts in households.

• Cooperation with UNDP: "Supporting Women's Plastic-Free Movement, Reducing Plastic Use by Collaborating with Municipalities and Women's Cooperatives Project" was launched in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Within the scope of the project, women cooperatives and women producers will be supported. Circular economy practices that will reduce the use of single-use plastics will be expanded.

• Transition to Zero Waste Against Pollution Initiative Project: The project, supported by the Global Environment Fund, will be implemented in Kocaeli province under the coordination of our Ministry. Within the scope of the project, studies will be carried out on the management of municipal and city wastes and industrial wastes, activities will be carried out to develop circular economy and resource efficiency, to carry out training and awareness activities in the field of zero waste, and to strengthen international knowledge and experience sharing.

• Local Zero Waste Initiatives Project

In the project prepared in the 3rd period of the European Union Pre-Accession Investment Instrument (IPA), our Ministry is the co-executor, and the Union of Municipalities of Turkey is the last beneficiary and UNDP Türkiye is the program manager. This project aims to support Zero Waste management in local governments and develop infrastructure.

• International Zero Waste City Network: Our Ministry joined the International Zero Waste City Network, established by the Basel Convention Asia and Pacific Regional Center in 2022, as a co-executor. 20 municipalities from our country were included by our Ministry in the international cooperation network that aims to prevent, reduce, reuse and recycle waste and disseminate sustainable production and consumption practices.

• 81 Provincial Zero Waste Training and Awareness Plans: 2025 and 2026 Zero Waste Training and Awareness Plans have been prepared for 81 provinces, and studies are being carried out to increase Zero Waste awareness, prevent and reduce waste generation, and popularize reuse and recycling practices.