Zeynep ConkarWhat began as a quiet initiative in Türkiye under First Lady Emine Erdogan’s guidance nearly a decade ago has grown into one of the world's most ambitious and impactful environmental movements.
On Monday, as nations around the globe observe the fourth International Day of Zero Waste, Türkiye stands at the centre of a planetary shift in how humanity approaches waste management.
The Zero Waste Project was launched in 2017 under the patronage of Erdogan – the Honorary President of the Zero Waste Foundation and Chair of the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Zero Waste – and it has since then grown from a domestic recycling initiative into a global framework recognised by the global body.
This year's observance, coordinated from UN Headquarters in New York and simultaneously at Türkiye's permanent missions in Geneva, Nairobi, Paris, Brussels, Rome, London, Berlin, Vienna, Baku and beyond, brings food waste and Türkiye's upcoming COP31 presidency to the forefront of the agenda.
Since the project's launch in 2017, Türkiye has recovered 90 million tonnes of waste and returned it to the economy, generating 365 billion Turkish liras in economic value.
The country's recycling rate climbed from 13 percent in 2017 to 37.53 percent in 2025, with targets of 60 percent by 2035 and 70 percent by 2053.
Commentators marvel at the growth of the movement.
"Türkiye is currently implementing the Zero Waste Initiative, launched by First Lady Emine Erdogan, and the scope has expanded well beyond waste reduction…energy saving has become equally central to the agenda," says Klaus Jurgens, political analyst and communications strategist.
"The ambition is significant: a 60 percent recycling rate by 2035, energy and water savings across more than 50 million homes, and a meaningful reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, each now a major strand of the programme,” Jurgens tells TRT World.
The avoided environmental damage is equally dramatic: energy savings equivalent to the annual electricity needs of 54 million households, water savings matching Istanbul's two-year consumption, and the prevention of 180 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, which is equivalent to roughly 36 million cars taken off the road for a year.
Global movement
The journey to global recognition was itself a diplomatic milestone.
On December 14, 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proposed by Türkiye and backed by 105 nations, formally declaring March 30 as the International Day of Zero Waste.
On that first observance in 2023, Erdogan addressed a special session of the UN General Assembly, becoming the first Turkish First Lady to speak from the UN rostrum.
At that same session, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the formation of the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Zero Waste and personally invited Erdogan to chair it.
She accepted, and the board was formally constituted on April 12, 2023, bringing together members from the United States, India, Brazil, Morocco, Belgium, the Netherlands, Chile, Colombia, Bangladesh and Sierra Leone alongside senior UN leadership.
Its fifth meeting was held in Istanbul in October 2025, within the framework of the inaugural International Zero Waste Forum. The three-day gathering drew representatives from over 100 countries, more than 60 speakers and 118 institutions.
"With COP31 coming to Antalya later this year, Türkiye has an opportunity to build on what Azerbaijan demonstrated at COP29, that climate summits can deliver tangible results. Türkiye will aim higher, setting trends not just for the region but for the world," Jurgens says.
"By making COP31 a milestone for clean energy and environmental action, Türkiye stands to gain new partners globally and export its own best practices in this field," he explains.
Raising public awareness
Domestically, the movement has already embedded itself in Turkish daily life.
Over 217,000 buildings and campuses have adopted the Zero Waste Management System. Also, with 28 million people trained under the Zero Waste programme, the project has been as much a public awareness campaign as an environmental one.
A national deposit return scheme, launched as a pilot in January 2025, has already expanded to 53 provinces, with over 12.5 million packaging units returned through 834 reverse vending machines.
The country ranked third globally in 2025, with 577 Blue Flag beaches, reflecting its parallel Zero Waste Blue initiative targeting marine pollution.
"Türkiye may also look to extend the zero waste philosophy into how it builds and retrofits its housing stock, energy-efficient, passive homes and sustainable neighbourhoods, some heated by recycled water, are a natural next step," Jurgens says.
“Zero Waste will soon be reality, no myth,” he adds.
The project has also earned international recognition seven times over, receiving awards from FAO, UNDP, UN-Habitat, the World Bank, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean and, most recently in 2026, the Green Organisation.
The movement's success lies as much in communication as in policy, according to Jurgens.
"Promoting the protection of our environment is not just about passing laws but about explaining the reasoning behind those very laws and policy-making initiatives to the general public," Jurgens tells TRT World, speaking on the sidelines of the 5th Stratcom Summit in Istanbul.
"If the electorate and public are not informed and left in the dark, chances are that well-intended measures from the side of business and government go unnoticed."
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the first signatory of the Global Zero Waste Declaration of Good Will.
Today, over 438,000 volunteers from 131 countries have added their names through the online platform, joined by more than 50 first ladies and senior representatives of international organisations.
From a recycling bin in a government corridor to a resolution in the UN General Assembly, Türkiye's zero waste journey is proof that environmental transformation can begin at home, and, with the right leadership, reach the world.
