This reports Anadolu Agency citing data from the Ministry of Environment, Urban Development and Climate Change.
The project has become a global environmental movement recognized at the level of the United Nations. In particular, on December 14, 2022, March 30 was officially declared the International Zero Waste Day at the UN General Assembly at the initiative of Turkey and with the co-sponsorship of 105 countries.
Food waste, Turkey’s COP31 presidency and the preparatory process for the conference will be the main topics of this year’s International Zero Waste Day events at the UN.
The real benefits
From the launch of the project until the end of 2025, Turkey has recycled 36.1 million tons of paper and cardboard, 10.2 million tons of plastic, 3.5 million tons of glass, 9.6 million tons of metal, and 30.6 million tons of organic and other recyclable waste – a total of 90 million tons. This contributed 365 billion liras to the country’s economy, the agency noted.
The recycling resulted in energy savings equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 54 million households – 270 billion kilowatt-hours. As well as 2 trillion liters of water, equivalent to two years of water consumption in Istanbul. In addition, 60 billion liters of oil was saved, which is more than the annual fuel consumption of all vehicles in Turkey.
An area equivalent to about 55,000 soccer fields was also saved by reducing waste disposal.
The project prevented the felling of 613 million trees, equivalent to 7% of Turkey’s forests, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 180 million tons – the equivalent of the annual emissions of about 36 million cars.
As part of the Zero Waste Project, the Zero Waste Blue Movement initiative was launched on June 10, 2019. The 28 coastal provinces are collecting marine debris and implementing educational programs.
The project operates 64 licensed waste collection vessels and 183 collection points that provide services at 348 coastal sites.
To date, more than 325,000 tons of marine litter, equivalent to 23,000 truckloads of waste, have been collected. In 2025, Turkey ranked third in the world in terms of the number of Blue Flag beaches with 577.
Ambitious plans
To date, the Zero Waste Management System has been implemented in 217,000 buildings and facilities in Turkey. The recycling rate, which was 13% in 2017, has increased annually to reach 36.08% in 2024 and 37.53% in 2025.
Turkey aims to increase the recycling rate to 60% by 2035 and 70% by 2053.
Under the project, 28 million people have been trained in the zero waste system.
