First lady Emine Erdoğan was on stage in the capital Ankara on Thursday as an ambitious project she helped launch four years ago received top recognition from the United Nations.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Turkey representative Claudio Tomasi presented the award to first lady Erdoğan for the Zero Waste project, the first program from Turkey to win a Sustainable Development Goals Action Award. The award recognizes the project’s contribution to responsible consumption and production, one of the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development set out by the U.N.
First lady Erdoğan was joined by the Minister of Environment and Urban Planning Murat Kurum, deputy minister and Turkey’s chief climate envoy Mehmet Emin Birpınar, Şahika Ercümen, a record-holding diver and supporter of the project, as well as heads of several environmental organizations active in Turkey.
Speaking at the event, Emine Erdoğan said they shared the common language of “a special awareness” with the UNDP and together they created a synergy as “friends of the environment.” She said she received the award “on behalf of all beautiful hearts dedicated to nature.”
“The Zero Waste project is a small step in the responsibility of leaving a livable world to future generations. We hope to make this effort more efficient with the cooperation of our public and non-governmental organizations,” she said. “Nature is a friend entrusted to us. Just like treating a friend, humans must behave the same way with nature. But unfortunately, the effects of industrialization have transformed this understanding, as in the whole world. As the consumption society expanded, environmental problems increased. Modern humans are alienated from nature and even attempted to dominate it. What we need today is to close the distance between us and nature – that has become “the other.” It is to regain its friendship. We share the universal values of organizations that offer global solutions, such as the United Nations. We try to contribute to these values with our cultural experiences,” she added.
The Zero Waste project was launched in 2017 under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan. It focuses on efficient waste management by preventing wastage if possible and recovering it at its source separately to enhance recycling. It covers everything from plastic waste to food waste, which is recycled into common items, compost for plants and more.
In its first stage, the project cooperated with the Ministry of National Education and an environmental non-profit to launch an online education portal to raise awareness on the issue among children. It was followed by the installation of recycling bins at schools across the country and thousands of students were educated on how to separate waste and recycle it. Later, the project was widely embraced by the public and public agencies, eventually leading to amendments to environmental regulations. These include a landmark fee for plastic bags that aimed to discourage their use. In 2020, the Ministry of Environment and Urban Development founded the Turkish Environment Agency and launched a deposit-return scheme that involves refunds for packaging if it is returned intact.
The project also branched out into maritime pollution with “Zero Waste Blue,” a new stage launched in June 2019. Zero Waste Blue brought together 760 companies and nongovernmental organizations for cleaning up the seas.
