First lady Emine Erdoğan, who will host the first United Nations Zero Waste Advisory Board meeting on Wednesday, said they would launch efforts for a global fund to bolster the cause.

Addressing the World Cities Day 2023 event in Istanbul on Tuesday, Erdoğan said they were also working to declare 2024 as "Zero Waste Year." She noted to recent establishment of the Zero Waste Foundation in Türkiye and that the world needs to establish a fair funding system for a sustainable urban future. "For this reason, a global zero waste fund under the leadership of the advisory board is essential to contribute to countries’ efforts to implement zero waste practices," she said.

The Zero Waste Project, spearheaded in Türkiye by Erdoğan, was jointly developed on an international level last year by Erdoğan and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The declaration of goodwill, initially signed by the first lady and the U.N. chief, has since been endorsed by the spouses of nearly 30 heads of state, including ones from France, South Korea, Paraguay and Cuba.

The first lady said at the Istanbul event that Türkiye’s accomplishments on zero waste went beyond the borders and gave birth to a global movement. "I always highlight one issue in the fight against the climate crisis. Unfortunately, countries disproportionately affected by crisis though they don’t contribute to it are in the majority. We have a responsibility toward countries without sufficient experience and funding, to convert their cities and lifestyles to a sustainable way," she said.

Launched in 2017 by the Ministry of Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change under the patronage of Erdoğan, the Zero Waste Project has led Türkiye's fight against climate change. The initiative primarily aims to bring the country in line with sustainable development principles, prevent uncontrolled waste and leave a "cleaner, developed" country to future generations.

The project received awards last year from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the U.N.-Habitat program and was also included in an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country report in 2019 as a promising project. Recently, it was honored by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean before the first lady was awarded the Climate and Development Leadership Award for the project by the World Bank.

The zero waste initiative has already stemmed 3.9 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and saved billions of dollars. Some 150,000 buildings across Türkiye have switched to the zero waste management system, which involves the separate disposal of garbage and recycling practices.

The ministry prepared a regulation on the issue in 2019, setting the guidelines for recycling practices. In addition, some 17 million people are said to have been educated on the adoption of zero waste practices since the project's inception in 2017.