A resolution on the "zero waste" initiative submitted by Türkiye to combat climate change and accelerate sustainable development plans was accepted at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.
Gaining international recognition, the "zero waste" initiative presented by Türkiye was unanimously adopted by the General Assembly. The landmark resolution, which was presented with 105 other countries, addresses efforts for sustainable development through zero waste initiatives.
The General Assembly also declared March 30 as International Day of Zero Waste in the resolution, something also mentioned by first lady Emine Erdoğan at the "African Cultural House" event on Dec. 6 at the Presidential Palace in Ankara.
The move requires the U.N. chief to establish a three-year advisory board of individuals selected on the basis of their "knowledge, experience and expertise" to promote local and national zero waste practices.
With the decision to include zero waste initiatives in the next Global Waste Management Outlook report by the U.N. Environment Programme, the president of the U.N. General Assembly made a high-level decision on "zero waste" and a "10-Year Framework Program for Sustainable Production and Consumption Models" in 2023.
The resolution requests the U.N. head to invite the body's Environment Programme to include a "dedicated section on zero-waste initiatives," including activities and experiences of such initiatives.
Launched in 2017 by the Ministry of Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change under the patronage of first lady 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.
To further its success, the Turkish first lady took the country's landmark recycling scheme to the U.N. and signed a goodwill agreement with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to extend the project across the world.
Following the meeting, Guterres said waste is a significant problem in today's world and that the project is important and impressive in this regard. The U.N. chief also called on member countries to expand Türkiye's Zero Waste Project globally as part of the environmentalist endeavor, which is among the most important issues the U.N. is presently grappling with.
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.
