Türkiye generated a total of 120 million tons of waste in 2024, including 42.2 million tons classified as hazardous, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). The figures encompass waste from manufacturing facilities, mining operations, thermal power plants, organized industrial zones (OIZs) and households.
According to the report, the manufacturing sector, mining enterprises, thermal power plants, OIZ administrations, and households together produced 120 million tons of waste last year, reflecting the country’s ongoing industrial and urban activity. Of this total, 42.2 million tons were identified as hazardous waste, highlighting the scale of environmental management and waste treatment challenges facing Türkiye’s growing economy.
In the manufacturing industry, a total of 24.4 million tons of waste were collected, of which 4.2 million tons were hazardous. TurkStat data indicated that 70.1% of this waste was sold or sent to licensed waste processing facilities, while 12.1% was recovered within the facilities themselves.
Additionally, 10.8% of manufacturing waste was sent to regular storage sites, 2.6% to incineration plants and 2.4% was collected by municipalities or OIZ administrations. About 1.8% of the waste was stored on-site at the workplace, and 0.1% was disposed of using other methods.
The mining sector generated 40.5 million tons of waste, excluding overburden or spoil material. When overburden and spoil were included, the total reached an extraordinary 1.061 billion tons of waste, with 99.99% consisting of mineral waste. Of the total mining waste, 85.1% was disposed of in spoil areas, tailings ponds, or regular storage facilities. Another 12.5% was used for backfilling in open pits and 2.4% was recovered or otherwise disposed of through different methods.
In the country’s energy sector, thermal power plants generated 26.5 million tons of waste, of which 10,400 tons were hazardous. Of the non-hazardous portion, 84.6% was made up of ash and slag, while 15.4% consisted of other waste materials.
The data showed that 86.9% of all waste from thermal power plants was disposed of in ash mountains, ash ponds, or regular storage facilities. The remaining 13.1% was either sent to licensed waste management facilities, used in the backfilling of mines or quarries, or managed through alternative disposal methods.
OIZ administrations also contributed to the country’s total waste generation through their infrastructure services, wastewater treatment operations and administrative activities. These activities produced 397,000 tons of waste, including 196,000 tons classified as hazardous. Of this total, 95.5% was sent to waste treatment facilities, while 4.5% was disposed of through other methods.
TurkStat’s findings further revealed that among 1,401 municipalities across Türkiye, 1,392 provided regular waste collection services. In these municipalities, 32.3 million tons of waste were collected throughout the year. Of this total, 88.9% was directed to waste processing facilities, 10.9% to municipal landfills and 0.3% was disposed of through other methods. The average municipal waste generated per person per day was calculated at 1.09 kilograms, illustrating the scope of Türkiye’s urban waste output.
Municipal wastewater treatment facilities across the country produced 353,000 tons of sewage sludge (based on dry matter), further reflecting the growing demand for water and waste infrastructure in rapidly urbanizing areas.
At licensed waste disposal and recovery facilities, a total of 195 million tons of waste were processed in 2024. Of this amount, 139 million tons were disposed of, while 56 million tons were recovered and reintroduced into the economy.
Regular storage facilities accounted for the disposal of 138 million tons of waste, while incineration plants handled 448,000 tons. In co-incineration (co-processing) facilities, 4.7 million tons of waste were burned for energy recovery, underscoring the growing integration of waste-to-energy solutions within Türkiye’s energy strategy. Composting facilities processed 124,000 tons of waste, while other facilities recovered 51.5 million tons of valuable materials such as metals, plastics, paper and minerals.
TurkStat compiled its waste statistics using data from municipalities across Türkiye, manufacturing companies with 50 or more employees, and all active thermal power plants with a capacity of at least 100 megawatts.
The report also included information from organized industrial zones with completed infrastructure, mining companies that reported production to the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs, and licensed or temporarily authorized waste disposal and recovery facilities. In addition, data were collected from municipal or publicly operated storage, incineration and composting sites, even if they did not hold official licenses.
