“Zero Waste Project” as a Waste Management Strategy and Application Examples in Turkey

Abstract

Population growth, urbanization, industrialization and technological developments, which are considered to be the main causes of environmental problems, are increasing day by day. While environmental problems were initially referred to as “pollution”, today it is seen that this situation has reached more serious dimensions. One of the most obvious examples of this is the increase in the amount of waste. Factors that are seen as the causes of environmental problems have led to the change and diversification of production and consumption habits, which in turn has led to the change and diversification of both waste and its quantities. Subsequently, today, all countries of the world have become at war with waste. Considering that life in the world will continue and production and consumption will increase in parallel with population growth, it is essential that initiatives to solve the waste problem increase. At this point, the “Zero Waste Project”, which has recently occupied the agenda of the whole world on waste management, has been put into practice as an important waste management model. The basic logic of the project is to prevent waste before it is generated, to create no waste if possible, or to solve the waste problem in a way that causes the least damage to the environment. Based on these, the aim of the study is to reveal what kind of functions the zero waste project, which has recently become very popular in the world, has undertaken at the point of solving the waste problem and how municipalities have implemented this project. In this context, the study first presents the detailed conceptual framework of the zero waste project. Then, the historical process of the zero waste project is analyzed both in the world and in Turkey. Finally, examples of zero waste projects implemented by municipalities that have implemented zero waste projects in Turkey are given. In addition, it was determined in the study that the municipalities that implemented the zero waste project made great contributions to the environment in reducing environmental pollution, strengthened sustainable development by supporting the local economy through methods such as recycling and reuse, and increased the level of environmental awareness by making it a lifestyle.