We Avoided Over 26 Million Tons Of Waste In 6 Years

Minister Bayraktar participated in the International Zero Waste Forum organized in Istanbul by the Zero Waste Foundation, which was established under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan, the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

A Different Development Model

Speaking at the closing session of the forum, Minister Bayraktar stated that they do not see the zero waste issue as just an environmental policy tool, and that although this issue includes environmental policies, it is a different development model in resource management.

10 percent of the waste is converted into energy

Emphasizing that 100 thousand tons of municipal waste is generated daily in Türkiye, Bayraktar noted that approximately 10 percent of this waste is converted into energy. Stating that the use of waste-derived fuel has increased rapidly, especially in the cement sector, Bayraktar stated that thanks to this, 500 thousand tons of coal equivalent energy savings have been achieved.

'2053 Net Zero Emissions' Vision

Stating that they are moving towards the goal of 'A Fully Independent Türkiye in Energy', Bayraktar said, "We are working hard to meet our rapidly increasing energy demand in harmony with our vision of '2053 net zero emissions'. In this context; energy efficiency, renewable energy, use of domestic resources, new technologies such as nuclear and hydrogen are our main priority areas. We aim to make maximum contribution to the development of our country by evaluating our energy and mineral resources efficiently, environmentally sensitive, sustainable and with maximum locality. We have a goal of a Türkiye that focuses on people and the environment, has realized the transformation in energy and mining, is a net exporter, and self-sufficient in resources and technology".

Hydrogen Action Plan

Stating that they have put forward smart, flexible, sensitive, inclusive policy sets to advance the energy transformation on a planned and sustainable basis, Bayraktar said, "We are also working intensively on the Hydrogen Action Plan." Bayraktar pointed out that they aim to accelerate Türkiye's energy transformation for the 2053 net zero emission target with these roadmaps, plans and projects.

726 Grant Incentive to Project

Stating that with the Renewable Energy Support Mechanism (YEKDEM), the municipality encourages the use of vegetable oil waste, agricultural waste without food value and animal waste as a resource, Bayraktar said, "We have given grant incentives to 726 productivity-enhancing projects of our industrialists so far. We have implemented 73 projects aimed at recovering waste heat," he said.

Renewable Energy

Stating that they have brought the installed power of renewable energy, which was 12 thousand megawatts in 2002, to the level of 75 thousand megawatts, Bayraktar stated that Türkiye has ranked 11th in the world and 5th in Europe in the field of renewable energy. Bayraktar stated that they aim to increase the installed capacity of 37 thousand megawatts in wind and sun to 120 thousand megawatts in the next 10 years, and the electrolyser capacity for hydrogen production to 5 thousand megawatts by 2035.

Rust Evaluation Permission

Stating that they gave rust assessment permission to license holders and public institutions and organizations in order to evaluate the waste from production in the mining license fields, Bayraktar said, "These recycled materials are used effectively in infrastructure projects such as dams, ponds and roads."

182 Rehabilitation in the Mine Site

Stating that they have been carrying out the Mining Social Responsibility Studies Project with Rehabilitated Mine Sites throughout Türkiye for more than two years, Bayraktar said, "Within the scope of the project, rehabilitation processes have been successfully completed in 182 mine sites in 53 provinces. Thus, 23 million 400 thousand saplings met with soil in an area of 12 thousand 747 hectares." shared the information.

6 Million 900 Tons of Waste Recovered

Minister Bayraktar said that they see the Zero Waste Movement, which was launched in 2017 under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan, Honorary President of the Zero Waste Foundation, not only as an environmental project, but also as a new civilization. Stating that the Zero Waste Project also has an important place in the waste management policies of the ministry, Bayraktar said, "We established the Zero Waste Management System on our central campus and in all our affiliated and related institutions, and we have given important trainings to approximately 11 thousand employees on this subject. In the last 6 years, together with all the institutions of our ministry, we have disposed of over 26 million tons of waste and recovered 6 million 900 thousand tons of waste. In this period, we considered more than 1 million tons of waste as an alternative raw material," he said.

Minister Bayraktar said: By prioritizing social benefit at every step of our work; We will continue to implement the policies that will realize energy supply security and sustainability together with determination from now on.

The Award Is From Minister Bayraktar

In addition, in the program, Boris Palmer, the Mayor of Tübingen, Germany, was awarded with the 'Zero Waste City' Project. Minister Bayraktar gave the award to Palmer.