Children will grow up with zero waste in Basaksehir

An event of great significance was held in Başakşehir, which fully supports the Zero Waste project initiated by Emine Erdoğan, the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on the occasion of World Environment Day on June 5th. Students exhibited the products they produced from waste materials throughout the year at Başakşehir Municipality. Başakşehir Mayor Yasin Kartoğlu, who attended the exhibition, stated that ‘Children are Growing Up with Zero Waste’ project enabled 35,300 students in 25 primary schools to discover the recycling potential of waste materials and create wonderful art pieces.
In Başakşehir, aiming to spread environmental awareness and sustainability throughout society, great support was provided to the Zero Waste project initiated by Emine Erdoğan, the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Throughout the 2023-2024 academic year, with the ‘Children are Growing Up with Zero Waste’ project organized weekly in primary schools by Başakşehir Municipality, students managed to gain awareness of a clean environment and recycling. Various competitions held in schools ensured active participation of students and strengthened environmental awareness.
Environmental detective Güven İslamoğlu took the stage at the event. To crown the success of the activities, a special program was organized on World Environment Day on June 5th. In the event, which was attended by all official and private schools, the artworks prepared by the district’s students from recycled materials were exhibited at the municipality. The event became even richer with the presentation of environmental detective journalist Güven İslamoğlu and the participation of Başakşehir Mayor Yasin Kartoğlu. This special day where the artworks of Başakşehir students were exhibited set an example for increasing awareness about environmental consciousness.
‘We said a beautiful future with zero waste for Başakşehir and walked together on this path’
Expressing that they constantly make efforts to increase the value they give to nature as Başakşehir Municipality, Mayor Yasin Kartoğlu stated, ‘It is a great honor for me to share the steps we have taken to make Başakşehir a more livable, cleaner, and greener place through our environmentally friendly projects. As Başakşehir Municipality, we make efforts to increase the value we give to our nature at every moment of our daily lives. With this awareness, we also provided great support to the Zero Waste project initiated by the valuable wife of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Emine Erdoğan. Mrs. Emine Erdoğan, by saying ‘I saw that the ‘Zero Waste’ project has come to life at Başakşehir Municipality,’ made us proud. Taking this statement as our guide, we said a beautiful future with zero waste for Başakşehir and walked together on this path.’
‘We recycle 100 tons of waste daily’
Describing the recycling services provided in Başakşehir, Mayor Kartoğlu said, ‘Our first step was the establishment of the 1st Class Waste Collection Center, which collects 17 different types of waste. The two facilities we established to separate and economically recover packaging waste became one of the most important stops of this journey. However, we knew that these facilities were not sufficient. To spread the zero waste awareness throughout our district, we installed zero waste systems in 453 sites and apartments, 360 businesses, 36 industrial sites, and 110 schools. Together, we became a part of this important movement. As a result of this movement, we recycle 100 tons of waste daily. We started to produce organic compost from food waste. We use the fertilizers we produce in our parks and organic farming gardens to return them to nature. We not only recycle textiles but also wood products. We process old furniture and waste boards in our recycling workshop to transform them into new products.’
‘35,300 students discovered the recycling potential of waste materials and produced wonderful art pieces’
Kartoğlu pointed out that they reduced the amount of waste per person from 1.2 kg in Istanbul to 0.69 kg in Başakşehir and said, ‘With the ‘Children are Growing Up with Zero Waste’ project we carried out in the 2023-2024 academic year, 35,300 students in 25 primary schools discovered the recycling potential of waste materials and created wonderful art pieces. Today, we are rewarding their efforts and celebrating World Environment Day by organizing an exhibition of recycled products at our municipality. While the amount of waste per person is 1.2 kg in Istanbul, we reduced the amount of waste per person to 0.69 kg in Başakşehir. Our goal is to reach 0.50 kg of waste per person to make a stronger contribution to recycling. We protect our nature and take care of our future.’
Students who participated in the exhibition introduced the products they made with waste materials to the guests.