Elazığ Hippodrome is on the path to becoming a ‘sustainable hippodrome for a sustainable future’.

Elazığ Hippodrome, which hosts parks and gardens made using recycled materials and art pieces, is transforming into one of the world’s most important hippodromes with its contributions to the Zero Waste Project carried out under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan.
The Zero Waste Project, conducted under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan, the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, advocates avoiding waste and preventing, reducing, reusing, and recycling waste. The project, led by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, is based on a circular resource and waste management approach, promoting sustainable production and consumption habits and encouraging efficient use of resources. In recent years, efforts to support the Zero Waste Project have been ongoing at Elazığ Hippodrome as well.
In 2019, with the support of the State Hydraulic Works, artificial streams and ponds were created by utilizing damaged irrigation channels previously used in agricultural activities to protect natural resources and draw attention to recycling at Elazığ Hippodrome. Following this, a recycling park was established at Elazığ Hippodrome using waste materials such as barriers, barrels, tires, iron, profiles, wooden pallets, and similar waste materials from the hippodrome, scrap materials, and supplies, to raise awareness about zero waste among both children and parents who visit the hippodrome on race days.
Advanced recycling practices are also being implemented at the hippodrome. Waste barrier materials that have become unusable in the race track and stables area of Elazığ Hippodrome have been repurposed to create vertical gardens. Plants that have become waste due to routine pruning by Elazığ Hippodrome staff are processed through a special painting method to turn them into artificial flowers to be used in the vertical gardens. Thus, both the vertical gardens and the flowers used in these gardens were created at zero cost using recycled materials.
At the hippodrome, advanced recycling practices are also being carried out. Valuable artworks created by faculty members and students of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Firat University using waste and recycling materials are exhibited at the hippodrome. Construction of four sculptures, which are ongoing and will be completed only using waste horseshoes, continues using waste metal materials such as springs, gears, covers, pipe profiles, and tractors that have worn out, malfunctioned, and are no longer usable in the starting machines used in races. With the motto of preserving natural beauties and leaving a more livable environment for future generations by prioritizing environmental awareness, a project was initiated at Elazığ Hippodrome on May 30, 2023, to establish greenhouses in the hippodrome area. Various seasonal flowers are grown in these areas to decorate the landscape areas of the hippodrome and to support other hippodromes in terms of seasonal flowers.
Elazığ Hippodrome Director Muhammet Demirçelik, stating that their contributions to the Zero Waste Project will continue, said, ‘Known for its work for disadvantaged individuals in our society, the Turkey Jockey Club touches the lives of thousands of disabled individuals every year with its services provided free of charge at horse therapy centers staffed by expert teams in various regions of our country. Another important issue, as crucial as supporting disabled individuals in our society, is raising awareness about the disabled individuals we live together with. In order to create awareness in our society about disabled individuals, we inaugurated an empathy course at Elazığ Hippodrome on April 17, 2024, in cooperation with the Elazığ Provincial Directorate of National Education. The empathy course, which aims to enable visitors to experience the difficulties faced by disabled individuals in their daily lives, has another crucial feature: only recycled materials were used in the preparation of physical, auditory, and visual impaired tracks. The ‘Zero Waste Project,’ conducted under the auspices of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s wife, Emine Erdoğan, advocates avoiding waste and preventing, reducing, reusing, and recycling waste. The project, based on a circular resource and waste management approach, aims to promote sustainable production and consumption habits and encourage efficient use of resources. In a world where the population continues to grow, leaving a livable world for future generations is only possible by building a sustainable future. We continue our efforts to make hippodromes more efficient and productive by utilizing waste materials. Our collaboration with government institutions, ministries, provincial directorates, municipal governments, various associations, private public institutions, and experts in the field in all our projects enabled us to complete our projects in a short time with minimal labor, materials, and resources used. Furthermore, it allowed us to achieve many positive socio-economic outcomes, including the development of social solidarity, one of the goals of the Zero Waste Project. I extend my gratitude to everyone who supported us in all our efforts to build a sustainable future.’