The final conference of the “Zero Waste Workshop” held in Rize in January for the purpose of waste management and waste prevention was held.
Rize Governor İhsan Selim Baydaş, in his speech at the opening of the conference held at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Congress and Culture Center, said that the issue of zero waste is now on everyone’s agenda.
Stating that zero waste should not be considered only as an environmental project, Baydaş said, “Each of us should be able to plan an education approach, a family culture and a management approach that will teach us not to throw away and waste waste before managing it.” he said.
Pointing out that the plateaus are places that should be left as a legacy to the future, Baydaş continued his words as follows:
“In this workshop, we determined Huser, Elevit and Handüzü plateaus as pilot plateaus with zero waste. We will take additional measures here. We will carry out additional studies on waste management here. We will inform the operators who take tours to these places. These three plateaus are the plateaus where the most guests are hosted. Since Ayder is now an urban area, our friends chose Huser, Elevit and Handüzü plateaus as the place to conduct the pilot study.”
TEA FACTORIES WILL BE INCLUDED IN WASTE MANAGEMENT
Pointing out that studies will be carried out on tea waste, Baydaş said, “Our municipality has a facility that produces tea branches, coal, pellets and various by-products from tea waste. Our ÇAYKUR General Directorate also has facilities that produce similar products. Hopefully, this year, we will enter the tea season with a process in which we will plan the waste management of all tea factories produced by the private sector and the public, covering all tea waste in our city. This waste management will be one of the exemplary studies throughout Turkey.” he said.
Zero Waste Foundation President Samed Ağırbaş stated that they are working to expand the Zero Waste Project, which started under the leadership of Emine Erdoğan in 2017, in Türkiye and 193 countries around the world.
Emphasizing that Türkiye is the world leader in zero waste, Ağırbaş continued as follows:
“The Zero Waste Movement, which started in Türkiye, has spread to the world today with the general assembly decision taken by the United Nations in 2022. At the same time, First Lady Erdoğan is the president of the Zero Waste Advisory Board established under the umbrella of the United Nations. The decisions taken by this advisory board are implemented in the member countries of the United Nations. Thanks to the work done by this advisory board, the way for a waste-free life is paved in different geographies of the world.”
“WE AIM FOR WASTE-FREE PLATEAUS IN RIZE”
Emphasizing that, as the Foundation, they want to leave permanent services for the future of Rize, Ağırbaş said, “We wish to build waste-free plateaus in Rize. As the Zero Waste Foundation, we strongly support all projects to be carried out in Rize. Our President attaches particular importance to this city. He undertakes many different works for the future of this city. I would like to thank him. I believe that we will do good things in this city where green and blue meet.” he said.
Following the speeches, a documentary showing examples of zero waste practices was screened, and awards were given to public representatives who implemented zero waste practices.
In the program, Rize Mayor Rahmi Metin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Rector Prof. Dr. Yusuf Yılmaz also spoke.
The topics regarding the concrete steps determined for the city as a result of the workshop were as follows:
“Establishment of floating waste barriers in river mouths, application of water bottles and fountains in schools and public institutions, determination of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Faculty of Agriculture as a compost project area, creation of a waste dumping area on the border of the plateau and tourism area in a pilot plateau to be selected, creation of a common waste collection area and preliminary separation point in OIZ and new industrial site, 1-minute zero waste announcement for guides, municipal zero waste mini incentive system, waste and waste sermon module.”
