Initiated in Türkiye in 2017 under the leadership of First Lady Emine Erdoğan, the Zero Waste Movement has today evolved from being merely an environmental policy on waste management into a comprehensive ecosystem that brings together climate action, circular economy, resource efficiency, sustainable cities, food and water security, plastic pollution, youth and children's participation, and scientific research under the same transformation perspective.
The Zero Waste Foundation carries out multi-stakeholder activities to share this experience on an international scale and to transform it into concrete practices during the COP31 process. It continues its activities not only within the framework of reducing waste or increasing recycling rates but with the aim of protecting natural resources, transforming production and consumption models, and building a more resilient world for future generations.
Within the framework of the leadership and vision of First Lady Emine Erdoğan—Founder of the Zero Waste Movement, Chairperson of the United Nations Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste, and Honorary Chairperson of the Zero Waste Foundation—the environmental and climate determination of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the process led by Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and COP31 President Murat Kurum, the Foundation is transforming this massive experience emerging in Türkiye into applicable global solutions.
A Global Journey from the United Nations to COP31
The Zero Waste Movement, which started in 2017, quickly transcended national borders. The United Nations General Assembly's declaration of March 30 as the International Day of Zero Waste on December 14, 2022, under Türkiye's leadership, and the establishment of the Advisory Board of Eminent Persons on Zero Waste within the UN, were the most important milestones of this journey.
Maintaining its contacts with public representatives from different countries, local governments, academia, and the private sector—from the United Nations programs held in New York on the occasion of March 30 to international conferences—the Zero Waste Foundation is transforming the zero waste approach into a policy framework that countries can adapt to their own conditions.
Zero Waste and Circular Economy on the Road to COP31
The COP31 process, which Türkiye will host in Antalya from November 9–20, 2026, constitutes a new implementation area for these global efforts.
Through the efforts led by Zero Waste Foundation President and COP31 High-Level Climate Champion Samed Ağırbaş, it is aimed to position the zero waste approach as one of the complementary elements of climate action on the COP31 agenda and to bring public and non-public actors together more effectively in line with climate goals.
An International Gathering Extending from Istanbul to Antalya
One of the most visible platforms of this approach in the process leading up to COP31 was the Zero Waste Forum held in Istanbul on June 5–7, 2026. Organized with the theme "The Road to Antalya: Zero Waste as Climate Action," the Forum brought together representatives from 183 countries and over 5,000 participants.
In addition, the Istanbul Zero Waste Festival, which hosted more than 1 million visitors, proved that zero waste is a culture of life rather than a technical process, through renewable energy applications, technology, and cultural-artistic events.
Local Transformation Extending to Neighborhoods and Villages Across 81 Provinces
The Foundation conducts its global efforts simultaneously with Türkiye's local dynamics. With the "Local to National: Squander and Waste" approach, the Türkiye Zero Waste, Environment, and Climate Change Workshops have been initiated to cover all 81 provinces.
The local model is not limited to provincial centers but is extended down to the neighborhood and village scale. Under a protocol signed with the Ministry of Interior, a training process has been launched to deliver the zero waste approach to mukhtars serving in 81 provinces. The first implementation was realized with the "Leave a Mark on the Future Mukhtars Gathering" held in Antalya.
Life Cycle Approach and Blue Transformation Against Plastic Pollution
The Zero Waste Foundation addresses the fight against plastic pollution not only through recycling capacity but with a holistic understanding covering the entire life cycle from product design to production, consumption, and disposal. This vision was reinforced with the Türkiye Plastic Waste Workshop City Coordination Meetings held in August and September.
Furthermore, within the framework of protecting marine and coastal ecosystems, a marine conservation effort based on scientific data was implemented through the Hanzala project, a juvenile green sea turtle fitted with a satellite tracking device and released into the Mediterranean.
Youth, Children, and Scientific Infrastructure
The Foundation positions youth not as future stakeholders of the sustainability agenda, but as today's actors of transformation. While the 81-Province COP31 Gatherings on children's rights and climate action were organized in cooperation with UNICEF, a scientific and data-driven transformation foundation was laid by establishing the Zero Waste Institute (in cooperation with ITU) and the International Zero Waste Data Center (in cooperation with TÜİK).
On the other hand, through studies conducted with the TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center and the Polar Research Institute, "Zero Waste in the Poles" was introduced into scientific literature.
A New Language of Transformation Extending from Türkiye to the World
The common perspective that has emerged in line with First Lady Emine Erdoğan's vision since its inception expands the boundaries of the zero waste concept. Efforts ranging from reducing waste at the source to circular production, from transforming cities to climate diplomacy, are turning zero waste into a holistic transformation approach.
As one of the institutional and international carriers of this process, the Zero Waste Foundation contributes to the development of a new understanding of transformation that goes beyond protecting the environment, where resources are used fairly and efficiently, with the mindset that “The World is Our Common Home.”
