Waste Plastics to Be Turned into Shelters for Animals

İstanbul Kimyevi Maddeler ve Mamulleri İhracatçıları Birliği (İKMİB), the umbrella organization of the chemical industry, is donating 69 shelters in support of the "Plastics Becoming Homes" project implemented as part of its corporate social responsibility efforts.

Within the scope of the "Plastics Becoming Homes" project, initiated in 2014 by the Plastics Manufacturers Association (PAGDER) as a corporate social responsibility initiative, a collaboration was established between PAGDER and İKMİB to contribute to environmental protection and animal welfare, protecting street animals from harsh winter conditions and providing them with warm homes. Under the "Plastics Becoming Homes" project carried out by PAGDER in collaboration with İKMİB, with the participation of Turkish Exporters Council (TİM) President İsmail Gülle, İKMİB Board Chairman Adil Pelister and PAGDER Chairman Selçuk Gülsün, a total of 9 shelters were donated to the General Secretariats of İMMİB, İTKİB and İİB within the Foreign Trade Complex (DTK). Shelters are manufactured from 100% recycled plastics The shelters produced from 100% recycled plastic aim to reunite street animals with sturdy and warm homes, while simultaneously preventing unnecessary resource consumption, reducing waste volume through source separation, and enabling qualified recyclable waste to be reused as raw materials through recycling methods. İsmail Gülle: "Our small friends will now have access to safer and warmer homes." TİM President İsmail Gülle, noting that they came together under a meaningful and valuable project, stated: "Through the 'Plastics Becoming Homes' project, waste plastics first gain value for our country through recycling, and then become homes for street animals. To date, 2,500 shelters distributed under the project represent warm homes for 2,500 street animals. Our Foreign Trade Complex, with its spacious and green grounds, provides shelter to many street animals. They are part of this institution, this complex. While we meet all their needs, we never neglect to show our affection. Today, for the 9 shelters added to our complex, we extend our heartfelt thanks to Chairman Adil Pelister and Chairman Selçuk Gülsün. With these 9 homes, our small friends will now have access to safer and warmer shelters," he said.

Adil Pelister: "We wish all our member associations to contribute to this project" Stating that the project aims to protect natural resources, achieve energy savings, reduce waste volume, invest in the future and the economy, raise public awareness about recycling contributions, and find solutions for street animals' shelter needs, İKMİB Board Chairman Adil Pelister said, "Between 2018 and 2021, our association and PAGDER collaborated on many topics including the World Plastics Atlas, the TPMag Project, the Tarpaulin Project, and seminars and training.

We have also provided support through collaboration in 2020 and 2021 for the "Plastics Becoming Homes" project. Many leading companies and organizations in the sector have sponsored this project to date. As İKMİB, in 2020 we donated a total of 30 shelters to the "Yalova Municipality Street Animals Rehabilitation Center" and the "Silivri Animal Life Garden." This year we will send 39 plastic shelters to the General Secretariats of Exporter Associations across Turkey, with 3 shelters each. Today we delivered 9 shelters to the General Secretariats of İMMİB, İTKİB and İİB within the DTK. Additionally, we have also delivered 3 shelters each to the General Secretariats of EİB and UİB. With our shipments to other general secretariats, we will donate a total of 69 shelters. The 69 shelters were manufactured from approximately 2,760 kilograms of recycled plastic. We wish all our member associations to contribute to this project, which we view as corporate social responsibility. Our goal is to both raise awareness about recycling and provide warm homes for our animal friends," he said. More than 2,500 shelters have been donated to municipal and volunteer shelters since the project's inception PAGDER Board Chairman Selçuk Gülsün, noting that with the "Plastics Becoming Homes" project they launched in 2014, they aimed to raise awareness about recycling plastic waste instead of discarding it, stated: "The best part of our project is that while increasing recycling awareness, we also provide homes for street animals. Our project has continued to grow with the support of our sponsors from day one. To date, we have donated more than 2,500 shelters to municipal and volunteer shelters. Today, in collaboration with İKMİB, we are pleased to be providing warm homes for the animals living in the Foreign Trade Complex. In this regard, I would like to thank İKMİB Board Chairman Adil Pelister, who has supported our project since the day he took office," he said.