What Does Zero Waste Mean to Us?

To fully understand the zero waste issue, it is important to begin by addressing what the Zero Waste concept means, its social relevance, the projects pursued by the state in this direction, as well as the incentives provided by private companies and civil society organizations. From this perspective, the concept known as zero waste is defined as a waste management philosophy that encompasses the prevention of waste, more efficient use of resources, reviewing the causes of waste generation to prevent or minimize waste creation, and, in the event that waste is generated, ensuring its source separation and recovery. Beyond being a concept, it is a vision of the future. Technology developed as a result of the Industrial Revolution, population growth and urbanization have led to the generation of large amounts of waste. This situation causes soil, water and air pollution. The careless use of resources is certainly a harbinger that they will one day be exhausted. As can be understood even from such a superficial perspective, this goal is a necessity beyond mere aspiration. Waste recycling and recovery processes that do not evaluate waste result in serious material and energy resource losses. As the world's population and living standards increase, consumption inevitably rises, and this situation increases pressure on our natural resources, disrupts the balance of the planet, and our limited resources cannot keep pace with increasing needs. Given this situation, the importance of efficient use of natural resources becomes even more apparent. For this reason, in recent years zero waste implementation efforts have become widespread worldwide at individual, institutional and municipal levels. We know that the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization is implementing a project called ZERO WASTE BLUE in this regard. Within the scope of this highly important project, a "ZERO WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE" has been published, and it is aimed to approach the zero waste vision step by step with the awareness that everyone, from the most specific to the most general level, is responsible. In this guide, the first stage is recorded as the preparation of the working team, that is, the establishment of a working team by identifying the responsible person or persons who will follow the process from the setup of the Zero Waste Management System to its implementation and monitoring. "PLANNING," namely the identification of waste types and sources, the disclosure of the equipment used and the status of relevant personnel, the planning of the transition to the system, and the identification of factors that could affect the type and quantity of waste, appears as the second stage. We see "TRAINING/AWARENESS ACTIVITIES" as the third stage. This stage includes the implementation of training and awareness activities aimed at the target audience for the purpose of promoting the Zero Waste Management System and encouraging participation in its implementation. The last stage, defined as MONITORING, RECORD KEEPING AND IMPROVEMENT, consists of monitoring activities conducted by the working team at regular intervals to assess the effectiveness of the implementation and to identify any shortcomings or areas for improvement in the application, as well as activities to remedy deficiencies. Of course, when the Zero Waste Goal and Management are in question, a hierarchy of responsibilities emerges. While a single official and a manufacturer do not bear the same degree of responsibility in the Zero Waste Goal, the entire society is responsible in the direction of this goal. The first step agreed upon by all actors working on this matter is the separation of waste, which is perhaps the least laborious aspect of this responsibility. Over the past ten years, in our country there are containers or underground waste collection centers in almost every location where we can separate waste according to its types. This is the easiest separation method that can be performed by the entire population. Following this operation, some waste is recycled, some is converted to fuel, and some is disposed of in ways that cause the least harm to nature. The more detailed, large-scale versions of the simple example given above, which require chemical expertise, are referred to as industrial-type waste management and are again subject to processes that proceed under Ministry supervision. Prepared by: Dila Taşcı