Zero Waste Blue Transformation Day

Zero Waste Blue Transformation Day is an environmental awareness day observed annually on 10 June with the goal of protecting the seas. This special day was developed under Türkiye’s Zero Waste Project and has evolved into a nationwide social mobilization aimed at eliminating plastic and similar waste from seas lakes and other water sources.

“Zero Waste Blue” is a project that focuses specifically on the protection of the seas as part of the Zero Waste movement initiated under the leadership of Emine Erdoğan wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It was implemented in 2019 in collaboration between the Ministry of Environment Urbanization and Climate Change and the DenizTemiz Association/TURMEPA.

This initiative is not limited to coastal cities but constitutes a national environmental consciousness movement encompassing all of Türkiye. Every piece of waste has the potential to reach the sea. Waste generated from homes schools industry and streets can be carried to the oceans via rivers and winds. Zero Waste Blue was born out of this awareness and is a call for transformation to keep our blue homeland clean.

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10 June was officially declared as the Zero Waste Blue Transformation Day in 2024. On this day events held across Türkiye mobilize children youth fishermen civil society organizations and public institutions to take action for a sea-friendly lifestyle.

Activities carried out on this special day include:

• Beach and coastal clean-up events
• Recycling workshops
• Seminars on waste-free living
• Environmental awareness activities for children in schools and parks

The oceans produce more than half of the world’s oxygen. They also provide habitat for fish corals seaweed and millions of other marine organisms. However waste such as plastic metal glass and cigarette butts causes severe damage to this ecosystem. Approximately 12 million tons of plastic waste enter the oceans each year threatening marine life and disrupting the ecological balance.

Under Türkiye’s Zero Waste Project over the past seven years 74.5 million tons of waste have been reintegrated into the economy and a savings of USD 6.6 billion has been achieved. Marine cleanup efforts have been particularly concentrated in coastal cities. Thanks to municipalities civil society organizations and volunteers tons of waste have been collected from shorelines.

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The Zero Waste Project was launched in Türkiye in 2017. It is based on preventing waste generation improving resource efficiency and recycling waste. It was rapidly adopted across all public institutions and schools. Zero Waste Blue was introduced in 2019 as the marine dimension of this project.

• Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality – Directorate of Environmental Protection and Control. “Zero Waste Blue.” https://cevre.ibb.istanbul
• Anadolu Agency. “74.5 Million Tons of Waste Reintegrated into the Economy in Seven Years Through the Zero Waste Project.” https://www.aa.com.tr
• TURMEPA. “Zero Waste Blue.” https://www.turmepa.org.tr
• Ministry of Environment Urbanization and Climate Change of the Republic of Türkiye. Zero Waste Project. https://sifiratik.gov.tr