Türkiye prevents 2.8 million tons of plastic waste through paid bag policy

ANKARA

Türkiye has prevented the generation of nearly 2.8 million tones of plastic waste through its paid plastic bag policy introduced to curn environmental pollution, according to official data.

Information compiled from the 2025 Annual Activity Report of the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry shows that between 2019 and 2025, the paid plastic bag scheme prevented the formation of 2,844,000 tons of plastic waste across the country.

The policy forms part of the broader Zero Waste Project, launched in 2017 under the patronage of first lady Emine Erdoğan. The initiative aims to bring waste under control in line with sustainable development principles and to leave a cleaner, more livable environment for future generations.

Over the eight years since the project began, a total of 205,000 buildings have transitioned to the Zero Waste Management System, while the national recycling rate has risen from 13 percent at the project’s launch to 36 percent in 2024. Authorities aim to increase this figure to 60 percent by 2035.

During this period, recycling efforts recovered 32.5 million tons of paper and cardboard, 9.1 million tons of plastic, 3.1 million tons of glass, 6.4 million tons of metal and 23.4 million tons of organic and other recyclable waste. The recovered materials generated an estimated 256 billion Turkish Liras ($5.8 billion) in economic value.

Recycling helped conserve 1.71 trillion liters of water and 54.6 million liters of petroleum, while 227.3 billion kilowatt-hours of energy were saved, an amount equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 40 million households. The initiative also prevented 150 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Officials noted that the reduction in plastic bag use has also cut demand for imported raw materials used in plastic production, saving around 28 billion liras.