First lady Emine Erdoğan introduced the Global Zero Waste Alliance at COP31 in Antalya, outlining plans for countries to develop joint projects and share successful approaches to preventing waste.
Erdoğan, who chairs the U.N. Advisory Board on Zero Waste, presented the initiative at a meeting of leaders’ spouses on Nov. 11.
“We must measure our success not only by the waste we recover but also by the waste we prevent from being generated,” she said.
Recycling remained valuable, Erdoğan said, but products had already consumed land, water, energy and labor by the time they became waste.
Achieving a higher quality of life with fewer resources should guide development, she added.
The alliance would focus on five areas: zero waste and the circular economy; plastic and packaging waste; zero waste zones; food and organic waste; and education and youth.
Erdoğan said the annual Zero Waste Forum would identify shared priorities, while the Istanbul Platform would help turn proposals into projects and partnerships.
The alliance would extend these efforts to more countries and encourage cooperation.
She invited leaders’ spouses to support the initiative and contribute their countries’ experience, saying progress should be measured through changes in daily life, cities and production.
At a separate leaders’ roundtable on zero waste, circularity and methane, Erdoğan reiterated the goal of cutting projected growth in global annual municipal solid waste by at least 50 percent by 2035.
Her COP31 program also included the opening of the Zero Waste Museum on Nov. 12.
Accompanied by visiting leaders’ spouses, she cut a ribbon made from discarded fabric and lace before touring displays on waste prevention, recycling and reuse.
Erdoğan also hosted a lunch following a tour of an exhibition on Anatolian natural dyes and traditional textiles. The table settings used repurposed materials and living plants.
She held meetings with U.N. Development Programme Administrator Alexander De Croo, U.N.-Habitat Executive Director Anacláudia Rossbach and International Organization for Migration Director-General Amy Pope.
