Food waste collected from public institutions and large-scale catering facilities is being converted into animal feed in 74 of Türkiye’s 81 provinces, with daily production reaching 31,274 kilograms, according to Interior Ministry sources.
The initiative is part of the Zero Waste Project, spearheaded by first lady Emine Erdoğan. Under the scheme, food waste collected through provincial governor’s offices and municipalities from student dormitories run by the Higher Education Credit and Hostels Institution (KYK), military units, hospitals, prisons, hotels and restaurants is processed into animal feed.
Machines and equipment for converting food waste into animal feed are available in 74 provinces, with a combined daily production capacity of 65,352 kilograms. However, actual daily output stands at 31,274 kilograms, indicating that existing facilities are operating below half of their total capacity.
Iğdır, Kahramanmaraş, Kırıkkale, Kocaeli, Kütahya, Samsun and Tunceli are the seven provinces without equipment to process food waste into animal feed.
An inspection report recommended that food products deemed unfit for human consumption but suitable for animal feed — including items ordered destroyed under insurance procedures or official inspections — be redirected to animal shelters and designated natural habitats where appropriate. The report also called for efforts to expand the use of food-processing equipment at animal shelters.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said the government was pursuing a comprehensive approach to protecting, housing and caring for stray animals, while also seeking to use public resources more efficiently.
He said the Zero Waste Project had helped protect the environment and make better use of existing resources, adding that the government aimed to establish feed production facilities in the seven provinces currently lacking them through cooperation with relevant institutions and local authorities.
“On the one hand, we aim to bring food waste generated in public institutions, dormitories, hospitals, military units and mass-consumption facilities back into the economy; on the other, we seek to reduce feeding costs at animal shelters and in natural habitats as much as possible,” Çiftçi said.
He added that the ultimate goal was to establish a sustainable system in all 81 provinces that prevents waste, saves public funds and improves conditions for stray animals.
