Due to the increase in the population in our country and in the world and the rapid growth of urbanization, the amount of waste is increasing day by day in parallel with the increase in consumption. According to TurkStat data, the importance of the issue will be better understood when considering the daily per capita waste amount of 1.17 kg determined in 2016 for the population of Türkiye, which is expected to exceed 86.9 million in 2023 and 100 million in 2040. In addition, this situation disrupts the balance of the world by increasing the pressure on our natural resources, and our limited resources cannot meet the increasing needs. Therefore, the importance of efficient use of natural resources becomes more evident.
In this context, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization of the Republic of Türkiye initiated the “Zero Waste” project in 2017. Zero Waste is a goal called “Waste Management Philosophy” that includes preventing waste, using resources more efficiently, preventing or minimizing waste formation by reviewing the causes of waste formation and collecting and recovering waste separately from its source in case of waste formation. 52% of the domestic wastes generated in our country are organic wastes, 6% are plastic wastes, of which a large part are plastic bags, 10% are paper-cardboard wastes, 4% are glass and 2% are metal wastes, and the remaining part includes other wastes.
When we look at these rates, we see that a large part of our waste can be used, that is, they can be recycled and turned into new products. In addition, since it is not separated from its source and thrown away, it goes to many usable waste storage sites such as plastic, paper-cardboard, glass, and metal, and approximately 1 billion TL of resources are lost every year. Considering that these wastes are disposed of directly at landfill sites without any processing, a rough calculation requires a storage area the size of hundreds of football fields every year. Likewise, administrative activities such as collection, transportation, and/or storage of these wastes will also incur additional costs.
According to the ideal waste management hierarchy, prevention and reduction of wastes in the place where they occur and reuse of wastes in cases where their formation cannot be prevented are the primary steps of the waste management hierarchy. Wastes that cannot be reused should be evaluated by following a path in the form of recycling, material recovery, or recovery as energy to bring them to the economy.
The Zero Waste Regulation was published in the Official Gazette dated 12.07.2019 and numbered 30829 by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization of the Republic of Türkiye and entered into force. Within the scope of this regulation, industrial facilities included in the Annex-1 List of EIA Regulation had to obtain a basic level “Zero Waste Certificate” until 31 December 2020. In this context, our İç Anadolu Combined Cycle Gas Turbine, located in Kırıkkale, one of the GAMA Enerji power plants, was entitled to receive the basic level Zero Waste Certificate on 20.11.2020 as a result of the studies we carried out during 2020. The works for our power plants within the scope of the industrial facilities included in the Annex-1 List of EIA Regulation have been completed this year and document applications have been made.
Yeşim Aştı
GAMA Enerji Inc. Quality and Certification Manager
