Making a speech at the ceremony, First Lady Erdoğan said that the Zero Waste movement, which embodies the concrete steps taken for the future of not only Türkiye but the whole world as well, has entered its 5th year, and extended her gratitude to all the institutions, organizations and private sector representatives that support the Zero Waste project.
Stressing that nature has been the home of humans in all the ancient cultures and has housed countless civilizations, First Lady Erdoğan said that a liveable world is the most valuable heritage from these civilizations.
“WE SHOULD PERSONALLY BECOME A PART OF THE SOLUTION”
“Chemicals and plastic particles mixing into water, soil and air are the prices we pay for the waste dumped in the nature,” the First Lady said. “The amount of the plastic waste we have generated over the last century alone is twice the weight of all the sea and land species in the world. The list can be further extended. We, however, should go beyond solely discussing problems and personally become a part of the solution. We may be the last generation that can do so.”
First Lady Erdoğan continued: “It is with this perspective that we set off with a dream five years ago. The Zero Waste Project, which we initiated in 2017 at the Presidential Complex, has thriven from heart to heart with our people’s appreciation.”
MARCH 30 DECLARED AS INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ZERO WASTE
“As the spouses of tens of foreign heads of state and government, ministers and UN representatives, first and foremost the UN Secretary General, who believe in the ‘zero waste’ ideal, we signed in earlier September a document of goodwill and pledged to work together to promote Zero Waste practices in the world. The goodwill document, which has an increasingly rising number of signatories, marks an important step towards the institutionalization of the global interest in and global support for our project.”
First Lady Erdoğan further stressed that the UN General Assembly decided to proclaim 30 March as the International Day of Zero Waste, to be observed annually, with the adoption of the Zero Waste resolution, adding that Türkiye stands ready to share its experience in Zero Waste with all the countries so wishing as well as to do whatever it takes to transform the Zero Waste into a global movement.”
