Istanbul: Trkiye's first lady Emine Erdogan emphasized the strategic importance of the zero waste movement, describing it as a unifying force in the fight against climate change and a transformative power in the global climate struggle.
According to Anadolu Agency, during her speech at the Zero Waste Forum 2026 in Istanbul, Erdogan highlighted the forum as a historic event where nations unite around a shared vision. She noted the strong international participation, reflecting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's message that "humanity is bigger than five." The forum, held at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, welcomed representatives from 183 countries, over 500 institutions, and more than 5,000 participants.
Erdogan expressed hope that the forum's synergy would lead to new beginnings for the global future. She thanked the Zero Waste Foundation, ministries, and the Istanbul Governorate for organizing this significant international environmental gathering.
Erdogan drew attention to the 1.6-million-square-kilometer garbage patch in the North Pacific Ocean, highlighting it as a symbol of humanity's reckless resource consumption. She warned that this waste accumulation, nearly twice the size of Trkiye, reveals the crisis of waste and consumption fueling the climate crisis.
She noted that the daily disposal of plastic waste, equivalent to 2,000 garbage trucks, into oceans is not just a waste management issue. The spread of microplastics from Antarctica to Mount Everest's summit, she emphasized, is an extraordinary environmental concern.
Erdogan pointed out the disparity in a world where landfills overflow with unused items while millions lack basic necessities. Using disposable products, she said, not only depletes natural resources but also undermines fundamental human values, creating a false comfort zone out of plastics.
She remarked that humanity is leaving behind an ecological burden and a broken justice scale for future generations, instead of enhancing collective happiness through sharing. The zero waste initiative, she noted, is a return to humanity's essence.
Erdogan mentioned that the Zero Waste Foundation, operational since 2023 following the movement's 2017 inception, has elevated this vision on an international scale. She explained that the forum coincides with the COP31 Climate Summit in Trkiye, providing a vital platform to highlight zero waste's strategic value in climate action.
Erdogan proposed zero waste as a key climate action leading up to the summit. She shared alarming statistics, indicating that 5.8 trillion plates of food are wasted globally each year before reaching those in need. Over two billion tons of food are wasted in various settings, consuming a third of agricultural lands and causing 14% of methane emissions.
She highlighted the human cost, reminding attendees that 673 million people face hunger and over 2 billion suffer from inadequate nutrition. Half of the children who die before age five do so from starvation. Erdogan stressed that saving just a quarter of the wasted food could eliminate global hunger.
She emphasized that households are responsible for 60% of total food waste.