Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Hosted the Muğla Meeting of the Turkey Zero Waste Workshops

The Muğla leg of the "Turkey Zero Waste Workshops," initiated under the leadership of Emine Erdoğan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and aimed at implementation in all 81 provinces, was completed at MSKÜ.

The Muğla Workshop was held under the auspices of the Muğla Governorship, in cooperation with the Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University (MSKÜ), Muğla Metropolitan Municipality, and the Zero Waste Foundation, with the theme "Waste and Waste from Local to National Level."

The closing conference of the workshop, which took place with high participation, was held on Wednesday, December 17th, at the Atatürk Cultural Center of Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University.

The program was attended by the Governor of Muğla, Dr. The event was attended by İdris Akbıyık, Provincial Director of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ömer Bolat, Muğla Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ahmet Aras, MSKÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Turhan Kaçar, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Hatice Hicret Özkoç, Zero Waste Foundation President Samed Ağırbaş, mayors, institution directors, NGO representatives, faculty members, and students.

In this workshop, held in line with the goals of reducing waste and strengthening environmental sustainability, Muğla was selected as Turkey's first pilot province to begin implementation.

Rector Kaçar: “As a University, We Plan to Implement Two Concrete Steps”

The event, which began with protocol speeches, also included a speech by MSKÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Turhan Kaçar.

Emphasizing that zero waste is not just about waste management but also a transformation of mindset, MSKÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Turhan Kaçar stated, "Today's excessive consumption habits are triggering the climate crisis. The Zero Waste project has positioned Turkey among the leading countries in the world in sustainability policies. The workshop outcomes clearly demonstrate that Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University is not only a supporting actor in this field, but also possesses a strong potential to generate knowledge, provide guidance, and offer scientific contributions. As a university, we consider providing academic support to Muğla's zero waste movement a strategic responsibility. We will resolutely continue our support in all academic and scientific activities focused on zero waste in the coming period. In this context, we plan to implement two concrete steps as a university. Firstly, to issue a special call for proposals on the theme of zero waste within our Scientific Research Projects (BAP) Coordination Office to encourage in-house research. Secondly, to provide academic consultancy and scientific support to all zero waste projects being carried out and planned throughout the city.”

Muğla Governor Dr. İdris Akbıyık stated that the Zero Waste Movement is a strong vision that Turkey presents to the world.

Following the speeches, awards were presented by the protocol to the institutions and citizens who contributed to the zero waste project.

The “Muğla Zero Waste Target Document,” prepared based on the outputs obtained within the scope of the workshop, was announced to the public.

At the end of the program, the protocol members visited the exhibition area featuring “Zero Waste Application Examples” implemented in Muğla, including those of MSKÜ student groups.