First lady chairs UN meeting on environment

ANKARA

Türkiye's first lady Emine Erdoğan presided over the second meeting of the United Nations Zero Waste Advisory Board on June 5, coinciding with World Environment Day.

The "Zero Waste" project, spearheaded by Erdoğan since its inception in 2017, operates in collaboration with the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry. It aims to promote sustainable waste management practices in Türkiye and worldwide.

"In cooperation with the U.N., we have started to prepare guide publications for countries and organizations that want to switch to Zero Waste practice," Erdoğan said at the online meeting.

"On the other hand, we are launching our initiatives for a global Zero Waste standardization that will be valid all over the world and will commonize all Zero Waste practices."

She announced plans to hold the board's third meeting in the Azerbaijani capital Baku with face-to-face discussions.

Since the launch of the project, Türkiye has recycled 16.5 million tons of paper and cardboard, 4.1 million tons of plastic, 1.7 million tons of glass, 400,000 tons of metals and 1.5 million tons of organic and other wastes, the first lady said earlier.

The campaign has garnered international attention after Erdoğan and U.N. chief Antonio Guterres agreed to promote the project on a global scale.