Recycling and Sustainable Waste Management: A 2025 Perspective
Sustainability, resource efficiency, and climate change have become key global priorities. In this context, the recycling sector and waste management play a critical role both environmentally and economically.
Recycling and Waste Management in Turkey
Turkey is making significant strides in waste management and recycling. As part of the Zero Waste Project, the municipal waste recycling rate rose to 34.92% in 2023, with the aim of increasing this to 60% by 2035. Additionally, the Deposit Return System is expected to be fully operational by 2025, with an estimated 25 billion packaging items being recycled annually, contributing 520 million euros to the economy (ey.com).
Global Developments and Innovations
Globally, there have been significant developments in recycling and waste management:
United States: Connecticut introduced the Bye Bye Mattress program in 2015, recycling 1.7 million mattresses and recovering 29,000 tons of material. This initiative not only reduced illegal dumping but also boosted local employment (ctinsider.com).
Australia: Planet Ark and Boston Global established the BG Planet Ark Circular Future Fund, targeting $1 billion in investments by 2030. The fund aims to reduce waste, lower carbon emissions, and promote recycling (theaustralian.com.au).
France: The Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law, which came into effect in 2020, seeks to reduce single-use plastics and hold producers accountable for recycling. Additionally, product repairability indexes have become mandatory (en.wikipedia.org)
Technological Advancements and Sector Investments
Technological innovations and investments in the recycling sector are on the rise:
Waste Management Inc. (WM): In 2023, WM recycled 15 million tons of recyclable material and added 878,000 tons of new recycling capacity. The company plans to invest $3 billion in sustainable initiatives between 2022-2026, with $1.6 billion allocated to 20 landfills capturing natural gas and $1.4 billion for new recycling facilities (wsj.com).
Industrial Waste Recycling: Industrial waste recycling is helping save energy, conserve natural resources, and reduce carbon footprints. Additionally, it creates new employment opportunities and generates economic benefits (akademicevre.com).
Future Perspectives
Developments in recycling and waste management are playing an essential role in building a sustainable future. In both Turkey and globally, reducing waste, increasing recycling rates, and implementing environmentally friendly policies contribute to reducing environmental impacts and generating economic benefits.
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed – save earth.”
Türkçe 
English