Ekinlik in Balıkesir's Marmara district of Marmara province, which won the title of "Türkiye's first zero waste island", has exemplary practices in recycling.
On Ekinlik Island in the Marmara Sea, Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality launched a sub-project titled "Waste-Free Islands" within the scope of the "Zero Waste Project" carried out across the country under the auspices of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's wife Emine Erdoğan. In this context, organic wastes are composted and used to improve park gardens. Ekinlik, where plastic bags are no longer used, obtains its energy from the solar energy system and water from purified sea water.
With the support of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, electronic waste, waste batteries, textile waste and vegetable waste oils are separated for recycling through waste bins placed all over the island and recycled both for the environment and the economy. Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality Environmental Protection and Control Department Head Volkan Karateke said that there have been serious problems due to global environmental problems in recent years. Stating that environmental problems are reflected in people's daily lives, Karateke said, "We are in a period when our consumption habits have changed and the rate of humanity's consumption is above the capacity of nature to renew itself. In 2017, we find the Zero Waste Project, which started under the auspices of Mrs. Emine Erdoğan and carried out by our Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, at the center of the solution of these environmental problems."
Reminding that they have turned Ekinlik Island into "Türkiye's first zero waste island", Karateke said: "We carry out waste management entirely based on zero waste principles. By removing the garbage containers, we collect recyclable wastes separately and the others separately in the recycling bins we positioned in front of the houses. We recycle recyclable waste back into the economy. We obtain compost and soil improver from organic wastes and ensure that they meet with nature again. We collect waste batteries, electronics, vegetable oils and textile wastes separately at source and initiate their proper disposal or recovery. We plan to implement this work, which is the key point of transition from linear economy to circular economy, throughout our islands."E
Stating that they will continue their efforts to create a Balıkesir that is sustainable for every living creature and more resistant to environmental problems that may occur in the future with the support of Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Yücel Yılmaz, Karateke thanked everyone who supported the project.
