31.08.2026 15:01
Samed Ağırbaş, President of the Zero Waste Foundation, who answered Haberler.com's questions at the Turkey Plastic Waste Workshop, stated that root solutions to the plastic waste crisis are being sought with public and NGO representatives. Ağırbaş emphasized that billions of waste items could be prevented with simple daily habits such as using thermoses and flasks.
Samed Ağırbaş, President of the Zero Waste Foundation, who answered questions from Haberler.com at the Türkiye Plastic Waste Workshop, stated that deep-rooted solutions to the plastic waste crisis are being sought together with public and non-governmental organization representatives.
Samed Ağırbaş, President of the Zero Waste Foundation, who answered questions from Melis Yaşar of Haberler.com, made critical statements on the first day of the Türkiye Plastic Waste Workshop regarding the work being carried out and the importance of individual waste management.
COMMON SENSE WITH 17 MINISTRIES AND MORE THAN 400 REPRESENTATIVES
Ağırbaş, stating that they aim to completely remove the plastic waste crisis from the public's agenda, expressed that they are on the first day of the Türkiye Plastic Waste Workshop.
Ağırbaş said, "We have 17 ministries, more than 40 general directorates, and more than 400 representatives here. We are taking an important initiative regarding the plastic waste crisis that has been occupying our citizens' agenda in recent days, and we are organizing this work to permanently remove this crisis from our citizens' agenda."
"WE WANT TO BUILD MODELS THAT WILL POLLUTE THE ENVIRONMENT LESS"
Samed Ağırbaş noted that they are addressing all aspects of plastic, from plastic imports, in a 360-degree manner, saying, "We want to build models that will pollute the environment less, especially by using substitute products for plastic in our citizens' own lives. In this context, we have our public institutions, non-governmental organizations, and people from different groups here, and our goal is clear: to solve Türkiye's problem with common sense. When Ms. Emine Erdoğan founded the Zero Waste Foundation in 2017, the purpose was very clear. This foundation, established for the common future of 86 million people, today works on the issues related to 86 million and produces solutions for the problems of our 86 million citizens."
"IT IS POSSIBLE TO CHANGE THE WORLD WITH SMALL MEASURES"
Ağırbaş said, "If we drink our water and coffee from our own cup or our own thermos, we can prevent 3-4 plastic bottles or coffee cups from being thrown away per day," and added, "The world population is 8 billion. If 1 billion of the 8 billion people do this, we can prevent several billion plastic bottles or coffee cups from being thrown away daily. With such small measures and small changes in our lives, it is possible to change the world, and if our 86 million citizens believe in us and walk this path together, we can build a more livable and more prosperous world together."