Page 5 - Zera Waste - March 2025

NEWS 5
A “Strategic Cooperation
Agreement” Signed Between
the Zero Waste Foundation and
the Kuala Lumpur City Hall of
Malaysia.
The Zero Waste Foundation continues to
serve as an umbrella for global initiatives. In
this context, the Foundation signed significant
agreements in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lum-
pur, with the aim of promoting environmental
sustainability and expanding zero waste prac-
tices on a global scale.
During the visit led by H.E. Emine Erdoğan,
President of the Zero Waste Foundation,
Samed Ağırbaş, signed a “Strategic Cooperati-
on Agreement” with Mayor of Kuala Lumpur,
Maimunah Mohd Sharif. The agreement aims
to develop joint projects on sustainable urban
management, waste reduction, and recycling.
Emine Erdoğan,
Attends The Event Of
Advancing Circular Economy:
Pakistan-Türkiye Partnership
For Sustainability
Accompanying President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who travelled
to Pakistan’s capital town of Islamabad for an official visit, First
Lady Emine Erdoğan attended an event titled ‘Advancing Circular
Economy: Pakistan-Türkiye Partnership for Sustainability’.
Taking floor as a part of the event, Emine Erdoğan noted that as President Recep Tayyip Er-
doğan always says, she feels home in Pakistan, and added that Türkiye and Pakistan are tightly
bound by a sense of brotherhood.
Wishing this long-established and unique friendship between the two countries inspire the rest
of the world abound in wars, Emine Erdoğan expressed her delight to attend the event held
under the theme of ‘Circular Economy and Zero Waste’.
Emine Erdoğan wished the platform to pave the way for new beginnings for countries and the
whole world.
“Heavy Price Paid for Human "Some Countries Are Dispropor-
Damage to Ecological Balance” tionately Affected By Climate
Change Due To Their Geographic
Touching upon how the world is exponentially
transformed by production and consumption pat- Location"
terns, Emine Erdoğanreported that a heavy price is
being paid for the human damage to the ecological Pointing out how some countries face larger risks
than others, Emine Erdoğan continued:
balance and that the rise in deforestation, desertifi-
cation, imbalance of rainfall, drought, and natural “This is because they are disproportionately affec-
disasters are just a few prices paid. ted by climate change because of their geographic
location. They suffer from the mistakes of others
Describing climate change as a main agenda item in a sense. I would like to raise a question at this
for all and how it is a major driving force for prog- point: Is that not a huge injustice? For instance,
Pakistan emits less than 1 percent of the global
ress, Emine Erdoğan said: greenhouse gas emissions. However, the country
“The search for solutions is underway all around is facing disasters the frequency and severity of
which keeps rising, such as floods and heat waves.
the world. It is a fact that we need to adopt a holis- I paid a visit to Pakistan and to the region hit by
the floods in 2010. I am one of the people who saw
tic approach if we are to succeed. We need to come the plight and suffering on the ground. Casualties
up with policies that would help restore ecological caused by disasters are treated as just some figures
balance in every aspect. On top of the list is the in reports. However, each of those figures is a life
action to set in motion the circular economy as perished. It means mothers, fathers, spouses, and
soon as possible. children mourning. Hence, we must strongly advo-
cate for climate justice and speak out.
This is because the circular economy is environ-
mentally friendly. It helps consume fewer resour- 1 Million
ces and aims at recovering a significant portion of
Number of plastic bottles
resources. More importantly, the circular economy purchased every 1 minute
introduces related concepts, as well. Sustainable 5 Trillion
development, recycling, waste management, zero Number of plastic bottles
waste and renewable energy are just a few of them. purchased every 1 minute
400 15 Minutes
Million Tons of Average lifespan of
single-use plastic products
We can enjoy a less-polluted planet if we take a Plastic Waste
chance on a circular economy. We can see how the
pressure over natural resources declines. We can “400 Million Tons of Plastic
break free from the threatening level of carbon Waste a Year Generated Around
emissions. In fact, we can significantly add to the the World”
welfare, creating new jobs. With focus on environ-
mentally friendly policies, Türkiye has adopted a Noting how plastic pollution has turned into a
Zero Waste Initiative, which is a key role model to hornet's nest, Emine Erdoğan reported that 400
be followed. million tons of plastic waste a year is generated
around the world and 1 million plastic bottles are
bought every minute and nearly 5 trillion plastic
bags are used every year.