Turkish and German Waste Management Practices Discussed at İZAYDAŞ

İZAYDAŞ hosted the Waste to Resource - Planning Integrated Solid Waste Management Solutions for Municipalities workshop. During the three-day programme, Turkish and German officials had the opportunity to work on preparing local action plans.

Solid Waste Management Systems

Waste to Resource - Planning Integrated Solid Waste Management Solutions for Municipalities was carried out in partnership with United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia Regional Organisation (UCLG-MEWA) and the Association of German Cities (Connective Cities). The training held at İZAYDAŞ aimed to investigate the municipality-specific causes and impacts of inadequate SWM (Solid Waste Management) systems and to identify potential strategies for addressing these issues.

Programme Objective

UCLG – MEWA organised this training programme to develop "Waste to Resource - Planning Integrated Solid Waste Management Solutions for Municipalities" with the participation of selected 25 Turkish and 5 German municipalities, with the aim of making Turkish municipalities aware of different methods in waste management and encouraging them to make comparative assessments of their current situation with international practices; supporting mutual learning of urban waste management practices, sharing best practices, developing solid waste management in an integrated manner, and recommending that municipalities prepare local action plans.

Opening of the Training Programme

The opening of the three-day programme was attended by UCLG-MEWA Secretary General Mehmet Duman, Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Zekeriya Özak, İZAYDAŞ General Manager Muhammet Saraç and Deputy General Manager İsmail Uludağ, KBB Waste Management Division Manager Hüseyin Kılıç and an authorised delegation of approximately 50 people from Turkish and German municipalities.

Saraç: We Are Sharing Our Experience and Knowledge

İZAYDAŞ General Manager Muhammet Saraç said in his speech at the programme opening that as a leading organisation in waste management in Turkey, they were aware of their responsibilities. Saraç stated that as İZAYDAŞ they value sharing their knowledge accumulated in sectoral practices with their pioneering mission in waste management, saying "We are pleased to host this programme which will enable local governments in our country to be aware of different methods in this field and to make comparative assessments of international methods."

Özak: We Raised the Bar in Waste Management

Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Zekeriya Özak said in his speech here that particularly in the last 14 years, through environmental investments and work on inspection, regulation and guidance as local governments, the bar for waste management in Kocaeli has been raised, saying "Believing that a positive relationship can be established between industry and the environment, we take measures accordingly and believe that this is possible."

Duman: İZAYDAŞ is an Exemplary Institution

UCLG-MEWA Secretary General Mehmet Duman drew attention to the importance of work aimed at improving waste management practices, and noted that İZAYDAŞ, a subsidiary of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, is an exemplary institution in the field of integrated waste management and energy production, such as Hazardous Waste Incineration Facility, Landfill Gas to Energy Facility, and Biogas Facility. In his speech, Duman thanked İZAYDAŞ for hosting this important work.