Determination of the carbon footprint of the products in the waste collection facility located in Konya province

Human activities in areas such as environmental pollution, unconscious use of natural resources, housing, transportation, increase in consumption and agriculture threaten the quality and health of the natural environment and cause irreversible damage. These activities cause an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The carbon footprint concept used to calculate these gases plays an important role in raising awareness by offering solutions on how to reduce or prevent emissions from increasing, and is used to monitor emissions and develop reduction strategies, usually expressed in terms of CO2 equivalent. In the thesis study, carbon footprint calculation was made and evaluated as a result of numerical data for 2023 obtained from a waste collection facility within the borders of Konya Province. Using the Tier methodology developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); It was calculated and evaluated within the framework of Scope 1 (Gasoline consumption, diesel consumption, natural gas consumption, fire extinguishers), Scope 2 (Electricity consumption), and Scope 3 (Service vehicle fuel consumption, waste truck fuel consumption, non-hazardous waste). As a result of the calculations made in accordance with the Tier (Scope 1, Scope 2, Scope 3) method, the total carbon footprint of the facility was calculated as 142.0036 tons CO2e / year. As a result of the study, it was determined that Scope 2 was the highest with a carbon footprint of 80.46 tons of CO2e (56%). Secondly, a carbon footprint of 54.1478 tons of CO2e (38%) originating from Scope 3, and finally a carbon footprint of 8.3958 tons of CO2e (6%) originating from Scope 1, were determined. The findings of this study can contribute to the more effective development and implementation of environmental impact reduction strategies by providing concrete data for scientific research. This approach may enable researchers working in various disciplines to conduct more advanced studies on environmental sustainability and produce more effective solutions to global problems such as climate change. By showing that waste facilities have a significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions, it should be noted that waste has a huge impact on the carbon footprint and should be taken as seriously as the carbon footprint value from the production sector. Keywords: Carbon footprint, Greenhouse gases, Carbon emissions, Tier, IPCC, Waste. June, 2024; 72 pages