Study of climate change projects and zero waste policy of local governments in Turkey

The concept of zero waste, which is defined as Turkey's most significant environmental movement, entered the agenda of both administrators and citizens with the Zero Waste Project in 2017. Then, with the Zero Waste Regulation published in 2019, the duties and responsibilities of institutions were clarified and many responsibilities were given to municipalities in particular. It is seen that these responsibilities are different and multidimensional, such as protecting resources, establishing a zero waste management system, registering waste, and training citizens on this issue. While solid waste management was an infrastructural task for municipal governments, a new era has begun with zero waste management. The zero waste project, which means more than just waste management, requires a paradigm shift that includes managerial, economic, social and individual transformation. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the concrete steps taken by metropolitan and provincial municipalities towards the targeted paradigm transformation. Since zero waste is both the cause and the result of the current solid waste management, all direct and indirect solid waste activities of municipalities are included in the thesis. In the thesis, not only waste management but also the fight against climate change due to methane gas caused by waste activities are evaluated and analyzed in this context. An evaluation has been made by taking into consideration the tasks and targets defined in the Zero Waste Regulation, as well as the zero waste hierarchy. In the thesis, Turkey's current waste management and emerging or potential emerging problems are also examined in the light of not only national but also international reports. Document analysis method was used in the thesis, and 48 activities determined regarding waste, zero waste and waste-induced climate change were digitized and a success score was created for each province. Findings, a waste index covering metropolitan and provincial municipalities was created. In conclusion, the waste index created with the data digitized in the thesis shows that metropolitan and provincial municipalities produce successful projects and policies in managing waste after it occurs. However, they do not seem to be close to reaching the targeted criteria with sustainable zero waste management and creating zero waste cities. In this thesis, data supporting this argument are presented and recommendations are listed. According to the index created as a result of the analysis, Bursa Metropolitan Municipality received the highest score with 44.91, while Ağrı Municipality, ranked 81st, received the lowest score with -0.53. The average of 81 provinces was determined as 19.77 points. The value of 43 municipalities was below the average.