Within the scope of the "Technical Assistance for the Assessment of Türkiye's Potential on Transition to Circular Economy Project" (DEEP Project) carried out by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change in order to promote Türkiye's transition to circular economy and to strengthen Türkiye's institutional and technical capacity in the transition to circular economy in line with the EU Circular Economy Model, a " Workshop on Roadmap for Single-Use Plastics and Marine Litter" was organised.
The Workshop, which was held in İstanbul between 6-8 March 2024 with the participation of public and private sector representatives, aimed to determine the effects of plastic waste on our environment and to develop effective strategic solutions and actions against this problem.
The opening speeches of the workshop were delivered by Ms. Sabriye Ayhan, Head of Circular Economy and Waste Management Department, General Directorate of Environmental Management, Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change; Ms. Özge Gökçe Aktaş, Sector Manager for Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye and Mr. Mihail Dimovski, Team Leader of DEEP Project.
Ms. Sabriye Ayhan, Head of Circular Economy and Waste Management Department, started her opening speech by underlining that the Single Use Plastics and Marine Litter Roadmap is one of the important outputs of the project. She stated that the three-day workshop aimed to refresh the information on the EU Plastics Strategy, single-use plastics and marine litter and to produce inputs to the roadmap in a participatory manner in the working group sessions. She stated that they continue to work with collective wisdom by considering environmental, social and economic dimensions in combating plastic pollution, which is at the forefront of the global agenda.
DEEP Project Team Leader Mr. Mihail Dimovski emphasised that the workshop is of historical importance for Türkiye and pointed out that the preparation of the Roadmap for Single Use Plastics and Marine Litter will not only benefit the Turkish economy but also reduce environmental pressures. Mr. Dimovski stated that the roadmap will provide a framework for the transition to circular economy and will contribute to the realisation of the National Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan.
In the morning session of the second day of the workshop, presentations were made by local and foreign experts on "EU Single Use Plastics Directive", "EU Single Use Plastics Directive Implementation Guide", "Single Use Plastics EU Member State Implementation Examples", "Measures for single-use plastic products in accordance with the Barcelona Convention Guidelines" and "Single Use Plastics Life Cycle Analysis within the Scope of DEEP Project". In the afternoon session, the working group carried out its activities on Action Development regarding Microplastics.
In the morning session of the second day of the workshop, presentations were made by local and foreign experts on "EU Single Use Plastics Directive", "EU Single Use Plastics Directive Implementation Guide", "Single Use Plastics EU Member State Implementation Examples", "Measures for single-use plastic products in accordance with the Barcelona Convention Guidelines" and "Single Use Plastics Life Cycle Analysis within the Scope of DEEP Project". In the afternoon session, the working group carried out its activities on Action Development regarding Single Use Plastics.
In the morning session of the third day of the workshop, focusing on marine litter, presentations were made by local and foreign experts on "International Framework on Marine Litter", "Microplastics and marine litter monitoring activities carried out in Türkiye within the scope of Integrated Marine Pollution Monitoring", "Measures regarding Fishing Gears", "Good Practice Example of Port Reception Facility" and "Good Practice: Prevention of Microplastics and Marine Litter" were presented by local and foreign experts. In the afternoon session, the working group carried out its activities on Action Development regarding Marine Litter.
In his speech at the closing session of the workshop, Mr. Salih Eminoğlu, Circular Economy Policies Branch Manager of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, said: "We have worked together to create a roadmap specific to our country with our institutional identities and joint efforts in many different fields related to single-use plastics, microplastics and marine litter." Mr. Eminoğlu pointed out that the common synergy which emerged as a result of the group works will make a great contribution to the road map currently under preparation.
More than 100 participants, including representatives of the public and private sectors as well as NGOs and academics, attended the workshop.
