Challenges to Separate Collection: The Case for Turkey

Novotel, Bucharest, Romania9 10 2014

Mete IMER

Some Data on Turkey

• Population : 76.667.864• Number of cities : 81• Number of municipalities : 1.397• Number of sanitary landfills: 76• Amount of municipal waste : 25.800.000 ton• GDP : 534 billion Euro

Some Data on Turkish Waste Legislation

• Harmonisation with the EU:– Environment Law– Waste Framework Directive– Packaging Waste Control Regulation– Regulation on Batteries– Regulation on Mineral Oil, etc.

Turkish Packaging Waste Control Regulation

• Roles and Responsibilities: – Ministry of Environment and Urbanization– Municipalities– Licenced Collectors, Sorters and Recyclers– Producers (Extended Producer Responsibility)– Authorised Recovery Organisations– Sales Points– Consumers

EnforcementTrainingCommunication

Packaging Waste

ControlRegulation

DeclarationRecoveryTargets

Awareness trainingCommunication

Separate collectionAwareness trainingCommunication

Ministry of Environment and Urbanization

City Directorates

Sales Points

Municipalities

FillersPackers

ImportersAuth. Recovery Org.

LicencedWaste Mgt. Companies

Collecting-SortingRecycling

Roles and Responsibilities

ÇEVKO, set up and run by the Industry (founded in 1991, authorised in 2005)

Authorised Recovery Organisation

• Vision: A sustainable recovery system, led by the Industry, contributing to the environmental protection, economic and social development in Turkey

ÇEVKO

• Mission: - To contribute to the development of the

legal infrastructure.

- To cooperate with municipalities to spread “separate collection” throughout the country.

- To undertake and fulfill recovery obligations of the Industry.

- To accumulate knowledge, support stakeholders and increase public awareness.

ÇEVKO

Households, Industry, Commercial Sources

Packaging Waste

MUNICIPALITIES LICENCED COLLECTORS - SORTERS

LICENCED RECYCLERS

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Authorised Recovery Organisation (ÇEVKO)

PACKERS/ FILLERS / IMPORTERS

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Agreement

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EPR Model

Achievements• Agreement with Major Obliged Companies

Achievements• Agreement with Major Municipalities

Challenges

• Low level of consumer awareness

• Low level of enforcement by the authorities

• Informal sector

• Street collectors

A Project for Street Collectors• Purpose: To understand the problem and propose a plan to

integrate street collectors to the formal system.

• Reason: To contribute to the sustainability of the formal system.

• Parties: ÇEVKO, some NGO’s, Union of Marmara Municipalities and some licenced Waste Management Companies.

Main FindingsParties, including representatives of street collectors, met 3 times, within 3 municipalities in Istanbul, in 3rd Quarter, 2014.

Main findings:• Used to sort at dump sites.

• Moved to cities and become “street collectors” after construction of sanitary landfills.

• Have and cause health and security problems.

Main Findings

• Due to inefficiencies of the system – (low level of participation by consumers, – some municipalities not engaging in separate collection, – low level of enforcement by the authorities, etc.)

packaging waste go to organic waste bins.

• Street collectors collect and sort packaging waste out of organic waste bins located in front of houses or at common locations.

• Work in an organised fashion.

Main Findings• Work informally; yet they constitute a certain percentage of

the low income population and could not be ignored.

• Sort and sell waste materials, especially the valuable ones such as PET, Aluminium and sometimes paper to scrap dealers in the neighborhood.

• Scrap dealers sell the materials to a sorter or to a recycler informally.

Position of PartiesÇEVKO:• Household separate collection system should not be

compromised.

• Street collectors should be part of the separate collection system by cooperating with licenced waste management companies.

• Transactions between street collectors and the licenced companies should be formal.

Position of Parties

Municipalities:• Street collectors within the municipality should be identified,

equipped with proper clothing and equipment.

• Zones, within the municipality, may be allocated for pre-sorting and storage for the materials collected.

Licenced Waste Management Companies:• Street collectors should sell their materials to the licenced

company within that municipality.

Street Collectors:• Reluctant to work as employees of licenced collectors-sorters.

• Willing to sell the materials collected at market prices to the licenced collectors-sorters of the municipality they work in.

• Scrap dealers are willing to relocate their facilities to allocated

zones defined by the municipality.

Position of Parties

The Way Forward

• Gather further information: – Continue meeting with the parties– Search for cooperation at international (Balkan) level

• Propose a solution based on common positions of the parties:

www.cevko.org.trcevko@cevko.org.tr

Thank you!