BRUSSELS

Türkiye’s Permanent Delegation to the EU on Friday held a panel in Brussels as part of the International Day of Zero Waste, observed annually on 30 March, emphasizing efforts to combat food waste.

The panel was held to mark the anniversary of the day, which was declared following the unanimous adoption of a zero-waste resolution at the United Nations General Assembly on Dec. 14, 2022, under Türkiye’s leadership and with 105 co-sponsoring countries.

At the beginning of the panel, held this year under the theme “food waste,” a video message from Turkish first lady Emine Erdoğan, chair of the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Zero Waste, was shown.

In her opening speech, Ambassador Yaprak Balkan, Türkiye’s permanent representative to the EU, said that the waste crisis is a significant part of the triple planetary crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

“Zero waste is not just a slogan, but a framework for action,” Balkan said, emphasizing that this year’s theme is food waste.

She noted that approximately 1 billion tons of food are wasted every year, adding that this corresponds to nearly one-fifth of the total food available to consumers.

Addressing the contradiction between food waste and hunger, Balkan said, “Reducing waste and ensuring food security is a socioeconomic and moral necessity.”

She also noted that the zero-waste approach would be among the priorities during Türkiye’s COP31 presidency process and stressed that all segments of society must act together to solve climate and waste issues.

The panel, moderated by Environmental Counselor Elif Gokce Oz, featured speakers including Klaus Berend, director at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety; Veronika Hunt Safrankova, head of the UN Environment Programme Brussels Office; and Esra Tat, executive director of Zero Waste Europe.