Solid waste management practices in Turkey

Abstract

As an economically developing country, Turkey has very well operated integrated solid waste management applications structured on modern facilities, besides over 2,000 scattered open dump areas in the country. Integrated waste management applications seem eligible for the metropolitan cities like Istanbul and Izmit (Kocaeli). Attempts have not been encouraging for the scattered regional settlements using central storage sites due to financial shortages and received rejections from nearby settlements. Small-scale compact solid waste management systems with materials recycling and composting can be more suitable alternatives in the small-scale regional settlements. The major constituents of municipal solid waste are organic in nature and approximately a quarter of municipal solid waste is recyclable. Although paper, including cardboard, is the main constituent, the composition of recyclable waste varies strongly by the source or the type of collection point. Solid wastes need primary treatment in order to be suitable for incineration and composting. Turkey needs to give more emphasis on the usage of modern solid waste removal technologies to overcome the overgrowing solid waste disposal problems.