Zero Waste Festival starts in Istanbul

The Zero Waste Festival will be held at Atatürk Airport from June 4-7. The event will cover energy efficiency, recycling, renewable energy, art and ch...

Scraper SystemJune 04, 2026, 11:43 AM

The Zero Waste vision, which has become a global environmental movement under the United Nations, is preparing to bring millions of people together around a sustainable living culture in Istanbul. Under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan, Chairperson of the United Nations (UN) Zero Waste High-Level Advisory Board and Honorary President of the Zero Waste Foundation, the Zero Waste Festival, realized in cooperation with the Zero Waste Foundation and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, will host its visitors at Atatürk Airport between June 4-7 with its comprehensive content ranging from energy efficiency to circular economy, technology to art. The Zero Waste Movement, one of Turkey's pioneering initiatives in the field of environment and sustainability, is reaching a new milestone. Evolving from a national environmental mobilization to a global transformation model, the movement now meets all segments of society with the Zero Waste Festival, the official communication sponsor of TRT, organized within the scope of Istanbul Zero Waste Week. Aiming to bring environmental awareness and sustainable living understanding to the center of daily life, the festival will offer rich content under the themes of energy efficiency, recycling, renewable energy, technology, culture, art, and education for visitors of all ages over four days. Samed Ağırbaş, President of the Zero Waste Foundation and COP31 High-Level Climate Champion, who shared his views in the statement, noted that he expects 1 million fellow citizens to the festival where concerts, events, and workshops will be held. Ağırbaş said, "Our main goal is to spread energy efficiency in these lands and to reduce energy consumption in the country with the work we will do in this context. Our festival will be filled with valuable content appealing to citizens of all ages for 4 days. In this context, we will have exhibitions that will instill zero waste awareness in our children and families, art transformation workshops, and a children's art street. More than 100 of our artists will present their works in the field of backward and forward recycling to our citizens, imprinting environmental awareness in minds." Ağırbaş stated that museum works will be carried out within the festival to imprint zero waste awareness into people's lives, and that there will be work related to international kitchens by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), proposing the secret of zero waste in the kitchen in the zero-waste kitchen area and organizing events related to energy efficiency. In addition, more than 1500 events will be held in 39 districts of the city within the scope of Istanbul Zero Waste Week, celebrated between June 1-7. The activities carried out with the participation of public institutions, local governments, non-governmental organizations, universities, and citizens will contribute to spreading zero waste awareness on a city scale. 1500 events will be organized during Zero Waste Week

Prepared under the theme "Efficiency in Energy, Transformation in the Future," the festival will bring together the ancient culture of Anatolia that does not waste and protects resources with new generation environmental technologies. Visitors will have the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in a wide range from circular economy applications to carbon and water footprint measurements, from AI-supported experience areas to sustainable agricultural solutions. In special areas to be set up within the festival, recycling workshops, art transformation activities, children's events, sustainable gastronomy applications, and environment-themed exhibitions will meet visitors. Thus, the zero waste approach will be made visible not only in environmental but also in economic, cultural, and social dimensions. The festival will also reflect its environmental sensitivity in its organizational structure. All the electrical energy used during the festival will be supplied from renewable sources, and this will be verified with certificates according to international standards. With this feature, the organization will have the distinction of being the world's first renewable source certified festival. All electricity of the Zero Waste Festival will be supplied from renewable sources

Also, instead of building a new area for the festival, the previously established event infrastructure was preferred to be reused. Thus, both resource consumption was reduced and a significant amount of carbon emissions and material waste were prevented. Meanwhile, artists such as Mazhar Alanson, Rafet El Roman, Sinan Akçıl, Emre Aydın, Poizi, Sefo, Buray, and Ceza will also meet with visitors at the festival.

Zero Waste Festival starts in Istanbul

The Zero Waste Festival will be held at Atatürk Airport from June 4-7. The event will cover energy efficiency, recycling, renewable energy, art and ch...