The waste trap system, which aims to block wastes going to sea from the river was implemented within the scope of the Community‐Based Recycling for A Litter Free Mediterranean Project carried out by the Nature Conservation Center and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with the support of the Coca-Cola Foundation, in cooperation with Kemer Municipality. The waste trap system designed for the Karabucak Stream, meeting Mediterranean through the Kemer district of Antalya, has a function of blocking the marine litter, making them visible and thus raising the awareness of public. The system, which is designed as a solution specific to Kemer district by taking into account the precipitation and flow conditions of the Karabucak Stream, also draws attention with its land-art design.

In EU, 150.000 to 500.000 tons of plastic waste enter the oceans every year[1]. Plastic comprises 95% of waste accumulated in the Mediterranean[2] and great majority of these wastes are carried away by rivers. Plastic wastes that are carried to seas by rivers do not disappear in nature in a short time and they have adverse impact on marine ecosystem.

It is one of the most effective solutions to trap, collect and remove the accumulated plastic waste in estuaries, where rivers flow into the seas.

Collecting wastes through filtration

The waste trap system was implemented within the scope of the Community‐Based Recycling for A Litter Free Mediterranean Project carried out by the Nature Conservation Center and UNDP with the support of the Coca-Cola Foundation, in cooperation with Kemer Municipality.

The waste trap that collects waste through filtration of the river is designed for Kemer Karabucak Stream and it is also remarkable with its environment-friendly designed form, technical details, and aesthetic values. In the system, some of the water carried by the stream is directed to the filtering elements through barriers and solid wastes in the water are trapped by these barriers. Thus, solid wastes are prevented from being carried to the sea.

Uğur Zeydanlı, Chairman of the Board of Nature Conservation Center said; “The reduction and control of plastic waste accumulated in nature, especially in the sea, is one of the most important issues of the 21st century. As the Nature Conservation Center, we tried to apply an innovative approach for the collection of waste going to the seas by considering the characteristics of the region. Our aim is to make this waste trap successful and functional model and to disseminate in different regions.”

Mayor of Kemer Municipality stated that “We are pleased to host the waste trap in Kemer Karabucak Stream that is implemented with an innovative approach and in cooperation with DKM, UNDP and Coca-Cola Foundation. We have first implemented the Kollekt mobile application in Kemer in order to collect the wastes, reach remote areas and encourage recycling in our district within the scope of the Community‐Based Recycling for A Litter Free Mediterranean Project. Thanks to this application, through notifications made to municipality we recycled 1 ton of plastic that was left to nature. Again, through this Kollekt application, we observed that different type of wastes was accumulated on the waterways and they reached the sea with precipitation. Now, with this waste trap, we will prevent some of the wastes reaching the sea with increasing rainfall, and at the same time, we will regain the collected recyclable wastes to economy.”

Claudio Tomasi, UNDP Turkey Resident Representative remarked, “At UNDP we work with private sector and societies to improve sustainable production and consumption within the circular economy concept. Waste reduction and recycling are of great importance for Turkey's zero waste goals. However, the Mediterranean, a natural heritage, became a sea with considerable increase in plastic pollution in the world. Therefore, the waste trap implemented in Kemer within the “Community‐Based Recycling for A Litter Free Mediterranean Project” is an important step to collect waste from rivers before they reach to the sea. Communities can now get involved and support this effort by using their mobile application, the Kollekt, to help increasing recycling capacity of Kemer Municipality. This work aims to reduce and prevent all kinds of marine pollution originating from the production and consumption chain and serves two Sustainable Development Goals at the same time; SDG 14-Life Below Water and SDG 12; Responsible Consumption and Production. In this context, the waste trap implemented in Kemer with an innovative and collaborative approach provides significant contributions for municipalities, private sector, non-governmental organizations and the public to change production processes and consumption behaviors while protecting our seas and support litter-free Mediterranean.”

The goal is a world without waste

Coca-Cola Turkey General Manage Başak Karaca pointed out that the waste problem is among the leading problems of our world today and this problem is growing every day and she added “In line with our vision of World without Waste that stands at the heart of our job, we work to make all our packaging 100% recyclable by 2030 and recollect all of these packages. We aim to contribute to a more livable world with the Community‐Based Recycling for A Litter Free Mediterranean Project and mobile application Kollekt, implemented in cooperation with the Coca-Cola Foundation, the Nature Conservation Center (DKM) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)."

Community-based recycling is encouraged with Kollekt

Kollekt mobile application was first implemented as a pilot in Kemer in 2019 within the scope of the Community‐Based Recycling for A Litter Free Mediterranean Project. Kollekt is a mobile platform, which provides its users easy access to recycling containers, and win awards through reporting the wastes they encounter in nature to the local authorities. By using Kollekt it is aimed to improve waste management system through community-based practices, thus triple recycling rate in 3 years and put the wastes into recycling system that can’t be collected by the Municipality and reach the sea.

[1] European Comission, 2018. A European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy
[2] UNEP/MAP. 2015. Marine Litter Assessment in the Mediterranean