Balgarianovinite.com A record number of visitors, more than 400,000 people, have attended Turkiye’s first eco festival, which is being held from June 4 to June 7 in Istanbul at the National Park (Millet Bahcesi) near the former Ataturk International Airport in the Yesilkoy district.
By the time the festival closes, the number of visitors is expected to exceed 500,000, Samed Agırbaş, President of the Zero Waste Foundation and a high-level climate ambassador for COP31, told journalists at a press conference.
According to Agırbaş, this first-of-its-kind event in Turkiye, organized as the country prepares for hosting COP31 in Antalya from November 9 to 20 this year, has brought together participants and guests from approximately 183 countries, including representatives of government institutions, universities, local authorities, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations.
One notable aspect of the festival is that no plastic water bottles have been used. Instead, visitors were provided with glass water flasks and thermos bottles, which were distributed throughout the event.
There are plans to implement this model in other provinces across the country, with the aim of establishing Turkiye as a global example in zero-waste practices.
The festival is held under the auspices of Turkiye’s First Lady, Emine Erdogan.
Within the festival, distinguished by its entertaining elements, workshops are being organized for children and young people to create toys and works of art from recycled materials, along with environmentally themed games, competitions, paper recycling activities, and interactive educational programs, according to CNN Turk.
The programme includes activities focused on environmental education and recycling. These are accompanied by various events dedicated to environmental protection, energy efficiency, the circular economy, recycling, climate change, and sustainable consumption.
Famous performers and musicians gave performances as part of the eco-festival, the attendance of which was free of charge.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who took part in the closing ceremony of the festival, said that in an era when artificial intelligence and new technologies are accelerating production, unconscious consumption habits are harming nature, and the destructive effects of modernity are manifesting both in consciousness and behavior.
“The problem of waste also stands before us as a global threat. The data we have shows that this problem will deepen rather than decrease. The amount of solid waste, which was 2.1 billion tonnes in 2023, is expected to rise to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050 if no measures are taken. In Turkiye, we see nature both as a trust from our God and as a heritage that must be passed on to future generations. We are carefully taking the necessary steps in the fields of environment, climate, and waste management. We act with an approach based on green transformation, circular economy, and sustainable development. We are making intensive efforts to minimize the effects of the climate crisis,” Erdogan said, quoted by Milliyet.
At the same time, he emphasized that the forum is an important part of the vision “The Road to Antalya: Zero Waste as a Climate Action” ahead of COP31, which will be hosted by Antalya in November. Turkiye’s First Zero-Waste Eco Festival in Istanbul Draws Great Interest 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-06-07 16:06:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law