(MENAFN) Reports indicate that the “International Zero Waste Forum,” held Friday in Istanbul, focused on strategies and partnerships needed to achieve zero waste in cities, which produce the bulk of the world’s refuse.

The event, organized in cooperation with the Zero Waste Foundation, Turkey’s Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and UN-Habitat, featured a panel titled “Cities Leading Circular Transformation.”

Magash Naidoo, chair of Circular Development at the Council for Sustainable Cities (ICLEI), moderated the discussion, which included speakers such as Gabriel Vannelli, director of the environment for Vicente Lopez Municipality in Argentina, and Andre Dzikus, deputy director of the UN-Habitat Executive Director’s Liaison Office in New York.

Vannelli underscored that citizen engagement plays a more crucial role than technology or financial investments in waste management, pointing to initiatives near Buenos Aires that have successfully recycled over 100,000 tons of organic waste.

Explaining that the projects provide training and equipment for composting at homes, neighborhoods, and public spaces to raise local environmental awareness, Vannelli said: “Now there are 100,000 fewer tons of waste in our landfills.”

He added that composting significantly reduces methane emissions, stating, “We are in a much better position than 10 years ago. This shows that we are on the right path.”

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