Ministry Circular No. 2022/6 on citizens who are known as "paper collectors" in the public and who collect waste without being affiliated with any business; It was published with the signature of Murat Kurum, Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. The Circular on “Waste Collectors” authorizes freelance waste collectors by registering them with a “zero waste information system” and regulates their working system.
The Ministry Circular on "Waste Collectors" has been published, which includes a series of measures and decisions regarding the citizens who organize the collection of recyclable wastes such as plastic, paper and metal, and who collect waste without being affiliated with any enterprise. In the Circular numbered 2022/6, published with the signature of the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum, it is requested that the local authorities provide the necessary coordination for the implementation, and the municipalities are required to carry out the field practices and the arrangements and measures in the field in accordance with the legislation.
Who can apply and how?
Persons engaged in waste collection activities must apply to the municipality of the place where they operate with their TR ID number and contact information. Municipalities, on the other hand, will be able to evaluate the applications of persons aged 18 and over in terms of compliance with the law.
Municipalities will inform the provincial / district police directorates and gendarmerie commanders of the information of the independent zero waste collectors who apply. Police directorates and gendarmerie commands will be notified to the relevant municipalities if they are found suitable.
The relevant waste collector, whose application process has been completed by the municipalities, will be registered in the Zero Waste Information System and will be able to have an "Independent Zero Waste Collector Card".
What is the Standalone Zero Waste Collector Card?
The Independent Zero Waste Collector Card will include the name and logo of the municipality, the zero waste logo, the photo of the waste collector, the name and surname, the identification number, the Zero Waste Information System registration number, the date of issue of the card, and the signature and seal of the Municipality.
Only those who have this card will be authorized to collect waste in the relevant district, and the collector will not be able to collect waste in another district other than the district in which he is registered.
The Independent Zero Waste Collector Card cannot be used by anyone other than the card owner, and administrative action will be taken against those who use it.
How will waste collectors work?
Principles regarding the work of independent waste collectors will be established within the framework of this Circular numbered 2022/6 and titled “Waste Collectors”. Municipalities will decide on the working procedures and principles of waste collectors operating within the boundaries of the service area by putting them on their agenda at the first municipal council meeting after the Circular is published.
Municipalities require waste collectors to carry Independent Zero Waste Collector Cards; They will ensure that they work with gloves, work clothes and waste collection vehicles in the standards they will determine, and work at the time intervals they have determined and in a way that will not harm the existing zero waste system. The permits of those operating outside the principles determined by the municipalities will be revoked.
In the event that the waste is collected, transported or stored by unauthorized persons, the municipalities will intervene with the municipal police units. When necessary, it will be able to request support from the provincial / district police directorates and the provincial / district gendarmerie commands.
Where will the waste be brought, how will the fees be determined?
Waste collectors will deliver the collected waste to the waste collection center and recyclable waste transfer centers of the municipalities or to the environmentally licensed waste processing facilities located within the boundaries of the municipality. Waste will be weighed here and payment will be made taking into account market conditions.
Waste collectors will need to collect recyclable wastes such as paper, plastic and metal separately according to their types.
The data regarding the collected wastes will be regularly entered into the online systems of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change by the municipalities or licensed enterprises to which the collector delivers the waste.
Zero Waste Regulation
The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, in 2019, determined the general principles and principles regarding the establishment, dissemination, development, monitoring, financing, recording and certification of the zero waste management system, which aims to protect the environment, human health and all resources in the waste management process. He had prepared the Zero Waste Regulation for ”. The Regulation, prepared in line with the principles of effective management of raw materials and natural resources and sustainable development, was published in the Official Gazette dated 12.07.2019 and numbered 30829.
The said Regulation gave the duty and responsibility of ensuring that the zero waste management system is established, implemented and worked in cooperation by local administrations in line with the "Provincial Zero Waste Management System Plan" within the borders of the province.
In the regulation, the works to be done by the municipalities, under the coordination of the civil authorities, were specified as follows:
“Municipalities should give priority to 'separate collection at the source' activities, and infrastructure should be established, developed and expanded for the collection of wastes collected separately at the source - including recyclable waste and other waste - in the service area of each municipality without mixing them with each other.”
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