Abstract
To prevent the rapid consumption of natural resources in our world, it is of great importance to reintroduce wastes to the economy through recovery and recycling and to determine the circular economy and sustainable waste management strategies of cities. Each city has its own dynamics and consumption habits of the people living in the city. Considering all these, improvements should be made in municipal waste management systems with a zero waste approach and cities should be managed with an optimum waste management system. The basis of the zero waste philosophy; is that the products are the product of another material with endless use throughout their life cycle. With this system, the amount of waste going to final disposal and the need for storage facilities will be reduced, and energy and water will be saved. In cities where population growth and urbanization are rapid, waste characterization data and zero waste index guide local governments to decide on the most appropriate municipal waste management system. In this study, waste characterization data from provinces in Turkey and waste characterization of 7 regions are calculated and presented. The zero index and RWRP rates of the provinces were calculated. Kilis has the highest ZWI of 0.75 followed by Edirne (0.72), Burdur (0.70), and the Muğla (0.65). Kastamonu has the lowest ZWI with 0.28, followed by Şanlıurfa (0.31), and Afyonkarahisar (0.38).