Ashgabat, 3 September 2020: The joint project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and environment protection funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) conducts the second campaign on waste management. It is important that the civil society is actively involved in the process, the Environmental Protection Society of Turkmenistan is the main implementing partner of the first and the second campaign.

Representatives of the Environmental Protection Society of Turkmenistan collect waste around Geokdepe Lake / UNDP Turkmenistan

The first campaign dedicated to recycling of the plastic waste was conducted in the end of 2019 and first half 0f 2020. The campaign included installation of the special 55 containers for collection of the plastic waste around Ashgabat, sessions with school students and distribution of the seedlings for those who bring as many wastes as possible.

“We were happy to see the high level of engagement of the audience both online and offline. UNDP office received some requests for partnerships from the local food stores, beauty salons and parks, as well as inquiries from the general public about the campaign, the location of the containers, and collection points for waste recycling,” says Jemal Durdykova, UNDP/GEF project specialist.

The second campaign includes promotion and awareness raising on recycling of the paper and glass waste in addition to the plastic among the general population, staff of the state institutions, school and university students. It is a nation-wide campaign which started in July 2020 and features the moto of “Zero Waste” calling on people to reduce amount of waste going into the landfills and increase the recycling.

As a result of the two campaigns, over 30 tons of plastic were collected and passed on for recycling by the private sector of Turkmenistan. Due to the active participation of the residents of Ashgabat, the joint project of UNDP and the Ministry of Agriculture and environment protection funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) consider reinstalling containers for plastic waste collection in the residential areas of Gurtly, Keshi, Annau, Gyami, Geokcha, Taze Zaman.

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