In Mardin, 18,000 households rely on waste for electricity.

Garbage is recycled at the Solid Waste Regular Storage Facility and Biogas Power Plant, which was established in the Zeytinlik Neighborhood of the Yeşilli district by the Mardin Metropolitan Municipality in 2014 and started energy production in 2020.

Every day, approximately 550 tons of garbage collected from neighborhoods, streets, and avenues by municipal cleaning staff in seven of the city's ten districts—central Artuklu, Derik, Kızıltepe, Midyat, Nusaybin, Savur, and Yeşilli—is brought to the facility's storage and disposal area.

The electricity produced from the methane gas released from the covered garbage is transferred to the energy transmission line.

While the collected garbage prevents visual pollution and bad odors, it also meets the electricity needs of 18 thousand households.

Medical waste carefully collected from hospitals and other healthcare institutions is brought to the facility in vehicles equipped with cold storage.

Electrical energy is also produced from medical waste converted into household waste through the applied processes.

“We eliminate the harmful effects of waste on the environment.”

Mardin Metropolitan Municipality Climate Change and Zero Waste Department Head Hidayet Oğuz told an AA correspondent that an average of 550 tons of household waste brought from 7 of the 10 districts is processed daily at the facility.

Oğuz stated that once the waste from other districts of Mazıdağı, Ömerli, and Dargeçit is brought to the facility, the daily amount of waste to be processed will increase to 680 tons. He said, “We are eliminating the harmful impact of this waste on the environment. We are generating electricity from waste. An average of 4.6 megawatts of energy is generated. This is enough electricity for approximately 18,000 households. There's also medical waste. Medical waste from all healthcare institutions within Mardin comes to our facility and is disposed of there, eliminating environmental damage. This also generates revenue for our municipality.”

“We aim to produce an average of 15 megawatts of energy.”

Oğuz stated that they aim to quickly implement the planned investments, especially in the area of ​​zero waste.

Oğuz stated that they continue their work in this context and noted the following:

This household waste also includes recyclable waste. We will separate these wastes at a mechanical separation station, separate the recyclable waste, and sell it to the market. This will generate revenue for our municipality. A 4.5-megawatt solar power plant will also be built within the facility. The current cost of this facility is approximately 200 million lira. We will lay the foundation for the facility in 2025 and complete the facility as soon as possible. We have very serious projects in line with our President's zero-emission targets for 2030 and 2053. We aim to produce an average of 15 megawatts of energy, which is equivalent to the energy needed for approximately 40,000 households. These facilities eliminate the environmental damage caused by waste and provide additional revenue for the municipality. We aim to be one of the best metropolitan cities in Türkiye in terms of both 'zero waste' and 'green energy' projects. We want to be an exemplary metropolitan municipality in Türkiye. We will implement all of our projects to achieve this goal.

Oğuz also touched upon the article titled "Measurement and Evaluation of Solid Waste Management Activities of Metropolitan Municipalities in Türkiye," published in the Erciyes University Journal of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, saying, "The article lists Mardin Metropolitan Municipality among the top six most successful metropolitan municipalities in Türkiye in terms of solid waste management activities. Our goal is to be in first place."

“Approximately 1 million 600 thousand tons of garbage were disposed of in 5 years.”

Muhammet Barık, the manager of the facility, said that they have been producing electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since 2020.

Explaining that they produce approximately 2,500 kilowatts of electricity per hour, Barık stated that thanks to the facility's activities, they prevent harmful gases from spreading into the environment.

Barık stated that they also prevented water leakage from spreading into the environment and said:

We collect this water in seepage basins and direct it to treatment facilities. Our goal is to create an environmentally friendly facility. In five years, approximately 1.6 million tons of garbage has been disposed of and converted into electricity. This prevents methane, which is 25 times more harmful than carbon dioxide, from entering the environment.

AA