​ Türkiye Builds Sustainable Campuses with Green Universities and Zero Waste

March 29, 2025

Türkiye is building sustainable campuses with green universities and zero waste. Many climate-friendly projects and practices are being implemented at universities, from the economical use of energy from natural resources to the provision of purified water to zero waste studies.

According to the University Monitoring and Evaluation General Report 2024, 62 Turkish universities generated 77 GW-hours of electricity from renewable sources in one year.

The universities with the highest capacity were İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, Amasya University, Yüksek İhtisas University, Üsküdar University and Sinop University.

Istanbul Gelisim University came to the forefront with its energy efficiency investment rate, Bayburt University with the ratio of renewable energy resources capacity to total consumption, Başkent University with its energy efficiency investment per energy consumed, Boğaziçi University with its water saving investment, and Izmir Institute of Technology with the ratio of annual recycled water amount to total water consumption.

Renewable electricity is generated at 62 Turkish universities. On average, 11 percent of the energy consumed in the campuses of these universities is provided from renewable sources. The top five universities with the highest values in this field are Bayburt University, Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University, Sabancı University, Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University and Piri Reis University.

In the University Monitoring and Evaluation General Report, it was announced that the average of the investments made in the field of energy efficiency in 77 universities was 12 million TL per university and the average of the investments made was 554 thousand TL. The universities with the highest energy efficiency investments were Istanbul Gelişim University, Afyon Kocatepe University, Batman University, Istanbul Beykent University and Yüksek İhtisas University.

According to the report, which also includes data on energy consumption and energy efficiency investment rates, an average of 1.4 TL was invested in energy efficiency per kilowatt-hour of energy consumed annually in higher education institutions. The universities with the highest energy efficiency investment per energy consumed were listed as Başkent University, Istanbul Medipol University, Fırat University, Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University and Sivas Science and Technology University.

-Water is supplied from recycled or treated sources-

Higher education institutions also supply water from recycled or treated sources. With this method, 33 universities met 16 percent of the total consumption with the water obtained from recycled or treated sources. The universities with the highest values according to the ratio of the annual amount of recycled water to total water consumption are Izmir Institute of Technology, Sakarya University, Istanbul Technical University, Piri Reis University and Sabancı University.

45 universities invested 25 million TL to save water. The average investment was 550 thousand TL per university.

The universities with the highest water saving investments are Boğaziçi University, Istanbul Beykent University, Hacettepe University, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University and Başkent University.

Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education, said, “Today, digital and green transformation are among the most discussed topics in the world. These topics have become the permanent agenda of the Council of Higher Education.”

“We closely follow the climate-friendly projects developed by our universities, from the economical use of energy obtained from natural resources to the supply of purified water, from environmentally friendly and sustainable practices to zero waste studies. We support their efforts in this direction. We believe that young people equipped with green skills and zero waste awareness will make a greater contribution to the sustainable development and economic growth of our country,” he added.

-University efforts for zero waste-

The practices implemented at universities in many areas such as sustainability, smoke-free airspace, green space, environmental and climate-friendly practices have a significant impact on mitigating the consequences of the climate crisis. Some of the prominent studies carried out by universities in this field are as follows:

At Bayburt University, where zero waste trainings are organized and a Zero Waste Board is established to raise environmental awareness within the university, various social media campaigns are carried out, as well as the “Zero Waste Champion of the Month” application, which rewards the most successful individuals and units in waste reduction.

At Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, hazardous waste is regularly delivered to licensed companies and medical waste is regularly delivered to the sterilization facility. The university, which also draws attention with its water efficiency efforts, saves water by installing aerators on all faucets to save water.

At Erzurum Technical University, where “Climate Friendly Campus” trainings are given to students and staff to raise environmental awareness, tree planting activities are also organized. The university also has a Zero Waste Certificate.

With the “Thermos Campaign” at Hacettepe University, students who bring plastic waste are given thermos cups as gifts in order to reduce the use of plastic and encourage recycling.

ITU Zero Waste Club was established at Istanbul Technical University . Some of the prominent activities of the club are electronic waste donation, bicycle tour and cleaning event for the environment, art workshop from textile wastes, technical trips, workshops, and zero waste and recycling training for high school students.

Nature-friendly awareness trainings are also held at Izmir University of Economics , where an important innovation in the field of environmental cleanliness and sustainability has been achieved by developing an artificial intelligence-supported and unmanned boat named “Vatoz” that cleans the waste on the sea surface.

At Kafkas University, various trainings and activities are organized in all faculties and colleges to promote zero waste awareness, while environmentally friendly disposal methods for organic waste are used at Ostim Technical University.

At Sakarya University, “Waste to Art Transformation” exhibitions are organized to transform waste into art, and composting trainings are organized for students for sustainable waste management and composting of organic waste.

At Süleyman Demirel University, where studies are carried out to reduce the use of single-use plastics and to produce alternative solutions, activities are organized to raise awareness of zero waste and recycling through festivals and workshops.

At Tunceli Munzur University, packaging waste generation is prevented with Waste-Free Picnics. At the same time, projects are being developed to recycle strategic raw materials from electronic waste, and efforts are being made to recover rare earth elements and lithium ion batteries.

At Afyonkarahisar University of Health Sciences, Climate Tour is organized by the university clubs, while at Aksaray University , special sorting systems have been created for used electronic devices and batteries.

Dokuz Eylül University draws attention with its efforts to reduce cafeteria waste, “Second Life to Electronic Waste Project”, compost production activities, paper saving project, environmental days and swap festivals, and reduction of medical waste.

At Ege University, as a pilot university under the Zero Waste Project, mobile waste collection centers, composting and feeding machines, and hazardous waste management practices stand out.

Izmir Institute of Technology conducts waste characterization studies on campus every year, while Iskenderun Technical University has many practices such as zero waste coordinaton center and waste oil separation systems.

Kocaeli University of Health and Technology has a Hybrid Electric Vehicles Department to reduce the use of fossil fuels. At the university, where zero waste and water saving trainings are provided, courses on environment and waste management are given at graduate level.

At Lokman Hekim University, an environment-themed painting workshop is organized for the children of the university staff to raise environmental awareness, and studies are carried out to raise awareness of academic and administrative staff on zero waste.

At Middle East Technical University, 906,080 kg of waste has been recycled since 2020. At the university, under-desk trash bins and the individual waste collection responsibility of floor cleaning staff have been terminated. There are 635 3-bin sets and 351 brown bins (for organic waste) on campus.

At Malatya Turgut Özal University, waste from biogas plants is used as fertilizer and the effect of biogas waste fertilizer on yield and quality in tomato cultivation is being researched.

Within the university, zero waste and recycling activities of student communities attract attention. University students recycle glass waste into artistic and functional products with the Journey to the Traces of Time Community - Glittering Wastes Project, Ecology and Art Community - From Waste to Art: Aesthetics of Textile Wastes Project, and Painting Society - Art under Sustainability Project, which raises individual awareness on individual consumption habits and waste generation.

At Düzce University, where Every Battery is a Sapling Campaign is carried out, various activities such as the "Small Steps for the Future" quiz contest are organized at the Zero Waste Festival. At the same time, the university has recycled 19.4 tons of waste in the last four years.

Many studies such as "Digital 3D Forest Mapping and Inventory Studies" at Kastamonu University, “Waste Water Treatment with Sunlight and Green Hydrogen Production” at Gebze Technical University and shredding plastic waste with biotechnological methods are being implemented.

At Adana Alparslan Türkeş Science and Technology University , zero waste trainings are offered to students and academics, and there are various materials on campus for waste recycling and deposit management.

Abdullah Gül University, which has a Carbon and Water Footprint Certificate, has many projects with tangible outputs, as well as events where works produced by recycling domestic, animal and other waste materials are exhibited.

At Kırıkkale University, the “Hand in Hand in the Zero Waste Event for a Cleaner, More Sustainable, Greener Campus” program is carried out to collect waste around the campus, faculties and vocational schools.

At Yeditepe University, which has a biological wastewater treatment plant on campus for the treatment of wastewater, nearly 30 percent of the total annual amount of water used is treated and utilized in green area irrigation and toilet system as recycled water.

At Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, toys and musical instruments made from waste are exhibited in activities organized with the participation of university kindergarten students, raising awareness at an early age.

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