New Horizons December 2019 | Seite 24

Structural solutions to waste problem, and important projects for environmental and human health in the region

Emphasising that the Climate Action Plan for Hatay Metropolitan Municipality laid down a roadmap to reduce carbon emissions, Khojimatov said: “Hatay is now one of the 16 metropolitan municipalities that has a roadmap in Turkey.” He recalled the large-scale infrastructure investments undertaken by UNDP in Hatay, and commented that “We have to date undertaken investment of 10 million USD to strengthen municipal services in Hatay. With the funding from EU, we rehabilitated wild landfills, built waste transfer stations and wastewater treatment plants offering structural solutions to the waste problem in the region. We procured and commissioned transport systems, vehicles and equipment to collect and transfer waste in the central and other districts of Hatay. The system now handles waste collection at lower costs and higher efficiency. We transport a larger amount of waste to modern landfills by modern vehicles and equipment at shorter mileage, and cause lower emission of hazardous gases.”

22