The Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Turkey, Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, visited the construction site of the Mechanical Biological Treatment and Biogas Facility (MBT) in Gaziantep. With a total investment amount of 10 million dollars, the MBT comes as the largest part of UNDP’s support to municipalities under the “Turkey Resilience Project in Response to the Syria Crisis” (TRP). The facility aims to provide green and sustainable solutions to Gaziantep’s waste problem and will serve both local communities and Syrians living in Gaziantep province. The project is financed by the EU and implemented jointly by UNDP, İlbank and Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality.

Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Turkey and representatives of the EU Delegation paid a visit to the construction site of the Mechanical Biological Treatment and Biogas Facility (MBT) in Gaziantep. Financed by the EU under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRIT), the MBT is one of the most important infrastructure investments in the region which aims to empower Turkey’s local administrations and municipalities in waste, waste management and clean energy production from waste. Designed and equipped with the latest sustainable and green technologies, the MBT will function as an integrated municipal waste management facility, which will sort and separate biodegradable waste, recyclables (metal and plastic), generate clean energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the lifetime of the landfills in Gaziantep.

The MBT facility is part of UNDP Turkey’s “Turkey Resilience Project in Response to the Syria Crisis (TRP)”, Municipal Service Delivery Component and marks a good example of EU-UNDP partnership in empowering local communities, mitigating negative impacts of the ongoing Syria crisis on neighbouring countries, and especially supporting municipalities under stress due to sudden population increase in humanitarian crisis context. Gaziantep, a city with 2,2 million inhabitants, hosts the second largest population of Syrians under Temporary Protection (SuTPs) with more than 450,000. As the population rises, the city’s infrastructure and municipal service needs also grow. With funding from the EU, UNDP has been supporting Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality in their struggle against environmental effects of the Syria crisis since 2018.

During his visit to the facility, Ambassador Meyer-Landrut stated that the project is a very important infrastructure investment for a growing city like Gaziantep and is one of the showcases of modern waste treatment in Turkey. Ambassador Meyer-Landrut said “The EU is happy to support Turkey and the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality in their efforts to tackle waste and waste management issues due to a high number of refugees living in the region. It’s also a good example of the green economy, it’s important for the environment and communities living in the Gaziantep province.”

One of the biggest environmental challenges in Turkey caused by the massive Syria crisis has been the additional generation of waste, which in turn has led to additional health and environmental risks. Currently in Gaziantep, the amount of waste has increased twofold per year. Turkish municipalities have faced the challenge of a sudden increase in the amount of waste as a result of the sudden population increase. This has led to a huge task of reorganizing and enlarging the overall waste management and treatment in a modern, effective and environmentally friendly way.

“One of the main challenges for the municipalities is the waste management. The population grew so fast in such a short period of time that it was difficult for the municipalities to respond to the high increase in demand of basic services”, said UNDP Turkey Deputy Resident Representative, Sukhrob Khojimatov who also participated in the visit. He added that the support provided by UNDP Turkey to municipalities with EU funding has had a positive impact so far, “It’s a very, very effective system. And it is a concept now, which other municipalities can also implement. Our overall waste management strategy and the MBT have been pilot projects for us. Now our support has become an example for others” he concluded.

When it will become operational in 2021, the MBT facility will sort mixed waste before arriving in the sanitary landfills with its fully automatic and integrated system. The plant will separate organic (biodegradable) and recyclable (economically valuable) wastes. One of the outcomes of this process is the production of biogas through the fermentation of the biodegradable waste, which will ultimately be used in electricity production on the site.

The facility is expected to produce 17,000 t/y recyclables, approximately 23,000 t/y refused derived fuel (RDF) and generate 4,100 MWh/y energy out of the biodegradable portion of the waste, processing 100.000 t of mixed municipal waste annually. Reintroducing the recyclables into local economy and the markets, the MBT also aims to support the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality in producing electricity from waste. Extending the lifetime of the landfill in Gaziantep up to 10% via landfill diversion, the project also postpones this cost for the Municipality. Apart from its economic benefits, the MBT is also expected to play a vital role in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through avoiding fugitive methane in landfill and replacing fossil fuel use by biogas. The MBT will decrease methane leak by processing biodegradable waste in closed area while creating an alternative to fossil fuel with biogas and electricity production. It is expected to reduce 9,309 t CO2 eq / year greenhouse gas emission.

In addition to the MBT construction, UNDP Turkey has supported the Municipality of Gaziantep with the provision of two new transfer stations as well as two large waste trucks, both funded by the EU. Under the Turkey Resilience Project in Response to Syria Crisis (TRP), UNDP also prepared the Gaziantep Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan and Strategy, which draws a road map for the Municipality in waste management until 2050.  

UNDP Turkey has been one of the first agencies to support the Government of Turkey with its response to the Syria crisis in 2014. One of the main areas of work is UNDP Turkey’s support to municipalities by investing in additional waste management infrastructure, technical support and project management offices. The support is provided primarily to municipalities in the south eastern parts of Turkey, located next to Syrian border, where approximately 1.7 million Syrians live. UNDP Turkey works closely with the municipalities of provinces such as Gaziantep, Kilis, Hatay and Şanlıurfa.