KİBAR HOLDING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR SİNAN BAŞTAŞ: "WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING ARE VERY IMPORTANT FOR SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY"

October 2016

In his speech at the TÜRKTAY Panel, Sinan Baştaş, the Business Development Director of Kibar Holding pointed out that waste should be reduced at its source. He stated that the waste management and recycling sectors are very important for sustainable economy as part of Turkey’s 2023 Vision.

Sinan Baştaş, the Business Development Director of Kibar Holding, shared his views on waste management and recycling from an industrialist’s perspective at the TÜRKTAY Panel (Waste Management in Turkey from all Aspects), which was held on October 19-20 in Ankara. As a guest speaker at the session titled “Waste management and recycling in Turkey from an industrialist’s perspective regarding circular economy,” Sinan Baştaş emphasized that waste should be considered as a by-product and it should be monitored to the point when it’s processed. Pointing out that waste should be reduced at its source, Baştaş said that a new mission and a vision should be created at industrial facilities regarding the environment by processing the waste with economical and environmentally-friendly methods, optimizing the processes in waste traffic, and defining environmental goals.

Stating that they have established a joint venture with Heritage, one of the leading companies in the US in environmental services and waste management, Baştaş said that with this company, which operates under the name İnteraktif Çevre Danışmanlık A.Ş., the Group provides competitive and innovative solutions regarding the environment and waste management for industrial facilities in Turkey.

Stating that the yearly volume of the Kibar Group’s waste portfolio is approximately 60,000 tons, Baştaş said, “We seriously lack up-to-date data regarding waste. Especially at the industrial sites, which have received a large amount of investments, we can see that capacity utilization rates still have not risen to efficient levels. In Turkey’s 2023 Vision, the waste management and recycling industries will gain utmost importance regarding sustainable economy as part of the European Union accession talks.”

At the 7th TÜRKTAY Panel, which was organized with the purpose of strengthening the waste economy and attended by distinguished academics as well as representatives from NGOs and the private sector, Turkey’s experience regarding recycling and waste management was discussed while investment and collaboration opportunities were evaluated.

The panel focused on topics such as waste management, recycling, environmental management systems, the manufacturing industry, and managing and recycling packaging waste. Topics such as management of hazardous waste, field practices, problems, practices that do not comply with the regulations, insurance, professional competence and auditing were discussed in separate sessions. At the TÜRKTAY Panel, which has been supported by prominent institutions in Turkey’s waste industry since 2010, speeches were given by Caner Zanbak, the Chairman of the Executive Council of TÜRKTAY; Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kırman, the Şişecam CEO; and Muhammet Ecel, the General Director of Environmental Management of the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning.