Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Today, on 30 March 2023, in Tashkent, on the occasion of the International Day of Zero Waste, in cooperation with the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Natural Resources, a republican action “Zero Waste” was organized to collect waste.

At the opening of the event, First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Obidjon Kudratov noted that this action is being held for the first time on a national scale on the initiative of the Minister of Natural Resources Aziz Abudkhakimov, which serves to ensure cleanliness in the country and awaken the population's sense of involvement in this matter.

“The waste sector is the cause of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. It should be noted that the problem of waste also exists in Uzbekistan. According to statistics, 19-20 thousand tons of waste is generated in the country in one day. Waste consists of various metals, glass containers, waste paper, plastic, food residues, of which only 32% is recycled,” Obidjon Kudratov noted and gave the star of the republican campaign “Zero Waste”.

The event was attended by the central office of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Agency for Forestry and Hydrometeorology under the Ministry, employees of the Tashkent City Administration, system organizations, the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan, Director of the Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Boris Erg, head of the Global Green Institute growth (GGGI) in Uzbekistan Aaron Russell, head of the French Development Agency in Central Asia Vincent Copan, head of Coca-Cola in Uzbekistan Serkan Dilek.

As part of the Zero Waste campaign in Tashkent in the park located at the intersection of Istiklol and Makhtumkuli streets of Mirzo-Ulugbek district, the participants of the action actively cleared the area of plastic bottles, cans, waste paper and packaging. The action is carried out in all regions of the country.

To date, the problem of waste on a global scale has become one of the most acute environmental problems. The Zero Waste project was introduced by Turkey as part of the climate change and sustainable development plans, where 105 countries supported the initiative to adopt a resolution to establish a World Zero Waste Day. On 14 December 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring March 30 as the annual "International Day for a World Without Waste".

The main goal of the date is to change the attitude of the general public towards waste and thereby reduce waste generation, form recycling concepts, promote sustainable consumption and production models, and support the transition to a circular economy. At a time when the process of urbanization is gaining momentum and cities are expanding, the population is growing and millions of types of goods are being produced to meet the needs, after which the recycling and disposal of waste remains one of the biggest environmental problems.

Despite the ongoing environmental control, today the population continues to emit solid household waste onto open lands, the formation of illegal dumps in settlements, on highway lanes, along the edges of fields, on the banks of reservoirs.

In recent years, the country has identified the following administrative offenses of citizens who threw waste in prohibited places: 28.9 thousand in 2020, 18.7 thousand in 2021 and more than 20.3 thousand in 2022.

30 March - through the observance of the International Day for a World Without Waste, the promotion of zero waste initiatives contributes to the achievement of the goals and targets included in the sustainable development agenda, including goals 11 and 12, for the period up to 2030. These goals ensure environmental sustainability and serve to shift towards sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Zero waste initiatives help to properly manage them, minimize and prevent waste generation, address the environmental crisis, protect the environment, improve the health and well-being of people.

Since 2019, every year in the republic, on the third Saturday of September, on the occasion of the "Day of General Cleanliness", in the regions, among various segments of the population, waste collection events are held, among young people through the "Plogging" race. In particular, in 2022, as part of the events, more than 100,000 participants, 2,964 units of special equipment collected a total of 40,503.6 tons of municipal solid waste from 6,661 land plots held at 515 addresses throughout the country, which were disposed of in the prescribed manner.