The Zero Waste Project, carried out under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, continues on its way as a global environmental movement accepted by the UN. Within the scope of the ever-growing project with the understanding of “The World is Our Common Home”, Türkiye; It proves to the whole world that the goals of using resources efficiently, preventing waste generation and expanding recycling can be successfully realized.

LAST AWARD FROM CARDIFF
Within the scope of the globally respected Green World Awards, which has been held for more than 30 years to determine the greenest countries, companies and communities in the world, the Zero Waste Project has achieved another success among hundreds of applications from around the world. Zero Waste was awarded the ‘Green World Championship’ award in the waste management category. Ekrem Yıldırım, Head of Zero Waste Practices Department, representing the General Directorate of Environmental Management of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, received the award and certificate of achievement at the ceremony held at Cardiff Castle in Wales. Zero Waste Project; It was awarded by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2018, the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the UN Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) in 2021, the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly and the World Bank in 2022, and the Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly for the second time in 2024. With this award given by the Green Organization, the number of international awards for the Zero Waste Project increased to 7.

WHAT HAS ZERO WASTE PROVIDED?
Thanks to the work carried out within the scope of the Zero Waste Project, the recovery rate, which was 13 percent in 2017, was increased to 37.53 percent by 2025. A total of 90 million tons of recyclable waste was processed, bringing 365 billion liras into the economy. Energy savings equivalent to the 1-year electricity needs of 54 million households (270 billion kilowatt-hours), water savings equivalent to the 2-year water consumption of Istanbul (2 trillion liters), and oil savings equivalent to more than the 1-year fuel consumption of all vehicles in Türkiye (60 billion liters) were achieved.

Eskişehir public is shaken by the allegations of “forgery of official documents” and “irregular raise” carried out by the Metropolitan Municipality and its subsidiary ESKİ (Eskişehir Water and Sewerage Administration). The criminal complaint made by AK Party Eskişehir Provincial Chairman Gürhan Albayrak on April 10, 2026 was brought to the judiciary.

ASSEMBLY DECISION IS ONE, IMPLEMENTATION IS ANOTHER

The basis of the allegations is the irregularities in the 2026 “Services and Guarantees” tariff. As a result of the technical investigations carried out by the AK Party group, it was revealed that the official figures approved by the Municipal Council and its commission were changed through the Electronic Document Management System (EBYS).

It is claimed that there was a secret increase of 48.5% in the bills reflected to the citizens without the decision of the Parliament. Some of the exorbitant differences between the practice in the field and official decisions, which are described as “chasms”, are as follows:
Discovery Fee: Instead of the agreed 305 TL, it was reflected to the public as 450 TL.
Meter Removal-Replacement: Although it should have been 6,640 TL, 9,865 TL was collected from the citizen.
Water Opening Fee: 332 TL was billed instead of the official tariff of 225 TL.

INVESTIGATION PERMISSION IS WAITED

The criminal complaint petition also included technical details about falsification of the commission reports. The decrease in the number of initials in the reports and the disruption of the signature order were presented as evidence that the documents were changed unlawfully.
Eskişehir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office took action upon the seriousness of the allegations;
Ayşe Ünlüce (Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor)
Oğuzhan Özen (FORMER General Manager)
and requested permission for an investigation from the Ministry of Internal Affairs in order to conduct an investigation against other officials to be identified.

AFTER THE SCANDAL, THE SCAPEGOAT WAS DETERMINED

Allegations of irregularities that shook the public in Eskişehir claimed their first victim in the municipal administration. Revealed by the meticulous monitoring of the AK Party Eskişehir Provincial Directorate; After the digital change of the parliamentary decisions and the secret raise scandal reflected to the citizens, Eskişehir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office requested permission to investigate Mayor Ayşe Ünlüce and OLD General Manager Oğuzhan Özen on suspicion of “Forgery of Official Documents” and “Abuse of Office”.

The hottest development in the municipal administration, which was overshadowed by the judicial process, was the resignation of FORMER General Manager Oğuzhan Özen. In the public opinion, Özen’s departure was interpreted as “an attempt to prevent the political bill from reaching Ayşe Ünlüce, rather than taking responsibility.” After this administrative crisis, Mayor Ayşe Ünlüce called the OLD General Assembly to a meeting with an urgent and extraordinary agenda. How the CHP management, which is carrying out damage assessment work with an expert panel, will try to get out of this corporate crisis and illegal tariff scandal that has deepened with the departure of the general manager, remains a big question mark in the Eskişehir public. However, the fact that the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office directly requested permission to investigate Ünlüce proved that the crisis was too deep to be closed with a resignation.

“WE PROVED IT WITH TECHNICAL INSPECTIONS”

In his statement, AK Party Provincial Chairman Gürhan Albayrak stated that they will follow up on this irregularity that shook the public administration and said, “It is unacceptable to victimize the citizens by going beyond the figures approved under the umbrella of the Parliament. Our technical investigations have clearly revealed this irregularity.”

While there is no official statement on the issue yet from the municipal administration, the decision to be made by the Ministry may usher in a new era in Eskişehir politics.

Last week in Mersin, 12 people, including the deputy mayor Ümit Civan, were arrested in the operation carried out against the CHP’s Yenişehir Municipality on charges of bribery and tender rigging. A seizure decision was made for 29 immovable properties and 13 vehicles obtained from crime. SABAH has obtained documents about the bribes given during recruitment.

GIVEN IT IN A BAG
In the investigation file carried out by the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, it was detailed in the file how Serhat Özmen, who worked in the municipality’s building control unit, got Mehmet Çalışır to work in the municipality in return for a bribe of 250 thousand TL and how he received the money. It was revealed that Çalışır handed over 250 thousand liras in a bag and started working at the municipality on August 25, 2025. Çalışır and Serhat Özmez, who sold their cars and paid bribes to get a job at the municipality, were also among those arrested. Photographs of the moments when the bribe was delivered and conversations between the two are also included in the file. Here is that dialogue:
ÇALIŞIR: Serhat, is there any way to get me admitted to the municipality? I was going to ask, “I am ready to give whatever is necessary.”
ÖZMEZ: 40 thousand TL a month, two days leave a week.
WORKS: Okay.
ÖZMEZ: They want 250 thousand TL, they will start it immediately.

COP31 High Level Climate Champions Meeting was held in Antalya yesterday. COP31 High Level Climate Champion Advisor Ömer Tayyip Erdoğan emphasized that the world is changing rapidly due to the climate crisis, and that resource depletion and especially waste management are no longer just technical problems. Noting that these have turned into social, economic and humanitarian difficulties, Ömer Tayyip Erdoğan stated that the greatest power at this point is undoubtedly young people. Pointing out that young people are not only the leaders of tomorrow but also the solution producers of today, Ömer Tayyip Erdoğan said: “We are transforming the Zero Waste approach from a policy framework into a real youth movement. In this context, we are launching a new initiative in partnership with the Youth Diplomacy Association under the umbrella of the Zero Waste Forum. We are establishing a new Zero Waste Youth Forum dedicated to empowering young people.” Ömer Tayyip Erdoğan also said that they will organize an international youth forum aiming to strengthen the role of young people in the fields of Zero Waste and Climate Action.

Negative content and risks that children may encounter in the digital environment are closely monitored by the Social Media Working Group within the Ministry. Following the monitoring process, blocking and removal operations are carried out on the internet and social media for content containing neglect, abuse and criminal elements that may negatively affect children’s development. Psychosocial support is also provided for children who are identified as being exposed to risk. Through the Working Group, interventions were made to remove or block 136 contents in the first 3 months of the year and a total of 3,040 to date. In this process, the Social Media Working Group cooperates with the Information Technologies and Communication Authority (BTK), the General Directorate of Security, Department of Combating Cyber ​​Crimes and the Radio and Television Supreme Council, as well as the judicial authorities. The Working Group identifies content in digital media and social media that harms the family and social structure, is contrary to general moral rules and may negatively affect children’s development. A request was made to BTK to block access in accordance with Law No. 5651 on the grounds that viewing these contents by children may negatively affect their psychosocial development and the necessary action was taken.

Mustafa Türkay Sonel, son of then Governor Tuncay Sonel, was arrested with 10 people along with him during the Gülistan Doku investigation, which has not been heard from since January 5, 2020 in Tunceli. The statement given by Sonel, who was arrested for “Deliberate Murder”, was revealed. Questions were asked to Sonel about his telephone base records and the PTS records of the car he was driving. Giving inconsistency and contradictory answers, Sonel both accused his closest friends of using drugs and said about the Doku family, “I am not angry with the Doku family because they have pain.” He made a brazen statement. In the letter of arrest for Sonel, who described himself as a ‘student’ and ‘pet lover’, it was stated that there was “strong suspicion of crime”. In his statement, Sonel claimed that he did not know either Gülistan Doku or her boyfriend Zeinal Abakarov. The most critical moment of the interrogation was about December 27, 2019, when Gülistan Doku was allegedly sexually abused in a Youth Center. While the narrowed base reports showed Sonel in the Youth Center building that day, at that time, Sonel’s answer was one of the most striking points of the statement: “I don’t remember exactly whether I went to the youth center or not, but I probably didn’t.” This “vague defense” of Sonel, who both declared that he did not remember being at the scene and immediately assumed that he “did not leave”, was interpreted as an effort to blur his existence, supported by technical data.

HE ACCUSED HIS FRIENDS
In his statement, Sonel described his high school friends, Umut Altaş and Ekincan Kılıç, with whom he was close enough to visit him in Istanbul, as drug users. It was noteworthy that Sonel, who was knowledgeable enough to know the places where his friends dumped their drug materials, tried to position himself completely outside of this picture despite being in the same group for years. In the PTS records at the entrances and exits of the city, suspect Sonel was also asked questions about the movements of the vehicle he was using with plate number 06 SNL 10. Sonel avoided answering and said, “I have no idea.” he replied. In particular, he could not provide a clear explanation for the re-entry from Elazığ direction without showing the exit record from Tunceli. On the other hand, the police proceedings against former Tunceli Governor Tuncay Sonel, who was detained on April 17 within the scope of the investigation, are continuing. Sonel’s detention period was extended.

HE WAS ARRESTED ON STRONG SUSPICION OF A CRIME
After his statement, the suspect Mustafa Türkay Sonel (26) was referred to the court with the prosecutor’s request for arrest. In the referral letter; It was reported that the suspect Sonel killed Gülistan Doku with Umut Altaş next to him, and then called the protection police Şükrü Eroğlu. It was stated that Eroğlu first buried Doku’s lifeless body under the tree next to the cemetery in Koçpınar village, Pertek district of Tunceli, but the location of the body was changed about 1-2 years ago. Considering that the secret witness statements were reliable, the prosecutor’s office requested the arrest of Sonel due to “strong suspicion of crime”. The court found this request appropriate and accepted it.