𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Zero Waste Foundation is a Business Reporter client

Over the past three days in Istanbul, over 26 ministers and 24 high-level representatives from 50 countries met on the sidelines of the Zero Waste Forum to discuss how they could tackle the global waste challenge.

It is not often that ministerial colleagues from the environment and urbanisation portfolios have an opportunity to listen to each other. “We came together because we needed to find a balance between development and environmental sustainability,” said Nga Kor Ming, Malaysia’s Housing minister.

“It is good that ministerial colleagues from all regions realise that we cannot continue to regard waste as the inevitable consequence of development,” he said. “Instead, we need to band together to prevent wasting our natural resources.” said Nga who is also the President of the United Nations Habitat Assembly.

According to the United Nations, households, small businesses and public service providers generate between 2.1 billion and 2.3 billion tons of municipal solid waste every year – from packaging and electronics to plastics and food.

However, global waste management services are ill-equipped to handle this, with 2.7 billion people lacking access to solid waste collection and only 61-62 per cent of municipal solid waste being managed in controlled facilities.

“This year, UN-Habitat is focusing on fashion and textile waste. We need to shift away from low quality fast fashion to investing in extending the lifespan of well-made, high-quality clothes,” said Samed Agirbas, the President of Turkiye’s Zero Waste Foundation.

Samed, who is also the convener of this year’s Zero Waste Forum, added that “we need more action, more collaboration and more investments in Zero Waste Living. Having convened over 100 businesses and signed some 80 strategic partnerships, “we have taken the first steps towards the making of a movement that will make Zero Waste living a reality,” he said.

In line with this year’s theme, “Towards Zero Waste in Fashion and Textiles”, Adam Baruchowitz, Chief Recycling Officer of Return To Vendor, emphasised that with less than 1 per cent of textiles currently recycled, the fashion industry must rethink its approach from the design stage. “Brands need to take responsibility for the waste built into the fashion system with end of life in mind,” he added, calling for design-stage innovation and mono-material solutions.

Return to Vendor is a New York-based circular fashion company developing fully recyclable garments through mono-material design. By transforming discarded nylon such as fishing nets into regenerated textiles and eliminating mixed-material components, the company makes it possible for clothing to be recycled in a single process without disassembly. Return to Vendor aims to reduce fashion waste at its source and accelerate a circular model where garments are designed, used, taken back and remade again and again.

One solution being offered at the forum combines technology, logistics and craftsmanship, ensuring a scalable model to reduce textile waste and extend product life by turning repair into a vital tool for sustainability and circular fashion. Josephine Philips, Founder and CEO of Soju, a pioneering fashion-tech platform that connects customers and major brands with skilled tailors, is integrating repairability directly into business models. “We’re showing that repair isn’t nostalgic, it’s the future of fashion,” said Josephine, emphasising the need to make mending mainstream through digital accessibility, brand accountability and cultural change.

Another critical area where personal action makes a major difference is food waste. “Our vision is to eliminate food waste in the world,” said Mette Lykke, CEO of surplus food marketplace Too Good to Go. “Like all good visions, it is a little beyond our reach. Yet it motivates us to dedicate time and resources to prevent wasting food. Over the last decade, we have saved over 1 trillion meals.”

A social enterprise that now operates in over 17 countries worldwide, Too Good to Go began as an action-oriented business. A digital platform that helps link food providers with customers who want to consume more responsibly, Too Good to Go built trust by being transparent about its operations.

With the launch of the Global Zero Waste Business Coalition (GZWBC), a major milestone in global sustainability efforts was achieved. The coalition brings together leading businesses and entrepreneurs from across industries to align commercial innovation with circular economy goals and environmental stewardship.

“We are stronger together, which is why we need more multilateral collaboration,” said Nga. “This can take the form of integrating Zero Waste into national waste management policy. We must also empower cities to act by ensuring they have adequate resources.

“Urbanisation can never be sustainable if we do not change the way we consume and produce. We need to enhance circularity and, most importantly, develop an empathy towards living beings on this planet that we share.”

“Our goal is not only to reduce waste; it is to create value, make awareness permanent and foster the same consciousness in every corner of the world,” said Samed Agirbas. “In the words of Mme Emine Erdoğan, “we now need new narratives, new stories, and a new awakening. We must focus on priorities, not problems. The solution begins with charting the right course. And that course is possible through the fair relationship that humans will reestablish with nature”, he added.

Neil Khor is Advisor to the President of the United Nations Habitat Assembly