Food waste being added to the economy in Gaziemir district of İzmir: Transformative project from Gaziemir Municipality and ESBAŞ

The Gaziemir Municipal Council held its second ordinary session of July under the chairmanship of Vice President Hazel Öztürk Işık. Unlike the heated discussions of the first session, this session concluded calmly and briefly, and the agenda items were accepted by a majority of votes. One of the most striking decisions of the session was the authorization decision for the Gaziemir Municipality Search and Rescue Team (GAZİKUT), which was established to increase the district's capacity for disaster preparedness. Vice President Işık was authorized to procure the necessary materials for this team, which will be formed on a voluntary basis, and to carry out all transactions. After a break to discuss the item, the council members unanimously decided to establish GAZİKUT and purchase the necessary materials.

One of the most important agenda items of the meeting was the protocol signed between the Ege Serbest Bölge Kurucu ve İşleticisi A.Ş. (ESBAŞ) and the municipality. According to this protocol, food waste from ESBAŞ's industrial food production facilities will be collected by Gaziemir Municipality's vehicles. These wastes will be processed to be used in the production of cat and dog food and organic fertilizer. The project will be implemented on a property allocated to Gaziemir Municipality by the İzmir Governorate. The cost of the pet food production machines to be used in the facility and all construction expenses will be covered by ESBAŞ and transferred to the municipality through conditional donation.

Within the scope of the project's physical infrastructure, an "Animal Shelter and Natural Life Area" will be built on the land allocated by the İzmir Governorate, Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Provincial Directorate. The construction process will be carried out in accordance with the architectural project and technical specifications for the perimeter wall and buildings within the scope of the project required for the construction of this area. The waste conversion process will be carried out with the machines donated by ESBAŞ at the facility established in the building designated by the municipality. The authorization for President Işık to sign the cooperation protocol and request conditional donation was accepted unanimously in accordance with the commission report. The decision aims to contribute to environmental sustainability and the economy through cooperation between the municipality and the private sector.

Following the decision, AK Party Council Member Hüseyin Aslan made a statement regarding the agenda, stating that they supported the decision but had serious reservations about process management. Aslan argued that they did not know how many square meters of the 12,500 square meter area allocated for the project would be used as closed space and that they started work without completing the necessary permit processes. He stated that taking action without obtaining the opinions and approvals of İZSU and other relevant units could lead to problems. He expressed that the project was drawn up, but the necessary letters regarding the forest region status on the land were not obtained, and the access routes to the area were unclear. For these reasons, he emphasized that they requested the council to be informed more frequently and in detail about the process.

Another opinion on the subject came from AK Party Council Member Uğur İnan Atmaca. Atmaca harshly criticized, claiming that while they did not object to the commission report, the municipality acted contrary to the legislation regarding the actual situation. He stated that for a construction to be made, a zoning plan must be made first, but although the allocation of the relevant area took place 5-6 months ago, this planning process has not yet been completed. He stated that in the past they approved a similar school plan, but this plan was rejected in the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality (İzBB) Council, and similar planning deficiencies were experienced in projects such as condolence houses and animal shelters. Atmaca added that they objected not to the work to be done, but to it not being done with procedures appropriate to the legislation, and questioned why the necessary plan changes were not made within 6 months.