A Comparative Analysis of Turkey's Performance for Transitioning to The Circular Economy

Abstract

This study aims to demonstrate Turkey's performance on the transition to the circular economy by comparing it with selected developed and developing economies. The quantitative analysis is conducted with the data collected from Eurostat and the OECD.Stat over the period 2000–2022, for the selected developed economies, namely, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and the selected developing economies, namely, Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania, and Serbia. According to the results, Turkey's resource productivity has increased over the years, with the most effective increases observed since 2017. The relatively low domestic material consumption and material footprint indicate low demand and consumption overall. The increase in total waste per capita with a decrease in municipal waste per capita shows that Turkey's household waste generation is low, but waste generation per person is high. The most frequently used waste treatment has been disposal for many years, yet recycling has accelerated since 2016. The increase in the recycling rate of municipal waste, according to the data that is available for the last five years, is a positive development. Import dependency has not decreased over the years, although it is at lower levels compared to developed countries. In recent years, dependency on all raw materials has been declining, while dependency on metal ores and fossil energy has been very high. Finally, greenhouse gas emissions have increased significantly over the years, making this indicator Turkey's worst for the transition to a circular economy. Since the existing literature has mostly covered European Union (EU) countries and the research on Turkey is generally about creating a theoretical framework, this study fills the gap in the literature. Through country comparisons, this paper also facilitates understanding how far Turkey, as a candidate country for EU membership, is from the EU's circular economy targets and whether or not Turkey has made progress in adopting circular economy and related policies, and provides policy recommendations to policymakers to improve Turkey's performance in the circular economy.

Keywords

• Circular Economy
• Turkey
• Sustainability
• Comparative analysis
• European Union

Türkiye'nin Döngüsel Ekonomiye Geçiş Performansı Üzerine Karşılaştırmalı Bir Analiz

Abstract

Çalışma, Türkiye’nin döngüsel ekonomiye geçiş performansını, seçili gelişmiş ve gelişmekte olan ülkelerle karşılaştırma yaparak ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Nicel analiz, Eurostat ve OECD.Stat veri bankalarının döngüsel ekonomiyi ölçmek için belirlediği göstergeler ışığında, verilerin var olduğu 2000-2022 yılları arasında, gelişmiş ülkelerden Almanya, İsveç ve İngiltere; gelişmekte olan ülkelerden Macaristan, Bulgaristan, Arnavutluk ve Sırbistan örnekleriyle yapılmıştır. Sonuçlara göre Türkiye, kaynak verimliliğini yıllar içinde artmış olup en etkili artış, 2017 yılından itibaren gözlemlenmiştir. Yurtiçi malzeme tüketiminin ve malzeme ayak izinin düşük seyretmesi talep ve tüketimin genel anlamda düşük olmasına işaret etmektedir. Kişi başına kentsel atık düşerken kişi başı toplam atığının artması, Türkiye’nin hane bazında atık üretiminin düşük, ancak kişi bazında yüksek olduğunu göstermektedir. Atıkların işlenmesinde en çok başvurulan yol uzun yıllar imha iken 2016 yılından itibaren geri kazanım hız kazanmıştır. Son beş yıla dair verinin bulunduğu kentsel atığın geri dönüşüm oranının artması olumlu bir gelişmedir. İthalat bağımlılığı, gelişmiş ülkelere göre düşük seviyelerde olmasına rağmen yıllar içinde düşmeyip artmıştır. Son yıllarda, tüm hammaddelerin bağımlılığında düşüş yaşanırken metal cevherler ve fosil enerjideki bağımlılık çok yüksek seyretmiştir. Son olarak, sera gazı emisyonu yıllar içinde ciddi şekilde artarak döngüsel ekonomiye geçişte Türkiye’nin en kötü performans göstergesi olmuştur. Yazında çoğunlukla Avrupa Birliği (AB) ülkeleri konu alınıp Türkiye ile alakalı çalışmalar daha çok teorik çerçeveyi oluşturmak üzerine olduğundan bu çalışma, yazındaki eksikliği gidermektedir. Ülke karşılaştırmaları vasıtasıyla, AB’ye aday ülke olan Türkiye’nin, AB’nin döngüsel ekonomi hedeflerinde, döngüsel ekonomi ve ilgili politikaları benimsemede ilerleme kaydedip kaydetmediğini gözler önüne sermekte ve politika yapıcılara, Türkiye’nin döngüsel ekonomi performansını geliştirebilmesi için önerilerde bulunmaktadır.

Keywords

• Döngüsel ekonomi
• Türkiye
• Sürdürülebilirlik
• Karşılaştırmalı analiz
• Avrupa Birliği

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