A project by Muğla Metropolitan Municipality to recycle construction and demolition waste has been ranked second in Europe in the 2026 Local Sustainability Award, the municipality announced on Oct. 14.
The award, organised by ICLEI Europe, a network of local governments working on sustainability, and the European Committee of the Regions, the EU’s assembly of local and regional representatives, was presented in Brussels during the European Week of Regions and Cities. Municipal Secretary General Tayfun Yılmaz received the award on behalf of the southwestern province.
From rubble to roads
The scheme, officially called the Circular Construction and Demolition Waste Management and Recovery Model Project, is run by the municipality’s excavation management and inspection unit within its environmental protection department.
It aims to turn rubble and debris from building and demolition sites into reusable materials that can then be used in road building, infrastructure and other construction work. The municipality says the model reduces the use of natural resources such as quarried stone and lowers environmental damage, while treating waste as an economic resource rather than something to be dumped.
The municipality did not publish figures on how much waste has been recycled under the project, or on its cost.
Why it matters in Muğla
Construction waste is a sensitive issue in Muğla, which includes the resorts of Bodrum, Fethiye, Marmaris and Datça and has seen years of rapid building of holiday homes and hotels. Illegal dumping of rubble in forests, stream beds and coves is a recurring complaint from residents and environmental groups across Türkiye’s Aegean and Mediterranean coast; in neighbouring Aydın province, environmentalists this week called on authorities to stop the dumping of debris in a wooded area of Kuşadası.
Quarries supplying stone and aggregate for construction have also drawn opposition in the province, where much of the land is forest and many communities depend on tourism, olive growing and beekeeping.
Mayor: recognition for nature protection
Mayor Ahmet Aras called the result a source of pride for the city and said the municipality would continue working to protect nature and to pass Muğla’s natural beauty and quality of life on to future generations. He said the award showed that the municipality’s environmental efforts were being recognised internationally, and thanked the staff involved.
The municipality said the award would raise the profile of its sustainable urban policies and could encourage other local governments to adopt similar resource-efficient practices.
For residents, the scheme is part of a wider effort by Turkish municipalities to enforce rules requiring builders to deliver excavation and demolition waste to licensed sites, with fines for dumping elsewhere.
Sources
- Muğla’nın ‘Sürdürülebilirlik Projesi’ Avrupa ikincisi oldu (İHA)
- Muğla’nın Sürdürülebilirlik Projesi Avrupa İkincisi Oldu (Fethiye Haber)
- Aydın’da çevrecilerden kaçak moloz dökümü tepkisi (Hürriyet)
Photo: Perencal / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
