Only a few people heard of waste recycling inside Turkmenistan. While many believe that recycling industry does not exist inside the country, Turkmenistan gradually develops this area.

The joint project of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and environment protection funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF) work in the area of waste management. To raise awareness and promote information dissemination on the issue of waste recycling in Turkmenistan, we decided to provide a short information on the partners of the project.

Note: this is not a full list of recycling companies in Turkmenistan. indicated companies and entrepreneurs are partners of the project only. For full information on recycling in Turkmenistan, please address the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan.

1.      Paper and paper products are an important component of human life. While paper is not a toxic product that pollutes the environment, recycling and reuse of paper products can save trees and reduce urban pollution.

Wastes from the production, processing and consumption of all types of paper and paperboard suitable for further use as fibrous raw materials are called wastepaper.

“Toprak” company is the current partner of UNDP/GEF project that works in Turkmenistan on recycling of the wastepaper. The company processes wastepaper and produces corrugated cardboard and packaging cardboard. “Toprak” is located in Ovadandepe village of Ahal region.

Products made from wastepaper are used by NOWA company, which was founded in 1999 and produces corrugated cardboard of any size and configuration. This company develops packaging containers from complex corrugated cardboard with multi-color printing for food, chemical, construction, furniture and other industries.

2.      Plastic waste is one of the most common urban development problems. Therefore, the UNDP / GEF project launched a waste management campaign and started with installing containers for plastic waste management and establishing partnerships with plastic processing companies, such as “Begler Yoli”, and entrepreneur Aliyev Eldar.

“Begler Yoli” produces plastic containers for food products, for packaging fruits and vegetables, as well as for bottling detergents. The peculiarity of the enterprise is its non-waste production. It means that all scraps and residues, as well as defective products, are fully reused in production.

Right now, the industrial zone of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan in the Ak-bughday etrap of the Ahal region hosts not only “Begler Yoli” production capacities, but also its processing facilities. “Begler Yoli” processes plastic bottles, disposable plastic dishes and plastic bags, and produces pipes for drip irrigation of various diameters from recycled materials.

Another active participant in the UNDP/GEF campaign is entrepreneur Eldar Aliyev, who began his recycling activity relatively recently. His plastic processing base is located in the village of Akdashayak of Ahal region.

Altogether, the private sector of Turkmenistan has recycled more than 15 tons of plastic waste during the first 3 months of the UNDP/GEF campaign.

3.      In pursuit of a non-waste lifestyle, when plastic and glass are recycled, organic waste remains in our waste bins. Organic waste is another category of waste that consists of waste produced at the household level, administrative offices, catering and recreation facilities.

Worms come to help in solving the problem of processing organic waste. In this regard, the production of vermicompost in Turkmenistan has been launched by several entrepreneurs, including the entrepreneur Dovlet Berdyev, who has been engaged in this activity for the past 5 years.

Mr. Berdyev was allocated ​​10 hectares of land for long term use in the Farmers’ association “Durun” of Bakharden etrap of the Ahal region. Vermicompost is produced by a specially developed and patented method and does not require large financial and labor investment; therefore, it quickly pays off. Organic waste, cardboard, foliage, greenhouse waste is used as the basis for vermicompost production. This makes this method attractive for any manufacturer. Currently, most of the vermicompost produced is used on the farm for growing agricultural products, including in the greenhouse.

Another possibility for using vermicompost is to increase the fertility of park areas and green islands in cities. Since the urban population is growing steadily, with the help of soil enriched with vermicompost, it will be possible to increase forest plantations and thereby reduce emissions of pollutants, especially from vehicles.

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One of the objectives of UNDP/GEF project for the development of sustainable cities is implementation of waste management measures at a pilot site in one of the districts of Ashgabat. To do that, the project is expected to conduct morphological composition analysis of waste from residential buildings in modern areas and the private sector. It is also planned to implement measures to introduce waste sorting on an ongoing basis.