Yunus Environment Hub joined global leaders at the Zero Waste Forum 2025 in Istanbul to explore how communities, businesses, and policymakers can turn waste into practical, scalable solutions. The Forum brought together voices committed to advancing the zero waste and circular economy transition worldwide.
A milestone partnership for zero waste systems
A major highlight of the event was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Yunus Environment Hub and the Zero Waste Foundation. This collaboration marks a shared commitment to scale impact through circular and zero waste systems. It sets the foundation for joint action to:
- Strengthen local governance for zero waste cities and regions
- Build municipal capacities for circular economy implementation
- Support sustainable development aligned with global agendas such as the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda
The Forum also featured powerful presentations by Yunus Environment Hub alumni and collaborators:
- Padmad – Alumni CirculaRise Accelerator, Padmad is revolutionizing menstrual hygiene through circular solutions by creating biodegradable, reusable pads made from textile offcuts. These circular pads not only address period poverty but also contribute to a circular economy by repurposing waste materials and diverting them from landfills.
- Revincs Energy –Alumni Innovate2PREVENT, Revnics Energy is a recycling company dedicated to transforming electronic waste into valuable resources, with a focus on creating sustainable energy solutions. Their mission is to upcycle, repair, and recycle electronic waste, to reduce the environmental impact of e waste and to provide affordable, reliable electricity to underserved communities. At the core of their operations is the
- Irefill – Alumni Innovate2PREVENT, Irefill is an early stage company that specialises in designing and developing innovative Smart Refill dispensers, which aim to reduce the use of single use plastics by providing a sustainable, reusable solution.
- GIVO Africa – Alumni Innovate2PREVENT, GIVO (Garbage In Value Out) is a climate tech start up, providing tech enabled solutions to enable low carbon waste management solutions in underserved communities. They Leverage frontier technologies such as blockchain, IoT and Computer Vision, to aggregate and process recyclables from communities and businesses, transforming them into industrial goods.
- afb – YEH Collaborator, afb is the first non profit IT Asset Recovery Solution Provider in Europe. Since 2004, our mission is to generate place of works for disable people while delivering a professional solution for electronics waste.
Each showcased how social business models can accelerate the move from waste to value. Their work spans refill models, repair services, renewable energy solutions, and zero waste menstrual health innovations. Together, they demonstrated how community-focused and mission-driven enterprises can cut waste at the source and create lasting economic opportunities.
Looking ahead
A sincere thank you goes to the organizers of the Zero Waste Forum for creating a collaborative space that reframes waste not as an end, but as a valuable resource that can power the global circular transition forward.
Images: Zero Waste Forum