Satellite monitoring has revealed that Turkey's Silivri landfill near Istanbul emits an average of 7.4 tonnes of methane per hour, making it one of the worst super-emitting waste sites identified anywhere in the world, according to researchers at the University of California (UCLA). The planet-warming impact of this single leak is equivalent to 1.5 million gas-guzzling SUVs running their engines.
The revelation comes as Turkey prepares to host the UN global climate summit Cop31 in November, with cutting methane emissions at the top of its action agenda. Turkey's first lady, Emine Erdoğan, has campaigned for zero waste and methane cuts globally, and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in June that waste management was a priority.
Residents plagued by smell
Residents of villages on the rural outskirts of Istanbul say a foul smell descends two or three nights each week, forcing them to sleep with windows closed even during hot summer nights. They attribute it to the Silivri municipal waste dump, where food and organic waste rots and emits gases.
“The smell is not subtle. It suffocates you,” said Kemalettin Özenç, sitting outside a tea shop in the village of Yolçatı. “It’s worse when the air is still: sometimes families linger until midnight out here. Even when you go inside it’s inescapable.”
Özenç and others have sought intervention for years but feared signing petitions due to concerns about authorities. Turkey's most notorious maximum security prison is 30 minutes from Yolçatı, and Istanbul's mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained there in 2025 on corruption charges.
Facility response
Staff from İstaç, the Istanbul municipality's waste management division, appeared surprised when shown satellite images of the gas leak. Methane is transparent and invisible to the naked eye. Fatih Arslan of İstaç initially blamed emissions on uncovered areas of the site, saying, “It’s inevitable that this is happening … of course we have to make improvements.”
The facility extracts 6,000 cubic metres of methane per hour to burn for energy. Facility head Ebu Bekir Ikinci noted improvements since the 1990s, when methane trapped at a dump exploded in 1993, killing 39 people. Arslan said, “Compared to that, the emissions now are way better. This is actually very good.”
Widespread problem
Silivri is Turkey's largest landfill, processing 10,000 tonnes of waste daily. Another dump in Şile pours 4 tonnes of methane per hour, equivalent to about 800,000 SUVs. The UCLA team identified the 10 highest-emitting landfill sites across Turkey using satellite data from the Carbon Mapper portal.
“Many of these sites have mind-bogglingly large methane emission rates, even in a global context,” said Cara Horowitz, who leads the UCLA Stop Methane project. “These are huge leaks, some of the largest single manmade sources of methane emissions in the world.”
Methane emissions cause a quarter of all global heating, with a surge since 2007 risking climate tipping points. Cutting methane is often relatively easy and has rapid impact because it leaves the atmosphere faster than carbon dioxide.
Cop31 context
Turkey's environment minister and Cop31 president-designate Murat Kurum wrote to the 196 nations due to attend the summit in Antalya: “Reducing methane emissions is among the fastest and most effective strategies for slowing near-term temperature rise. The waste sector therefore represents a critical opportunity for delivering immediate climate benefits.”
However, Turkey's environment ministry declined to comment, and the Istanbul municipality declined to answer questions about Silivri. Turkey has not signed the Global Methane Pledge to achieve a 30% reduction by 2030, despite Emine Erdoğan's zero waste advocacy.
Horowitz said Turkey could become a global leader in cutting methane if it cleaned up its landfills. Dr Tia Scarpelli of Carbon Mapper noted that gas collection systems vary in design and management. In South Korea, close to 100% of food waste is recycled, offering a model. Özenç expressed resignation: “It’s not like we have a say anyway. What can you do? The moment you talk about this, there is silence.”
