According to the “Istanbul Province Probable Earthquake Loss Estimates” project prepared by Boğaziçi University Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, Department of Earthquake Engineering and our Directorate in 2009 and 2019, and the “District Probable Earthquake Loss Estimates Reports” produced by privatizing the outputs of the 2019 report and conducting analyses and mappings specific to 39 districts, it is anticipated that approximately 25 million tons of debris will be formed in the event of an earthquake with a magnitude of Mw: 7.5. Based on this information, a study titled “Creating Management Plan Bases for Debris That May Occur in a Possible Destructive Istanbul Earthquake” was conducted to analyze the current situation, examining the status of our current dumping sites in Istanbul, the adequacy of our trucks and auxiliary construction equipment, and aiming to recycle construction and demolition waste generated by urban transformation and bring it to the economy, and additionally to use the capacity of the debris dumping sites with the most appropriate efficiency. Within the scope of this study, especially when road closure analyses, machinery-equipment inventory and dumping site capacities are taken into account, the possible negativities that may be encountered in such a disaster have been determined, and one of the most important issues is that our dumping sites are located in the north of our province, and according to the Istanbul Probable Earthquake Loss Estimation project, the structures expected to be most severely damaged are located in the south of our province, therefore, problems will be experienced regarding the transportation of the debris that may occur. Another important problem is the size of the amount of debris that will occur. An average of 1 million trips are required to remove 25 million tons of debris. It is estimated that this process may take up to 3 years with the current possibilities.

The inability to reduce the volume of the waste generated causes a constant search for new dumping sites and as a result, land loss occurs. Therefore, dumping sites should be operated with the most appropriate efficiency. The most important way to use dumping sites efficiently is to recycle the construction and demolition waste generated and add it to the economy. While the recycling rates are over 80% in developed countries, it is approximately 25% in our country. Concrete made of recycled aggregates can be used in park and garden walls, road underfills, manhole covers and single-storey buildings.

This study aims to lead the way in increasing recycling for construction and demolition waste, establishing recycling facilities and creating an action plan for the management of debris anticipated in a possible devastating Istanbul earthquake.