August 18, 2025, 3:35 pm | Read time: 2 minutes
When vacationers load their plates with food at the hotel buffet, leftovers are often inevitable. Turkey now aims to tackle this type of food waste at buffets. Find out what’s planned here.
Whether at the hotel buffet or the traditional Turkish breakfast, Serpme-Kahvaltı, where a wide variety of food is served in many small bowls: It’s rarely all eaten. This is a problem because, according to the non-governmental initiative for waste prevention (TiSVA), about 102 kilograms of food per person end up in the trash annually in Turkey. The Presidential Council for Agricultural and Food Policy is therefore calling for an end to the lavish breakfasts in Turkey.
Avoid Food Waste and Adjust Laws
The council is currently working on a new regulation to be presented to Turkish President Erdogan, reports the Turkish online magazine “Sözcü”. Experts aim to prevent tons of food from being simply thrown away in the future. The Presidential Council is working on ways to reduce waste and adjust the laws accordingly. This could bring some changes for vacationers.
Changes for Vacationers
A large buffet, a lavish selection of various dishes: According to the council’s plans, this will no longer be the case. If the new regulation passes, the breakfast buffet will be restricted in the future.
At the hotel buffet in Turkey, the principle of self-service is to be reconsidered. As an alternative, guests could order à la carte and receive only what they want—and pay accordingly. For the traditional Turkish breakfast, there could be an option for multiple people to share a portion, with no fixed number of bowls of food.
When or if these regulations will actually be implemented in Turkey is not yet known.