Bodrum Mayor refuses to get trash collected to protest citizens' pollution

The mayor of the western Turkish district of Bodrum slammed the public's excessive pollution of a local beach and refused to have the mess cleaned up. Ahmet Aras said that he was leaving behind the trash to greet the beach-goers when they come back in the evening: "Let's see what they think of it."

Duvar English

The mayor of Bodrum, the Aegean's most popular vacation destination, Ahmet Aras, slammed locals for their pollution of the town's beaches on Nov. 17. 

As a result of Ankara mandating that all businesses close at 10 p.m. per COVID-19 precautions, many people in Turkey have flooded public spaces like pubs and beaches during the pandemic. 

"This morning, around the trash can in Yahşi-Taşlıkburun. I will not have this cleaned up, so that the same people can find it as such when they come back tonight," Aras said. "Let's see what they think of it."