The volume of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in Qatar, one of the most important by-products of an urban lifestyle, has been increasing steadily in recent years. Qatar’s per capita daily waste generation is generally estimated to range between 1.6kg to 1.8kg, one of the highest in the world.

According to a World Bank report in 2013, world’s 3bn urban residents generated 1.2kg per person per day of waste or 1.3bn tonnes per year. By 2025 this is seen increasing to 4.3bn urban residents generating about 1.42kg per person of municipal solid waste a day or 2.2bn tonnes per year.

Qatar generated 871,000 tonnes of MSW in 2012, up 7% from 2011, according to the Ministry of Environment data. The increasing level of waste generation is due to a host of factors including faster economic growth and the resultant urban life style, increased commercial activity and an estimated $200bn-plus construction boom in the run-up to hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Qatar’s government is now exploring options to either expand the integrated Domestic Solid Waste Management Centre (DSWMC) plant at Mesaieed which came online in 2011, or find a new place to treat domestic waste. DSWMC is the first integrated waste management facility in the Middle East, featuring one of the largest compost plants in the world built at a cost of QR7.28bn.

Qatar, undoubtedly, is a regional front runner in sustainable waste management with a strategy that combines effective resource management and futuristic policies. The DSWMC expansion plan is estimated to cost QR2bn, Gulf Times reported on Monday.

Qatar’s government is looking to encourage waste minimisation and recycling efforts. The 2011-2016 National Development Strategy aims to increase recycling from 8% to up to 25%, and reduce landfill waste from 92% to 64%.

But for longer-term sustainability, the government also needs to encourage increasing participation of the private sector including the SMEs (small and medium enterprises) to explore the potentials of the solid waste market in Qatar which has the annual earnings potential of $663mn (QR2.42bn), according to a Qatar Development Bank report in 2013.

Undoubtedly, every resident in Qatar can chip in for a clean Qatar that generates lower levels of waste.

Throw-away leftover food ending up in the dumpster accounts for more than half of the domestic municipal waste generated in Qatar, said a Qatar Statistical Authority report published to coincide with World Environment Day in June 2013.

In the Gulf, between a third and half of the food produced is estimated to go to waste. Globally, reducing food waste could save more than $250bn – the equivalent of 65mn hectares of agricultural land use – by 2030.

Reducing waste is better than treating it: it is everyone’s responsibility.

 

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