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In the long term, Qatar must implement segregation at source to be most effective in its waste management objectives, a senior official of a metal recycling facility has said. |
Salman Shaban, manager at Lucky Star Alloys, was giving his opinion about a proposal years ago to implement waste segregation at source in the country.
He noted that segregating wastes at the household-level decreases the amount of waste brought into the landfills. It is learnt that many developed countries are practising this system.
“Secondly, it avoids double handling for segregation or sorting later on. Thirdly, it reduces the pollutants entering our system that are released through these wastes gathered at landfills or by operating
incineration plants,” he said.
Asked if it is high time to implement waste segregation at source due to the rapidly increasing population, Shaban said: “It must be done for many good reasons irrespective of the number of people.”
While suggesting some other measures to further deal with waste in the country, he stressed that Qatar adopts new systems to enhance its current treatment facilities and
recycling infrastructure.
“The progressive vision of the leadership in Qatar is ensuring in every possible way that all new methods implemented are the most effective and crucial for a sustainable country,” he said.
Citing the growing waste metals generation in Qatar, Shaban also believes the country is a key market with significant potential to develop.
“Qatar has become the new rising star of the Middle East and boasts one of the steepest growth rates in the world,” he added.
The official also reiterated the importance of complying with environmental standards by getting ISO certifications for quality management systems and environment
management systems.
He said personnel should also be trained extensively to ensure optimal environmental health and safety standards.
Lucky Star Alloys is one of the most advanced non-ferrous scrap recycling facility designed to process more than 40,000mn tonnes of recyclable metals (mostly aluminum) scrap yearly.
Located in the New Industrial Area, the company is mainly handling construction and demolition scrap metal waste but it does not recycle electronic and hospital wastes due to their hazardous and
toxic nature.
One of Singapore’s largest companies, Keppel Group, has built a domestic solid waste management centre in Mesaeeid to treat solid waste for Qatar. It is comprised of a state-of-the-art waste sorting and recycling facility, an engineered landfill, a composting plant, and a 1,500-tonne per day capacity waste-to-energy incineration plant.
