Plastics recycling comes to Qatar

Plastics recycling is coming to Qatar, with a national recycling campaign making it mandatory for all households, government organisations and public spaces to sort their rubbish in the works.

According to Doha News, dedicated recycling bins will be allocated to families throughout the state and installed in communities, public spaces and government buildings as part of the 'Clean Qatar' initiative, which is part of a wider effort to meet the goals set out in the National Development Strategy 2011-16.

This, the news outlet reported, would be a major expansion of the current national waste recycling scheme, which only exists at present in schools and universities.

Qatar has less then two years to fulfil its sustainability quota and is accelerating its efforts to meet its goal to raise recycling rates from eight per cent to 25 per cent, reducing the overall amount of waste ending up in landfill from 91 per cent of all household waste to 64 per cent by the end of the initiative's lifespan in 2016.

Consultant for the Minister of the Municipality and Urban Planning Farraj Sheikh Al Fassari was quoted by The Peninsula as saying the Qatari government would give more hep to private sector companies specialising in recycles household waste including plastics, to help meet these targets.

Qatar has one fo the world's highest rates of waste production per person, at around 1.6-1.8 kg each day, resulting in around 7,000 tonnes of rubbish being generated daily - and a third of this comes from Qatari homes.

Currently, Qatari residents have to travel to make a conscious effort to recycle, with relatively few recycling points in the state and it is hoped by making recycling bins more accessible, households will feel more inclined to sort their waste.