The Qatari Ministry of Municipality, represented by the Waste Recycling and Treatment Department in the Public Services Affairs Sector, recently announced the complete disposal of the State of Qatar’s stock of end-of-life-tyres. This is claimed to be a regional first for Qatar.
In a press conference, the Director of the Waste Management Department at the Ministry of Municipality, Eng. Hamad Jassim Al Bahar said that within the framework of the integrated waste management and recycling plan implemented by the Ministry of Municipality, the disposal of used tyres, whose numbers are estimated at millions, was a strategic goal that the Ministry sought to achieve by setting a comprehensive plan for its safe disposal and finding successful solutions for its recycling in all sites affiliated with the Ministry in cooperation with the private sector.
The disposal process began in April 2020 at the Umm Al Afai landfill, in cooperation with the private sector, with three private companies shredding the tyres and exporting the materials.
Regarding Rawdat Rashed landfill, which was designated to receive damaged tyres at a rate of 2,000 per month, the Director of the Waste Recycling and Treatment Department at the Ministry of Municipality noted that the tyre disposal process had been in place since the start of receiving tyres, but at a very slow pace, indicating that until 2021, no tyre disposal rate exceeded 20 per cent of annual incoming due to the lack of companies operating in this field, and the lack of a local market.
The government had increased the processing sites from four to 23 in 2021 and later agreed to a QR 250 subsidy per ton of recycled tyres. This pushed the recycling rate to 600 per cent of the previous norm by the end of 2022.
The Ministry of Municipality, in cooperation with the private sector, plans to continue to invest in the field of tyre recycling management and treatment of waste, in line with the strategic objectives of the State of Qatar.
Source: Qatar News Agency Image: Pexls
