(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Doha: The 1st International Conference on Waste Management (visible and virtual), organised by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), kicked off yesterday, with the participation of a number of governmental institutions, private sector and local factories, some external parties, a group of experts and local and international specialists in the waste management and treatment.
The conference activities began with an explanation of the objectives of the strategy of MME by discussing the development of the waste management system, the cooperation of the government and private sectors, as well as regional and international bodies to learn about the latest technologies in this field. Minister of Municipality and Environment H E Eng. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie said that the State of Qatar, under the wise leadership of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has developed a comprehensive strategy to deal with all types of waste, whether from residential places, commercial and industrial sites, or the building and construction sector, among others.
In his speech at the opening of the conference, he said Qatar has adopted a comprehensive plan to manage and recycle this waste by establishing a waste management and treatment centre in Mesaieed, which is one of the largest centres in the region, as well as meet environmental safety requirements in terms of treating waste in a modern and safe manner, believing that there is a direct relationship between the efforts of waste management and recycling in preserving the integrity of the environment and achieving sustainable development to which the State of Qatar pays most attention as it has placed environmental development as one of the main pillars of its National Vision 2030.
The Minister said Qatar's keenness to organise this conference for the first time, remotely, due to the challenges of the coronavirus (COVID-19) confirms the great interest that the country attaches to the issue of recycling waste, reducing its quantities and reusing it in the production of compost and power generation in accordance with the strategy of MME, and the second national development strategy of the State of Qatar (2018-2022).
He added that MME has adopted the issue of waste recycling as one of its key issues, and has set many facilities for it, in recognition of the importance of development and the environment, and keenness to find the best solutions and technologies for the impacts resulting from the population growth and urban and economic development that Qatar is witnessing.
Assistant Undersecretary for Public Services Affairs at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment Eng. Ahmed Mohammed Al Sada underlined the keenness of the Ministry, represented by the Public Services Affairs sector, on holding the 1st International Conference on Waste Management for its utmost importance in the lives of all living things on the planet and its direct impact on the sustainable development.
Addressing the opening session of the hybrid conference, Al Sada said that the conference discusses over two days several topics related to waste management and recycling through presentations, workshops and discussion panels.
He noted that the Ministry's Waste Recycling and Treatment Department supervises the solid waste treatment plant, its transfer stations, and the sanitary landfills for waste and recycling in accordance with international specifications and standards. Eng. Al Sada indicated that the Ministry of Municipality and Environment established the largest waste treatment centre in the Middle East in 2011.
The centre treats 2,300 tonnes of household waste and produces 50 megawatts of electrical energy. In 2020, the centre produced more than 30,000 tonnes of organic fertilizer and generated about 269 thousand megawatts/hour of electric power, and more than 33 million cubic meters of biogas, in addition to processing more than 30 thousand tons of car tires in each of the Umm Al Afai landfill and Rawdat Rashid landfill.
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