Doha, February 12 (QNA) - The Ministry of Municipality, represented by the Waste Recycling and Treatment Department in the Public Services Affairs Sector, announced the complete disposal of the State of Qatar's stock of damaged tires. This accomplishment is the first of its kind in the region in the field of waste recycling, safe treatment, and disposal. It is also in line with the Ministry's strategy to achieve sustainable development goals and Qatar National Vision 2030.
In a press conference on Sunday, 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 tires, 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.
He pointed out that the tire disposal process began in April 2020 at the Umm Al Afai landfill, in cooperation with the private sector, after offering technical bids awarded to three companies, which worked on cutting tires and exporting them abroad.
He explained that after disposing of the entire stock of tires in the landfill, with a total of 56,000 tons, it was cleaned and 13,000 tons of waste were removed, in preparation for the rehabilitation of the site and its exploitation in vital state projects.
Regarding Rawdat Rashed landfill, which was designated to receive damaged tires at a rate of 2,000/ month, the Director of the Waste Recycling and Treatment Department at the Ministry of Municipality noted that the tire disposal process had been in place since the start of receiving tires, but at a very slow pace, indicating that until 2021, no tire disposal rate exceeds 20 percent of annual incoming and this is due to the lack of companies operating in this field, and the lack of a local market for them.
He added that the Ministry increased the number of tire-cutting workshops from 4 in 2020 to 23 workshops in 2021 and also signed an agreement in June 2022 with tire recycling factories and tire-cutting workshops, according to which financial support of QR 250 per ton was provided of the tires, it is recycled by the factories and for the production of raw materials, which led to an increase in the rate of tire disposal, reaching a rate of 600 percent in the 2nd half of 2022.
He pointed out that by the end of January, about 120,000 tons of tires were disposed of in the landfill, which is considered a major achievement in the field of tire disposal in particular, and waste recycling, treatment and safe disposal in general.
The daily quantities of damaged tires will be received in another location, which will be announced later in the Mesaieed area, close to the tire recycling factories, where they will be processed and recycled immediately in the factories using the latest methods.
The Ministry of Municipality, in cooperation with the private sector, will continue to invest in the field of tire recycling management and treatment of waste, in line with the strategic objectives of the State of Qatar in the field of improving the quality of life and the sustainability and preservation of resources. (QNA)