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As the world marks the first International Day of Zero Waste, Doha based environmental campaigner has stressed more awareness and adopting zero waste concept as part of the culture to combat waste management problems.
Director of Doha Environmental Actions Project (DEAP), Jose Saucedo said that waste goes beyond plastic but food, electronic, paper, and none reusable materials are unsustainable to the environment.
Saucedo, whose DEAP raises awareness about plastic pollution and littering in Qatar, added that people need to understand the concept of waste and how harmful it can be to the environment.
“It is imperative because people do what they see, and then that becomes part of the culture. So if it’s socially acceptable not to be waste conscious, and if regulations aren’t being enforced, people will have less incentive not to litter the place because it’s already dirty,” Saucedo said speaking to The Peninsula.
Established through a United Nations General Assembly resolution that followed other resolutions on waste, the International Day of Zero Waste is jointly facilitated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
According to the UN, the world generates more than two billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, of which 45% is mismanaged. Without urgent action, municipal solid waste will double to almost 4 billion tonnes annually by 2050. Around 931 million tonnes of food is lost or wasted, and up to 14 million tonnes of plastic waste enters aquatic ecosystems. As part of its Recipe of Change programme, the UN is also raising awareness on food waste to trigger behavioural change under its Sustainable Ramadan campaign.
The State of Food Waste in West Asia report states that during Ramadan, 30-50% of the food prepared in Saudi Arabia is thrown away. According to the report, these shares reach 25% in Qatar and 40% in the United Arab Emirates.” Qatar, on the other hand, generates about eight million metric tonnes of solid waste, of which 48% is from the construction sector, followed by bulk waste (34%) and domestic waste (17%).
“When people visit the beaches around popular places, it is pristine and beautiful. But when we take them to other beaches in the North and the desert, an hour away from the city, we collect tonnes of trash. That shocks people. When individuals collect over 300 bottles in the desert, they ask questions about how the waste got there,” Saucedo disclosed, adding that awareness drives alongside volunteer programmes to clear public areas, beaches, deserts, and dunes are vital because they give people a ‘reality check.’ In January, Qatar’s Ministry of Municipality launched a “zero waste” competition, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, to encourage students to participate in the “zero waste” campaign and create new ways to dispose of waste, recycle and protect natural resources.
However, Saucedo said more needs to be done regarding infrastructure and partnerships with the private sector and civil society. Saucedo added that entrepreneurs could also take advantage of the situation and create a thriving hub.
“There’s a lot of overlap with government and private sector because I see many opportunities for entrepreneurs to enter the circular economy on a large scale. There’s a huge opportunity to fill the gaps in certain industries Qatar doesn’t have. The government could give some incentives or have some programmes to stimulate that industry sector,” he added.
The International Day of Zero Waste aims to bring the impacts of waste to the world’s attention and encourage global action at all levels to reduce pollution and waste. Promoting zero-waste initiatives can help advance all the goals and targets in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including SDGs 11 and 12. These goals address all forms of waste, including food loss and waste, natural resource extraction and electronic waste.
