The recent Waste Management sectoral study by the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (IPA Qatar) demonstrated that the waste management market in Qatar is supported by nine existing waste management facilities and a government-led commitment towards the circular use of materials to promote economic growth, while preserving and enhancing natural capital.
Qatar's national environment and climate strategy aims to close and rehabilitate unsanitary landfills and achieve a 15 percent material recycling rate of municipal waste. Its ambitious goals also create tangible opportunities across the waste management value chain.
IPA Qatar's study pointed out that Cities in the GCC, Qatars capital Doha included, are the most urbanized, containing 85 percent of the regions population today, a proportion that is expected to rise to 90 percent by 2050. In its sustainable planning, the country has invested in the construction of circular cities, Lusail and Msheireb Downtown Doha, as blueprints for sustainable living where pneumatic waste collection, sewage treatment plants, district cooling, centralized facilities and GSAS are the rule, not the exception.
Waste Management sectoral study said that building out this sustainable vision will be imperative in the coming decades. While international and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a pivotal role in coordinating and helping circular practices reach scale, corporate investors will take on a central role in expanding the industry. Diverting investments towards sustainable waste management will have a multiplier effect in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With it come direct and indirect economic benefits, from industrial waste accounting for the largest revenue share of global waste with 50 percent, to the long-term implications of environmental protection with a large part of the worlds economic output depending upon the viability of natural systems.
The study said that because of population growth and industrialization, more and more of the precious space on the planet will be taken up by waste, which is expected to grow to a whopping 3.4 billion tons globally by 2050. However, it continued by pointing out that this enormous number also holds immense opportunity for sustainable investments in waste management and technological advancements under a circular economy, especially that the region produces about 6 percent of the world's waste with prevalent disposal methods ranging from open dumps and landfills to recycling facilities. (QNA)