By Nebal Snan

KUWAIT: The Environment Public Authority is planning to concentrate its efforts in transitioning Kuwait’s economy to a circular model to protect the environment, said the authority’s Acting Director General Samira Al-Kandari. “We must recycle plastic waste and reduce the use of plastic due to its dangerous effects on people’s health, the environment, ecological systems and world economy,” Kandari told reporters during an event held to mark World Environment Day.

In a circular economy, markets give incentives for reusing products, rather than scrapping them and then extracting new resources, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. “In such an economy, all forms of waste, such as clothes, scrap metal and obsolete electronics, are returned to the economy or used more efficiently.

This can provide a way to not only protect the environment, but use natural resources more wisely, develop new sectors, create jobs and develop new capabilities,” reads the organization’s website. According to the authority, the amount of plastic waste produced annually is estimated at 314 tons, 13 percent of which is solid waste.

Kandari said eight percent of solid waste in the country gets recycled. She said the authority will focus on supporting “technology, reusing, manufacturing and recycling, along with long-term behavioral change that must be taken to eradicate plastic pollution effectively”. As part of its efforts to promote recycling, said Kandari, the authority launched a media campaign in February to raise awareness of the importance of moving away from consuming single-use plastic products in coordination with NGOs and the public and private sectors.

Idea long in the works

The idea of a circular economy has been on the government’s agenda for some time. A report published by Kuwait Public Policy Center in 2019 outlines a plan to prepare a research paper identifying “key barriers and enablers” to adopting circular economy business practices. The paper will use input from literature, discussions and an analysis of circular business models used by small and medium enterprises.

“Applying circular economy principles to waste management in Kuwait requires change across all stages, from production, use and reuse, recycling and disposal. It is a whole-of-system approach that requires accounting of the full cost and lifecycle of materials,” the report reads. The report cites creating new industries and markets and leading to new revenue streams and the creation of jobs as some of the model’s benefits.

“Less waste, more recycling and recovery means less use of landfills, and consequently, reduced environmental impacts and lower landfill operation costs including reduced rehabilitation costs including reduced rehabilitation costs,” says the report. The center gave the research paper “medium” priority and said it would be ready by 2024 through partnership between Kuwait Municipality and “a leading global economic institution”.