1mn Tyres at Waste Management Facility

Besides treating 2,300 tonnes of domestic wastes, the Domestic Solid Waste Management Centre (DSWMC) is also home to 1mn old tyres occupying a certain area at the 300 hectare facility.

DSWMC general manager Oon Ee Heng said they had stopped taking more since the allotted lot has reached its maximum capacity.

He noted that it was safe to stock 1mn tyres at an open area, with appropriate measures to prevent fire.

He also disclosed that the area for tyres had rooms for expansion. However, the establishment of an 8-tonne per hour plant for recycling tyres will cost about $20mn. He estimates it as around 1.3mn tyres per year – an average of one tyre per person a year (benchmark).

Two other smaller (unlined) landfills also operate at Al Owaina and Rawdat Rasheed for disposal of construction and demolition wastes.

The DSWMC is operated by Singaporean company Keppel Seghers which was awarded two contracts by the Ministry of Municipality Affairs and Agriculture in Qatar (now known as the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning) to design and build four waste transfer stations and one integrated DSWMC and to maintain it for 20 years.

The facility is comprised of state-of-the-art waste sorting and recycling facilities, an Anaerobic Digestion composting plant, a 1,500-tonne-per-day incineration plant, and a sanitary landfill satisfying the most advanced standards in the world.

Keppel Seghers uses “dano drum” in treating mixed domestic wastes, separating recyclable materials from organic wastes.

The entire process of waste treatment can help recover 90% of metals and 50% plastics for recycling.

Organic waste is sent to the Anaerobic Digestion and Composting plant to produce soil enhancers for agriculture use and landscaping.

The remaining non-recyclable waste is sent to an advanced and fully controlled incineration process to generate clean energy.

Heng also expects wastes to grow due to the rapidly increasing population in Qatar.

“I know that the rate of population growth in this country is very fast, one can think what will happen in the next couple of years to come,” he added.

Waste Growth Rate is about 10% fuelled by rapid development, high GDP, rapid population growth and increasing living standards.

Domestic waste is collected by General Clean Project managed by Q-Kleen which sends it to the four transfer stations.