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Qatar Green Building Council officially launches ecological interest-group.
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| 28 Nov 2011 |
In line with the environment pillar in Qatar’s National Development Strategy 2011-2016, the Solid Waste Interest Group (SWIG), one of the interest groups under Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) was officially inducted into the organisational framework in a ceremony titled ‘Waste Not Want Not - Solid Waste Practices in Qatar’ held at the InterContinental hotel in Doha.
With senior representation from a broad range of companies, SWIG is involved in all aspects of solid waste in the built environment. This interest group brings together environmental experts and the broader public, in a program of national dialogue to deliver sustainable solutions for solid waste management.
Dr. Alex Amato, Chairman of the Research and Innovation Committee at QGBC commented, “Irreparable environmental damage is one of the consequences of ineffective solid waste policies, associated with unsustainable construction techniques. One of QGBC-SWIG’s aims is to help companies formulate and implement comprehensive solid waste management strategies through collaborative research, education and practical action. Through the enlightening presentations this evening, we aim to showcase examples of best practice in solid waste management in three key industrial sectors; practices that we hope others would emulate.”
The official induction ceremony of the interest group was ushered in with presentations on local success stories in the solid waste management frontier.
Dr. Sarah Clarke, Coordinator at QGBC-SWIG emceed the event, while Dr. Alexander Jovcic, Waste Management Coordinator, Qatar Shell GTL Plant spoke about initiatives on the subject at the facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City.
Enrico Balugani, Technical Manager, Qatar Plastic Products Co. shared plastic production techniques designed to reduce waste to near zero. Abdulrahman Khalil Jawhari, Vice President, Special Projects at The Pearl-Qatar spoke about the state-of-the-art technology used on the island to dispose of solid-waste safely and recycling initiatives
Following the successful integrated dog-walk and beach cleanup effort supported by Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning – Beaches and Island Division for the protection of the mangroves at Al Wakra on 18th November 2011, QGBC-SWIG member Ronnie Anderson, Business Development & Qatar Branch Manager, AMEC Black Cat presented the findings of an analysis of the solid waste collected at the cleanup, reporting that the majority came from the built environment.
Fawaz Bader Alsada from the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning – Beaches and Island Division commented, “We are delighted to be part of such an initiative and support the work of the good example QGBC-SWIG has set in this respect. Through QGBC’s guidance in educating the public about the origins of the solid waste and green-building practices in waste management, we aim to prevent future degradation of Qatar’s precious natural resources.”
Through this effort, more than 2,400kg of waste was collected, a majority of it which was industrial and construction waste at 27% and 51% respectively. The waste also contained extremely hazardous materials such as used engine oil, car batteries, spent gun cartridges and a corroded canister containing phosphorous.
Also, the Education Committee chaired by Mohamed Jaber, Head of Electrical Engineering, KEO , is driving sustainability programmes industry-wide through imminent training initiatives in the pipeline including a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) training workshop between the 12th and 14th of December 2011 and a Qatar Sustainability Assessment System (QSAS) workshop from January 23rd- 25th 2012.
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