Doha - Qatar has begun construction of an integrated waste processing plant that is expected to be ready by 2010, according to the Director of the public hygiene project at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture, Safar Mubarak Al Shafi (pictured).
"Work on the plant, estimated to cost around QR4bn, is being carried out by a high-profile international company in Mesaieed," the official said.
Speaking to Al Sharq, Al Shafi said one of the main obstacles to maintaining public hygiene was that restaurants and shops usually dispose of their waste after the garbage collection is over.
The other obstacles include people putting waste outside garbage bins or filling the bins with big items, like cardboard boxes, which should be placed outside, said the director of the project. "This creates an accumulation of waste in some streets and tarnishes the city's image".
With the population growing, the number of garbage bins has been increased to 1,100, Al Shafi said, while urging the public to cooperate with the municipal department to help make the country cleaner and healthier as well as prevent the growth of harmful insects and unpleasant conditions.
The public hygiene project, Al Shafi said, provides its services free of charge to the government sector and families and at a low cost to the private sector.
The government, he added, had been spending millions of riyals to keep the city clean but poor civic habits were posing a problem. He said that the authority concerned had inspection teams working to detect violators.
© The Peninsula 2008
