Qatar generates significant amounts of municipal and industrial waste, with the majority ending up in landfills. However, the government is taking proactive measures to divert waste from disposal sites and investing in projects that create value from waste. Though challenges in implementation and infrastructure remain, the country is moving in the right direction, say waste management experts who spoke to Waste & Recycling, highlighting the nation's progress and the road ahead.

The data on Qatar’s annual waste generation and the recycling rate varies. While some reports suggest a generation of over 2.5 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) annually, with a per capita rate of approximately 2.5 kg per day, others put the number as 1.25 million tons, with the per capita share of 1.3kg per day. The Qatar Waste Management Market Size and Share Analysis study shows that currently over 50% of waste in Qatar goes to landfills. There are sources that put this number as 88%.

According to Andrei Berghianu, Principal - Sustainability, Roland Berger Middle East, only 12% of MSW is diverted, with 9% processed through the Domestic Solid Waste Management Center (DSWMC) via waste-to-energy, anaerobic digestion, and recycling, and 3% handled by private-sector recyclers. Recycling initiatives remain limited but continue to expand, supported by private-sector participation in material recovery and processing, he added.

Neemat Abou Cham, Principal Consultant, Waste Strategy at Ricardo, who has extensive experience across the Middle East, observed,“Historically, much of this waste has ended up in landfills, a practice that is increasingly seen as unsustainable due to the country's limited land availability and growing environmental concerns.” However, she noted that the country has made substantial progress in waste diversion through various initiatives.

The Ministry of Municipality introduced a national waste sorting program, providing recycling bins to 80% of households in Doha. The collected recyclables are processed at the Mesaieed Recycling Hub, which currently houses 11 recycling factories, with plans for expansion, she explained.

Mohammed Riyaz, Senior Manager – PPPs and Investments, Sia Partners, also pointed out the positive trends. Qatar ranks 21st in the Total Circular Economy Index, reflecting the government's efforts to regulate the waste management sector, enhance economic sustainability by attracting investment and increasing private sector participation, and reduce waste production through best practices in resource recovery. Qatar is promoting public awareness to encourage reuse and recycling, fostering research and innovation, and strengthening workforce capabilities through improved skills, competencies, and knowledge in the sector, he noted.

The General Cleanliness Department oversees municipal waste collection and processing. The DSWMC plays a central role in managing MSW, integrating waste-to-energy (WtE) conversion and material recovery to increase landfill diversion rates.

The DSWMC in Mesaieed converts waste into energy. It generated over 245,000 megawatt-hours of clean electricity in 2024. Additionally, Qatar has imposed regulatory measures to reduce waste at the source, including a ban on singleuse plastic bags in 2023, supported by inspections and awareness campaigns. There is an increased focus by the Qatari government to reduce more than 90% of the waste from landfills in the next five years.

Qatar’s National Development Strategy aims to increase the recycling rate across all waste streams to 38%. This target extends beyond MSW to include construction and demolition (C&D) waste, industrial waste, and other recoverable materials.

“Progress towards this goal has been uneven across different waste streams,” said Berghianu explaining, “While CDW processing and material recovery have increased, Qatar is still in the early stages of scaling up its circular economy initiatives. The full impact of these efforts remains to be seen as regulatory frameworks evolve and new infrastructure is developed.” WtE plays a role in reducing landfill volumes, he underlined.

According to Abou Cham, the NDS goal was not met due to the ambitious nature of the targets and limitations in waste management infrastructure. “The revised NDS 2017-2022 set a more achievable goal of recycling 15% of solid waste by 2022. Recent data suggests that Qatar has significantly exceeded this revised target, with the current recycling rate reaching approximately 54% across household, commercial, and industrial waste.”

The country’s long-term goal is to reach a 95% recycling rate by 2030, aligning with Qatar National Vision 2030. “To achieve this, the government is expanding its waste sorting-at-source programs, increasing public awareness efforts, and encouraging greater privatesector participation in waste recycling industries. The development of Al-Afjah city in Mesaieed as a recycling hub, with over 51 allocated plots for recycling factories, is a key initiative supporting this vision,” she noted.

Policy and regulatory landscape

Qatar has established a comprehensive regulatory framework for waste management, primarily guided by Law No. 30 of 2002 (Environmental Protection Law). This law serves as the foundation for environmental regulations, prohibiting illegal dumping and mandating proper waste treatment and disposal in line with global sustainability standards. In addition to this, Ministerial Decision No. 143 of 2022 specifically addresses plastic waste by restricting the use of plastic bags. This regulation complements the "No for Plastic" campaign, a government-led initiative that encourages alternatives to single-use plastics.

Berghianu highlighted that while these laws provide a foundation, certain gaps remain in implementation and enforcement. “One key challenge is segregation at the source, as current regulations do not require a comprehensive multi-bin system for separating waste.

The Zero Waste campaign has been introduced to encourage better waste practices and investment in recycling, but enforcement mechanisms are not yet fully established for existing buildings and businesses,” he pointed out. On an international level, Qatar has signed and ratified the Basel Convention, ensuring compliance with global regulations for the movement and disposal of hazardous waste.

Riyaz drew our attention to a draft law on waste treatment and recycling approved by the Cabinet in 2019 but never saw the light of day. It outlined regulations on waste classification, material recyclability, circulation controls, and processes for management, processing, recycling, and disposal—both domestically and internationally. “However, possibly due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including reduced parliamentary sittings, the draft law has yet to be passed.”

There are also regulatory gaps in sorting and treatment. Berghianu noted that no specific framework exists for MSW sorting facilities, including technology standards, licensing, or operational guidelines, which can lead to inefficiencies in material recovery. “DSWMC in Mesaieed incorporates waste-to-energy, mechanical sorting, and composting, but there is no dedicated regulation for MSW incineration, limiting further development of wasteto-energy solutions.”

Trade regulations further restrict the circulation of recyclables within Qatar, as MSW trade is limited to exports only, reducing the potential for a local recycling market and increasing reliance on landfills, he underscored.

Encouraging PPP model

Abou Cham drew our attention to Qatar’s adoption of the PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP) model. This approach includes the privatisation of waste transfer stations, allowing private sector involvement to improve operational efficiency and attract investments. “Furthermore, the government is developing a new engineered landfill, designed with environmental safeguards to minimise groundwater contamination and methane emissions. These efforts indicate a shift towards modern waste management infrastructure.”

Challenges galore

Despite Qatar’s efforts to advance waste management, three key gaps remain, Berghianu said. They are insufficient treatment capacity, ineffective waste segregation, and regulatory fragmentation. These challenges are interconnected, limiting landfill diversion and resource recovery. Addressing them will require expanding processing capacity, enforcing structured segregation, and strengthening regulations, he noted. “The absence of operational material recovery facilities and fully developed WtE plants restricts recovery. Scaling up treatment infrastructure and incentivizing private-sector investment will be critical to improving diversion rates.”

“Regulatory gaps limit progress, particularly in waste sorting enforcement, scavenging control, and processing standards. Fragmented collection systems between municipal and private operators create inefficiencies. A clearer regulatory framework, coupled with financial incentives for recycling and landfill diversion, would help streamline operations and drive investment in sustainable waste solutions.”

In addition to infrastructure limitations and regulatory enforcement gaps, Abou Cham highlighted that public awareness and participation is lacking. “Many residents are either unaware of proper waste segregation practices or lack convenient access to recycling services.” She acknowledged that Qatar generates 4.5 million tonnes of C&D waste annually yet recycling efforts in this sector are not fully optimised. More initiatives are needed to integrate recycled construction materials into new projects.

Rapid population growth and urbanization have led to increased waste generation, exacerbated by a high reliance on single-use products, said Riyaz. “Harsh climate conditions, coupled with the sector’s dependence on low-skilled expatriate labor, add to operational difficulties. The COVID-19 pandemic has further impacted the sector, increasing medical waste and altering waste composition, particularly with a surge in packaging waste from online deliveries,” he noted

New projects and initiatives

Qatar is making major investments in infrastructure to enhance waste management, highlighted Abu Cham listing the contributions of Mesaieed Domestic Solid Waste Management Center in waste to energy; the AlAfjah recycling hub in Mesaieed, the privatisation of waste transfer stations and AI-driven waste sorting being introduced to improve efficiency and accuracy in material recovery.

"A key component of the country’s aim to increase the recycling rate is the allocation of 153 land plots to the private sector for waste recycling projects, covering materials such as oil, medical waste, wood, metal, electronics, plastic, tyres, batteries, construction waste, organic cement, glass, and textiles," said Berghianu. To further drive progress, the Ministry of Municipality has awarded waste management contracts that include the privatization of waste transfer stations, construction of a new engineered landfill, rehabilitation of old landfills, and operation of a waste sorting station specializing in recyclable material recovery. Additionally, cleaning operations in the northern region are being outsourced to private companies, he added.

Investment opportunities

Qatar’s shift toward a circular economy presents major opportunities in fleet and bin optimization, treatment infrastructure and smart waste solutions, Berghianu said. Recycling infrastructure is expanding, particularly for key commodities categories (i.e., PET, HDPE and mixed plastic waste) for high-efficiency sorting and material recovery investments. Smart waste management (i.e, AI-powered sorting, real-time tracking, and blockchainbased traceability) offers additional potential for tech-driven solutions. With government-backed incentives and regulatory shifts favoring waste recovery, businesses that invest early in scalable treatment infrastructure, advanced sorting, and circular economy solutions will gain a competitive edge in Qatar’s evolving sustainability sector, he said. Growing demand for energy recovery solutions is driving investment in waste treatment projects, while the expansion of Al-Afjah as a recycling hub opens avenues in plastics, electronics, and construction waste recycling, Abu Cham remarked. “The adoption of AI and IoT in waste management further creates opportunities for smart waste collection and monitoring. Businesses and investors can capitalize on these trends by partnering with government initiatives, investing in technologydriven solutions, and leveraging financial incentives.”

Riyaz highlighted that emerging opportunities in critical metals recovery from waste are gaining traction, particularly in electronics (indium, gallium, rare earth elements), renewable energy (neodymium, dysprosium, lithium), and automotive (platinum group metals).

Businesses can capitalise on the rising demand for recycled materials by investing in cost-effective recovery solutions and high-quality processing. This trend underscores the need for improved recycling infrastructure, public awareness, and circular economy initiatives.