Dear Doha Diary week 4


I'm just back from my weekly recycling trip to one of the only recycling facilities in Doha, or so it seems.   The lack of recycling facilities here was one of the first things I noticed and it instantly made me very uncomfortable.  In the UK we are so used to being able to recycle everything from paper to plastics, cardboard to cans, even compost our waste and I've been doing that since I can remember.  Recycling is as natural as breathing and not to be able to do it is psychological suffocation...... impossible to tolerate.





So, rather than throw my plastic bottles in the bin, I kept them until I could find a way of recycling them.  And do they use alot of them?  Oh my goodness......particularly at work - they buy bulk loads of little bottles of mineral water and the kitchen guys hand them around to the offices all day - they must get through hundreds every day.  And there are no facilities for paper recycling.  An American colleague of mine enquired into getting a contractor to provide recycling facilities and they quoted £3,000 per month to supply bins and a collection.


Unfortunately, given all the other change going on at Al Jazeera, this is not a priority for them at the moment so is a hard sell.



But I decided I must at least do something on an individual level as a start.  So I researched recycling facilities in Doha on the internet and came across Sustainable Qatar - an independent volunteer based organisation to promote environmental awareness within the Qatar community.  On their site, they list just two placed for recycling - Katara Cultural Village which is in West Bay, far from my hotel, and Alrmailah Family Park, opposite the corniche, about 40 minutes walk from my hotel.  So every Saturday morning, I get up early to avoid the heat, pack all my recycling into my rucksack and bag and head off to the park to recycle it.

The great thing is that they dont just have recycling bins, but there is also a charity bin there too.  And Ive seen more of these in other locations along the Corniche, so there are some promising signs!




So far, the count is 72 individual items including 44 plastic bottles, 19 misc plastic containers, 3 cans and 1 egg box, plus a few other bits and pieces!


The first couple of times, i looked inside the bins and it looked like I was the only one using them, but today the plastics bin was almost half full!!  My challenge will be taking that walk in the hot summer months when the temperature creeps up towards 50 degrees.  Ive been told that its not possible to even stand outside, let alone walk 40 minutes!....  Well I will cross that bridge when it comes........ as my hotel manager so sinisterly put it yesterday, "...we are waiting for the pizza oven to come!!"



Comments

  1. Unknown18 August 2015 at 23:36

    Do you think it is still there? Tia

    ReplyDelete
  2. PaulineC22 August 2015 at 08:28

    Hi Rico
    Sadly, its not there at the moment because they're doing some renovations to Rumailah Park. Sadly, The Museum of Islamic Art has a park cafe which recycles a small amount of waste - but really their recycle bins are only for the cafe so they're small. I do go there and take my recycling sometimes. Other than that, I haven't found anywhere else!! Its not exactly top of the priorities here, it seems!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mr Appliance15 January 2020 at 20:15

    Excellent tips. Really useful stuff .Never had an idea about this, will look for more of such informative posts from your side... Good job...Keep it up
    “Washing Machine Repair in Dubai”

    ReplyDelete
  4. lcrenovation15 September 2020 at 22:41

    I just want to let you know that I just check out your site and I find it very interesting and informative.
    https://www.lcrenovation.co.uk/loft-conversions/
    House Renovations in Brixton

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eating like a Bedouin

Image
As the end of Ramadan approached, with only 5 days to go until Eid, I decided to step up my fasting regime to see what it would feel like to echo the diet of the desert nomad, the Bedouin, who famously could survive for months on only dates and camels milk.    Sadly, unable to easily get hold of camels milk, I decided to swap it out for labeneh.... a thick strained yoghurt.  But of course, dates are available aplenty so no issue there. As is the custom during Ramadan, I'm fasting completely throughout daylight hours, having only 3 dates and a couple of table spoons of labeneh for Iftar  (the Muslim meal to break the fast) and the same before bed, accompanied only by water or black coffee and nothing else.  Muslims will usually eat their last meal, Suhoor, at dawn.... which is around 3am here in Qatar, but having experimented, I felt better having my final sustenance at around 10pm and sleeping through the night. I had already been fasting during Ramadan, so the daily fast w
Read more

My top 5 favourite things to do for free in Qatar

Image
1.  Wandering the lanes of Souq waqif My top recommendation for a visitor to Doha is a stroll through the lanes of Qatar's famous souq,  known as one of the best in the middle east. This renovation of the original, rebuilt on the same site, is actually only around 15 years old, although some of the buildings are original and you'd never spot the ones that aren't as its been done very very authentically.   It is the very place where Qatari bedouin would trade their animals, wool other goods and a place where they could buy their essentials.  It is the heart and soul of Doha and although the main street that runs through the souq is characterised by souvenir shops and shisha cafes, exploring the alleyways behind will uncover some real gems... oudh, perfumes, traditional Arabic clothing, pots and pans, scarves, bags, shoes, and oh the spice market, where you can buy every spice, pulse or nut and the best Yemeni honey on the planet! One of the best
Read more

Making a date with the local farmers of Qatar

Image
Being a small desert peninsula, Qatar doesn't have too many natural resources apart from the obvious oil and gas, especially with the pearl fishing industry long since disappeared.  But there is one thing that grows well here..... the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera to give its Latin name!!). In fact, dates have been cultivated here in Qatar since the bronze age and now there are over 1300 registered date farms in the country, producing more than 31,000 tonnes annually..... most of which are consumed by the local population with only a small proportion being exported. Last week saw the start of the Local Dates Festival, in Souq Waqif, Doha.   18 local farmers have been invited to bring their crops for sale including fresh dates, some dried dates and even saplings for those who want to try their hand at growing their own! The government is keen to showcase this locally grown super food and encourage visitors to the festival to taste, buy and learn more about the prope
Read more