The average person in Qatar produces some 1.6 kilos – or 3.5 pounds – of domestic waste each day, an amount that used to go directly into the country’s growing landfills, a Ministry of Environment official said.

Though Qatar is rolling out new sophisticated waste treatment centers to tackle this stinky problem, the government is also urging residents to do their part.

Gulf Times reports:

(The) Ministry of Environment is encouraging other players such as private companies and the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning, who handles garbage collection, to improve waste management by helping to separate domestic waste at the source.

In order for this to be done effectively, individuals will likely need to separate their own waste instead of putting it all into garbage bags…

However, (an offiical) pointed out that the ideal solution is to simply reduce the estimated 1.6kilos of domestic waste produced per capita per day.

Qatar has been talking about going green for years. One encouraging fact is that unlike with carbon emissions and water usage per capita, it is not the top waste generator in the region.

That dubious distinction goes to the UAE, where the average person generates 4.2 kilos of garbage each day.

Have you taken any steps to generate less waste while living in Qatar?