Recycling solutions in Qatar
Initiative description: Identifying available repurposing, sorting, recycling and composting options and markets for all key materials likely to be collected during the preparation, staging and post-tournament phases, and establishing connections with organisations that can provide appropriate use and treatment solutions for such materials in Qatar, as well as generate new related products.
When Qatar won the bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2022™ in 2010 there were limited options to repurpose and recycle waste materials in Qatar. Qatar’s commitment to delivering a sustainable tournament, along with Qatar’s National Vision 2030, provided the impetus to accelerate investment in local infrastructure and a new culture of repurposing and recycling.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) worked closely with local recyclers and the Ministry of Municipality to set up a system that delivered excellent recycling rates for the tournament and left a legacy of improved recycling infrastructure in Qatar. To achieve this, the expected types of waste and respective quantities to be generated during the tournament and thereafter were estimated with the help of experts, and local solutions were identified and developed for the main types of waste.
For example, as the composting efforts throughout the hosting of the FIFA Club World Cup™ and FIFA Arab Cup™ were increased, tournament organisers worked closely with the local industry sector. Local capability and capacity to manufacture composting equipment increased along with improved expertise for operations. During the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, a total of 30 locally manufactured composting units were used. Many are now being utilised across other locations in Qatar.
The table below outlines the types of waste and the reuse/recycling solution in Qatar that was used where possible. Any waste that could not be recycled was utilised in Qatar’s waste-to-energy plant to produce energy.
For information on reuse and recycling rates, please visit the waste management at tournament sites web page of this report.
Of course, having the recycling infrastructure in place is only part of the story. The application of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Sustainable Sourcing Code which required suppliers to reduce waste and provide recyclable/compostable products, ideally made from recycled content, drove demand for recyclable and recycled material. For more information about sustainable sourcing, please visit the sustainable procurement web page of this report.
Closing the loop on PET plastic
The ideal scenario is that material is continually made from recycled content that is recyclable. To this aim, the SC facilitated a project to find solutions for recycled PET plastic in food and beverage containers. Initiated in February 2022, this project drew industry experts together to explore gaps and opportunities, and a clear roadmap was established.
One gap was the lack of regulations. As a result, the project facilitated changes in Qatari law that permitted food grade packaging made from recycled plastic to be used in Qatar in line with the GCC Standardization Organization’s GSO 2454:2021 regulation. This subsequently created a new demand for recycled plastic material.
One opportunity was the lack of capacity to recycle PET and rPET back into food grade plastic. A local recycler consequently invested in plant and process upgrades to enable this process to take place in Qatar.
At tournament time, 8 million plastic beverage bottles from Coca-Cola’s range of beverages across official FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ venues were produced locally from recycled plastic (rPET). This marked the first time Coca-Cola used 100% rPET bottles at a mega-sporting event.