Kuwait Weighs Fees to Reform Waste Policy

The proposed fees are directed at all the waste generators in the city with the aim of enhancing recycling and environmental responsibility.

Kuwait is considering the idea of adding service charges to both the private and commercial businesses as a wider aspect of the reforms in recycling and waste management. This project, which was proposed by the Municipal Council member Alia Al-Farsi, would impose the waste removal, waste treatment and environmental cleanup costs on the businesses, but not on households.

This proposal will be based on the idea of the polluter pays principle as stipulated in the Kuwait Municipality law and available regulations on waste management. Al-Farsi has proposed a thorough technical and legal review to establish charging per ton to define execution and use online tracking tools to manage waste collection vehicles as another way of increasing control.

The government claimed that the action would enhance accountability of the private waste generator firms and promote waste segregation and more effective recycling and waste management processes. The budget that would be generated by the charges suggested would be valid for enhancing waste management facilities, restoring ravaged land, and boosting the recycling sector around the country.

Kuwait's environment is under increasing pressure due to the high rate of urbanization and massive development projects. Policymakers think that the suggested framework can assist in overcoming these issues because it can bring national recycling and waste management systems to the international best practices.

The plan is still in consideration and the authorities would later declare the next course of action after technical and legal analyses have been done.