Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Science, Qatar University, P.O. Box: 2713, Doha, Qatar.
Waste Management (FEWS) Program, Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, P.O. Box: 2713, Doha, Qatar.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Jul 15;830:154745. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154745. Epub 2022 Mar 23.
Global plastic waste production has increased dramatically in recent years, both globally and regionally, having a multitude of adverse effects on the environment and human health. However, little attention has been directed to this problem in the Arabian Gulf region. This study aims to delineate and map the status of the plastic waste problem in the Gulf Co-operation Countries (GCC), with a focus on Qatar. The study focuses on the plastic waste in the marine environment, depicting the different types, sizes and shapes of plastic particles found in the Arabian Gulf. To depict the flow of plastic waste, a generic material flow diagram was built using a material flow analysis software named STAN, in which transfer coefficients were assigned based on existing scientific literature and estimations built on data from local industries and recycling facilities. The recovery and recycling efforts that have been made by the different GCC countries, in efforts to reduce plastic waste and minimize the risk of plastic on the environment are analyzed, too. Our analyses indicate that approximately 11.9 Mt ± 595.395 Kt of plastic waste is produced annually in the GCC region, of which only 23 ± 15% is recycled, indicating that improvements are yet to be made in the recovery, recycling and treatment of plastics in the region. However, in Qatar, a higher percentage of plastics (40 ± 10%) is recovered-recycled with efforts to treat plastics and reuse it to generate energy.
近年来，全球和地区的塑料废物产量都大幅增加，对环境和人类健康造成了许多负面影响。然而，阿拉伯海湾地区对这个问题的关注甚少。本研究旨在描述和绘制海湾合作委员会（GCC）地区塑料废物问题的现状，重点是卡塔尔。本研究侧重于海洋环境中的塑料废物，描绘了在阿拉伯海湾发现的不同类型、大小和形状的塑料颗粒。为了描述塑料废物的流动，使用名为 STAN 的物质流分析软件构建了一个通用物质流程图，其中根据现有科学文献和基于当地工业和回收设施数据的估算值分配了转移系数。还分析了不同 GCC 国家为减少塑料废物和降低塑料对环境的风险而做出的回收和再利用努力。我们的分析表明，GCC 地区每年生产约 1190 万吨±595.395 千吨塑料废物，其中只有 23±15%被回收，这表明该地区在塑料的回收、再利用和处理方面仍有待改进。然而，在卡塔尔，通过处理塑料并将其再利用来产生能源，塑料（40±10%）的回收率更高。
