Impact of Changing Lifestyle on Municipal Solid Waste Generation in Residential Areas: Case Study of Qatar

Abstract

Qatar currently has one of the highest per capita municipal waste generation in the world. The continuous increase in household wastes, and overfilled landfills threaten available spaces for urban development programmes in the country. Consequently, this study examined the lifestyle factors that have led to high municipal solid waste generation in the country. Data were gathered from both primary and secondary sources. Considering the sociocultural factors in the country, the convenience sampling technique was adopted. Thus, questionnaires were administered via online survey. At the end of the survey, 68 responses were received, and utilized for the study. The analysis of Data used the descriptive and inferential statistical tools via the SPSS 24 software. Descriptive tools used are frequency tables, bar-diagrams, line graphs, pie charts, averages, and relative importance index while Pearson Correlation was used to make inferences. The study observed a direct relationship between the increasing population in Qatar and the high municipal solid waste generation; and that 50% of the respondents have household sizes of between 4-7 persons. Over 90% of the respondents have university education. The RII result of 3.514 out of 5 showed that kitchen waste accounts for over 70% of the household wastes in Qatar. This is followed in rank by nylon wastes while plastic wastes ranked third. Other waste components are paper and cardboard, glass, and wood and furniture. The calculated average daily waste generated per capita is 1.135 kg. The study gathered that the municipalities, at no cost to the residents, mostly collect household wastes and most of the respondents do not sort their household wastes before disposal. With a Pearson Correlation coefficient value of 0.305 at 0.05 significant level, the study indicated a moderate positive relationship between household size and waste generated from the households. Other socio-economic lifestyle variables such as income level, education factor, and age did not prove to have such significant relationship with municipal solid waste in the area. The study recommended that in addition to coordinated sensitization programmes of waste sorting from the source, the government should set a weight limit of 7kg/household per day. Any household whose wastes exceed this set level should be charged for per kilogram on the extra weight at the end of each month.