DOHA: The Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with the Internal Security Force (Lakhwiya), is taking legal action against those that litter in public places.
Thanks to these measures and others to increase awareness, the number of registered violations of people throwing garbage in public areas has decreased from 201 in 2011, to 120 this year.
Salih Hassan Al Kawari, from the Directorate of Nature Reserves-Private Engineering Office, said: “There is a significant reduction in the number of violations compared to last year, and it comes as a result of the increasing awareness of environment protection and efforts made by the Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with Lakhwiya, to monitor and take action against those who are littering due to lack of awareness.”
Nevertheless, most of the violations take place when people go for picnics, known locally as Al Kashtat, in areas like Aludayd Al Khor beach, where people leave waste on the sand despite having containers there.
Users of Fuwairit beach, located 80km north of Doha, have also complained about the rubbish beach-goers leave behind after spending the day or camping overnight.
This beach is a common weekend destination for expatriate families that park their cars right next to the sea.
Visitors are worried about the cleanliness of the beach, with numerous plastic bottles, plates and bags, among other items, left behind.
Linda, a Swedish national that has lived in Doha for one year, visits the beach every weekend with her husband and two year old daughter.
She told The Peninsula that she is very concerned and always picks up the garbage of her family’s and friends, taking it to the nearest bin, and also collects the litter she finds in the sand.
She added that “this beach is a beautiful spot to relax and enjoy the tranquillity outside the noisy city.
“But it is very sad how such wonderful scenery is not taken care of by users. My daughter found a piece of glass while playing in the sand the other day, she could have cut herself”, she stated.
Elke, a German national, also a user of Fuwairit beach, stated that “all kinds of things can be found, even aluminium containers of a portable barbecue and glass bottles. It’s really sad, especially since absolutely everyone has their car right there to take any rubbish away with them”.
The Peninsula
