Waste Recycling Share Falls to 18pc

TDT | Manama

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More than four-fifths of Bahrain’s collected municipal waste was buried last year, after recycling fell by almost a third despite a small drop in the total amount of rubbish collected, new government figures show.

Municipal waste collected in 2024 stood at 1.405 million tonnes, down from 1.419m tonnes in 2023, a fall of about 1pc.

The drop is sharper against 2017, when waste topped 2.14m tonnes. Since then, the total has fallen by about 737,000 tonnes, or nearly 34pc.

Household rubbish remained the largest source. It reached 595,200 tonnes last year, making up above 42pc of all collected waste.

Waste from economic activity rose to 364,200 tonnes, up by above 30pc on the year before. It overtook building waste as the second-largest source of municipal waste.

Building waste fell from about 371,000 tonnes in 2023 to 267,900 tonnes in 2024, a drop of nearly 28pc.

The steepest fall was in recycling.

Recycled waste dropped from 353,600 tonnes in 2023 to 254,400 tonnes last year, a loss of about 99,000 tonnes in one year. Its share of all collected waste fell from about 25pc to around 18pc.

Landfilled waste moved the other way. It rose to above 1.137m tonnes in 2024, up from about 1.047m tonnes the year before, an increase of 8.6pc.

Muharraq municipal councillor Abdulqader Al Sayed said environmental work could not rest on government schemes alone.

He said it needed public habits built on protecting the environment, cutting waste and using resources with care.

Mr Al Sayed said stronger awareness could help reduce rubbish, support reuse and recycling, and protect public places.