Analysis and overview of industrial solid waste management in Kuwait

The purpose of this paper is to determine the amount of different kinds of solid wastes produced, segregated, collected, stored, transported and disposed off by the different industries/business in Kuwait.

Available industry information along with the use of monitoring data from a waste management system were used to analyze the generation, type and composition of industrial waste. Industrial activities were classified as follows: crude oil and chemical products industry; food and beverage industry, textiles and leather industry, wood industry, paper and printing industry, non‐metallic mineral products; metal industry and other industries. The wastes generated were classified according to their composition.

Kuwait has more than 5,000 industries and as a result more than 47,169 tons of industrial wastes are produced every year in Kuwait. It was observed that paper and cardboard, plastic, wood, and metals were the most common types of waste, mainly generated from packaging (45 percent of the total volume), as well as material used in containers and for wrapping products.

In the management of these industrial solid wastes, it was observed in most cases they were disposed of by dumping, and very rarely did businesses resort to reuse, recycling or valorization.

The paper systematically assesses the obstacles in the existing industrial solid waste management system in the different industries and businesses in Kuwait. In addition, it examines the legislation set by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in Kuwait. Subsequently, recommendations and improvements are suggested.