The state of Kuwait is currently experiencing a sustained building boom, both in terms of housing construction and the implementation of major public projects. Waste from the construction industry thus tends to increase, while space for landfills is limited in the city-state. Nonetheless, in Kuwait, much of the construction waste is sent to landfill and only a small proportion is transferred to treatment plants, where mainly mineral and metallic recycling fractions are produced.

Research into waste from the construction industry

Fraunhofer UMSICHT's detailed research into waste from the construction industry was initiated by a workshop, which on the one hand served to train interviewers and on the other hand was intended to inform Kuwaiti authorities in general about possible waste treatment procedures. The participants were not only the Kuwaiti team and representatives of the »Environmental Public Authority Kuwait (EPA)«, but also representatives of the authorities »Kuwait Municipality (KM)« and »Ministry of Public Works (MPW)«, which are among others responsible for the issue of construction licenses as well as the planning and implementation of public construction projects. Both are important contacts for the UMSICHT team, who are involved during the data collection phase as well as the strategy development for the future handling of construction waste. The participants were particularly interested in the development of quality standards for recycled building materials.

Interviews with building rubble recyclers and construction companies

Following the workshop, Fraunhofer UMSICHT staff, together with the Kuwaiti project team and representatives of the client EPA, conducted interviews with construction waste recyclers and construction companies to gather information on current waste management. A total of 13 interviews will be conducted in this sector to gain an insight into different types of construction projects and to include different project dimensions and construction stages in the analysis. Sightings and laboratory analyses of the waste stream will start in September 2018 and will then provide a more accurate picture of possible future recycling routes.