Post-Consumer Plastics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia PDF

Keywords

PS, PET, HDPE, crushing, plastic wastes, treatment, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This paper presents data on plastic waste management and treatment at the residential compound of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Riyadh. Twenty waste containers with a capacity of 240 Liters were distributed at some strategic locations at residential compound such as the central market, mosques, and boys and girls schools to collect the plastic waste. The residents were also given a choice to have their plastic wastes ready in front of their houses to be collected on Sunday and Thursday every week. After collecting all plastic wastes, which lasted from 9 to 12 months, materials were subjected to sorting based on type. This was followed by a step of size reduction by means of crushing in order to easily measure the amounts of materials collected and sorted. The results of this study indicated that most of the plastic wastes found at KACST's residential compound were of type two (High Density Polyethylene, HDPE) at 61% weight, while type one (Polyethylene terephthalate, PET) came in second place at 34% weight. Type six (Polystyrene, PS) was found at smaller quantities, due to its rare use as a household item. The total amount of plastic wastes collected, which was at 287 kg, formed only 0.24% of the expected plastic wastes in KACST's residential compound according to the governmental statistics, and 1.15% of the expected rate for plastic food packaging waste in the compound based on the analysis of the current study. The explanation given for not matching the above expected rates for plastic waste production in the residential compound was attributed to the fact that 60% of the residents did not participate in the process of sorting and collection of waste reclamation.