Household waste during Ramadan increases by 17,000 tons By Muntaha Al-Fadhli (with photos) KUWAIT, Nov 6 (KUNA) -- Official statistics show that in the month of Ramadan during 2000 and 2001, household waste reached 98,923 and 93,945 tons, respectively, which is an average increase of approximately 17,000 tons of household waste when compared with other months of the year, a study by the Environmental Affairs Department at the Kuwait Municipality said.
Director of Food and Municipality Health Service Monitoring Mashaan Al-Mutairi told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that this increase in household waste is attributed to the high volume of family consumption that is recorded during Ramadan.
Taking a quick look at food suppliers across the country, which total 15, 600 commercial shops registered at the Kuwait Municipality, businesses are successful throughout the year and are only expected to improve during Ramadan, Al-Mutairi said.
An increase in fresh meat is also seen during Ramadan, according to statistics from 2000 and 2001, Al-Mutairi said. Quoting official statistics, he said that 35,470 heads of sheep or goats were slaughtered commercially and 68,830 at home during 2001. This is an increase of the 22,025 at-home slaughtered livestock or 3,483 slaughtered commerically during any other given month of the year, he added.
Psychological consultant Dr. Badriya Al-Emadi at the Al-Razi Center highlighted behavioral incentives that attract consumers to Ramadan products and foodstuffs. Speaking to KUNA, she said that seeing food on the supermarket shelf, and feeling hungry from fasting, is a strong enough incentive to attract a person towards the items on display and over-consume.
She also attributed over-consumption to social mores and their role in cultural development towards consumer awareness within the family structure. She said although these patterns are present year-round, they only surface and become obvious during the month of Ramadan when the notions of generosity and hospitality are often confused with quantity. Ramadan advertising and marketing ploys also shoulder the responsibility for over-consumption, Al-Emadi said, which portray food items in a tempting manner that make it difficult for the shopper to refuse.
From another point of view, economist and member of the Kuwait Economic Society Abduljaleel Al-Gharabally told KUNA that there are a large number of food suppliers in the country, when compared with the amount of people who live in Kuwait. Supply is more than demand, he added, which causes some items to be sold at nominal prices, particularly when the expiry dates become closer. Current political situations in the region are also prompting some people to store more food than they need in case an emergency should occur, Al-Gharabally concluded. (end) mf.naa