New life for old rubbish - 24th September 2021

This is a giant tyre rubbish dump in Kuwait. It contains over 40 million car tyres. There have been two huge fires at the site, which is an environmental problem.

Now, a new city will be built here. The government is taking the tyres away to be recycled. Sheikh Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah manages Kuwait's environment department.

Sheikh Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah: "We will not allow any tyres to be buried in the future. They will all get recycled and we will do what is necessary to put all waste in the country on the road map for recycling in the Salmiya area."

Trucks worked for months to remove the tyres. The tyres filled 44,000 trucks. They are now in safer storage conditions, which will stop fires, and ready for recycling. One company which will do this work is EPSCO Global Central. It turns the old tyres into running tracks, and rubber floors for playgrounds. Alaa Hassan runs the company.

Alaa Hassan: "The factory produces several materials, including tiles, materials used in playgrounds, materials used in walking tracks and those used in infrastructure."

Two million tyres a year will be recycled by this company. Kuwait's government hopes others will find more uses for the waste rubber.

The old dump is ready for a new life. The project for Saad Al-Abdullah City can begin.