A government source revealed Friday that the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs in collaboration with the public sector in the provinces’ mayoralties is moving to recycle waste from slaughterhouses in the interest of the economy and environment.

The move comes at a time when an enormous amount of waste is being released from slaughterhouses on the occasion of Eid and during the holy month and continues to be released throughout the year on a daily basis. The slaughterhouses come under the supervision of the cities’ mayoralties and subsidiary municipalities.

According to Khalifa Al-Saad, director-general of environmental health in the Eastern Province’s municipality, the waste produced from the slaughter of animals is a treasure with multiple usage. This requires putting an integrated plan by recycling and using it in manufacturing industries.

He said: “It is possible to use this type of waste as organic fertilizer in agriculture. The waste would go through a recycling process and then be converted into new industrial products that do not pose any threats to public health via a comprehensive system for collecting safe waste.”

Al-Saad said that there are no authorities interested in the idea of recycling waste. “We should support environmental issues to benefit from the output. These industries should be supported environmentally and manufacturing sites should be established according to the correct methods to use it economically like many other countries.”

He clarified that the waste consists of leather, hair, wool, horns, hooves, rumen and intestines, bladder, uterus (also known as offal) as well as full or partial carcasses that are proven unfit for human consumption after being examined by a vet.

“The accumulation of the organs results in the breeding of insects, the spread of foul odors and the pollution of the environment.”

According to various studies, only 54 percent of a slaughtered cow and 52 percent of a sheep is used as food for humans. Therefore, there are millions of tons of slaughterhouse waste that need to be processed to safeguard public health and the environment. The only way to get rid of this waste, other than recycling, is by burying or burning it, which causes financial losses and serious health problems caused by environmental pollution.