Manama: Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC) has called for individuals and Qatar-based organisations to take part in an initiative to reduce paper waste in the country, estimated at 5.4 million sheets of paper a day.

Under the ‘No Paper Day Qatar’ campaign, participants record the amount of paper they use in a day and compare it with the amount they save on April 4.

Participants are also encouraged to ‘upcycle’ used paper products into creative projects, such as weaved baskets or paper flowers.

The council said that it expected “more than a dozen organisations and countless individuals to participate in the day.”

“As part of the Qatar National Vision 2030 to strike a balance between developmental needs and the protection of the nation’s environment, we must continue to raise public awareness of the important role that individuals and businesses play in preserving the country’s habitats for future generations,” said Meshal Al Shamari, Director of QGBC, said in remarks emailed to Gulf News. “No Paper Day Qatar, which will be an annual event, is a national call to be more conscious of the paper we waste every day and how nationally we can do more to conserve our natural resources. Our Solid Waste Interest Group is at the forefront of this initiative, and together we will be examining the results of this event in a larger report on waste produced in Qatar later this month.”

QGBC founded the Solid Waste Interest Group (Swig) in 2010 to raise awareness about waste issues. As part of No Paper Day Qatar, Swig provided the public with tips on how to save paper in their daily lives, whether at home, in the office or at school. Advice included sharing magazine and newspaper subscriptions with a friend or colleague, signing up for electronic bill payment and notifications and refraining from using disposable goods.

“We are proud to assist in No Paper Day Qatar as an initiative with local and international relevance,” said Roy Hana, of Swig. “After all, whether we live in Qatar or anywhere else on this planet, we have a responsibility to our environment, and reducing our paper consumption is just one of the ways we can start to ‘think green’ in our daily lives. What we do today will have an impact for generations to come. Let this impact be a positive one.”

Swig has organised a number of events and activities to engage the community on the issue.

In November 2011, the group conducted Qatar’s first waste composition analysis at a beach clean-up and also led a major educational initiative in partnership with The Pearl-Qatar to turn discarded bottle tops into art.

Student and adults participating in the project collected more than 60,000 bottle tops across Qatar, and the resulting Bottle Top Art project is on permanent display at The Pearl-Qatar.