The Shoura Council approved in April the draft Waste Management Law, Saudi Gazette reports. The provisions of the law include penalties for waste disposal violations such as maximum 10 years of imprisonment or SR30 million in fine or of both.
The draft law consists of 38 articles aimed to regulate the activities of waste collection, transportation, sorting, storage, import, export, treatment, safe disposal and aftercare of waste disposal sites.
Article three of the law prohibits the practice of any activity related to waste management without obtaining a license or permit from the National Waste Management Center.
The law requires everyone who practices any activity related to waste management to provide the best environmental and economic results in accordance with recycling, resource recovery, and safe disposal.
The law prohibits leaving, burying, burning, or throwing waste of all kinds in places other than those designated for it.
The law punishes, without prejudice to any more severe penalty stipulated in another law, with imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years and a fine not exceeding SR30 million, or one of these two penalties for the violations of the law.
The offenses include storing, burning, treating, or disposing of waste in any way that poses a danger to public health or damage to environment.
