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Every now and then I get comments under old recycling posts or emails asking me who they can contact to pick up stuff for recycling. It’s usually paper waste or old electronics that they want to recycle because they care about the environment. Well, I finally have an answer to that question now.

Enviroserve is a recycling facility in Kuwait that originally started off focusing on e-waste. I posted about them a few years ago but since that post they’ve grown to offer full recycling services and last year they introduced it to individuals and companies.

Enviroserve now recycles the following:
– Electronics
– Paper and Cardboard
– Plastics

Their pick-up rates are pretty decent. If you want a one-time pick up its 5KD, if you want a weekly pick up it’s 10KD a month, and if you want a monthly pickup it’s 48KD a year.

To find out more or to book a pick up, click here.

The Palace of Justice building was designed in the late 70s by the Scottish architect Sir Basil Spence, the same architect behind the Coventry Cathedral. The building was scheduled to be demolished once the new building under construction next door was completed but thankfully that isn’t happening anymore. The National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters has added the Palace of Justice on the list of modern heritage sites (source) which means it should no longer be demolished.

Happy for the Palace of Justice, but sucks that places like the Ice Skating Rink didn’t get added to the list.

A Business Insider article was published yesterday on the worst airports in the world and Kuwait came in 2nd. The problem is the list Business Insider used is from 2019 and so the list being shared locally is outdated.

In the current ranking, Kuwait STILL has the 2nd worst airport, but the rest of the list is slightly different:

1- Lisbon Portela Airport, Portugal
2- Kuwait International Airport, Kuwait
3- Eindhoven Airport, Netherlands
4- Henri Coandă International Airport, Romania
5- Paris Orly Airport, France
6- Malta International Airport, Malta
7- Frankfurt International Airport, Germany
8- Dubai International Airport, United Arab Emirates
9- London City Airport, United Kingdom
10- Manchester Airport, United Kingdom

The biggest difference between the 2022 list above and the 2019 list is that Kuwait is joined by UAE on the list. Dubai’s International Airport is currently ranked the 8th worst in the world for some reason. Qatar’s airport on the other hand is still ranked as the world’s best airport.

For the latest ranking of best and worst airports, check out the full list on AirHelp.

The French Institute in Kuwait is holding a Jazz night on Thursday with music by Ed Mayo’s Q8 Jazz Quartet. Tickets start at KD7 and there are limited seats so if you’re interested, click here.

The Palestinian Culture Center has been operating in Kuwait since the early 1970s. Every year they hold an exhibition with the aim to keep this vibrant culture alive and support underprivileged women and children in the camps. Starting today till Friday the center will be holding its heritage exhibition at the Sadu House.

The exhibit will have hand-stitched dresses, shawls, and cushions for sale, as well as handmade ceramics, books, and food aimed to preserve the Palestinian national identity and showcase how it adapts to modern times.

If you’re interested in passing by, here is the info:

Location: Sadu House
Date: Tuesday March 15th – Friday March 18 2022
Time: 10 am to 8 pm

They’re also on instagram @palestiniancc

Fuddruckers was one of the first restaurants to pop up on the Gulf Road and was the go-to place for us teenagers back in the early 90s. Eventually, more restaurants started opening up in Kuwait which made Fuddruckers irrelevant until they eventually closed down. But last week I found out that they’re still alive on delivery platforms.

Fudds used to be known for their burgers and cookies and both are available to order. I’m not sure if they have a physical store or a ghost kitchen but according to Google Maps there is only one Fuddruckers location and it hasn’t been updated since 2019 so I’m assuming its closed. If you’re feeling nostalgic and order from them, let me know if their burgers are still any good.

I just found out that this year’s COMFEST 2022 is going to be held at The Arena, the new venue part of the 360 Mall expansion. The Arena is a 5,000+ capacity purpose-built indoor live entertainment and events space that was designed to world-class standards. No events have been held at the venue yet so COMFEST 2022 will probably be the first event to be held there.

The event will be taking place from March 29th to April 1st, no tickets are on sale yet but to stay posted follow them on instagram @comfestcon or visit their website for more information comfestkw.com

Since we are on the subject of beautiful buildings that are being demolished, the Palace of Justice building in the city is next once the new location that is under construction is completed. The Palace of Justice building was designed in the late 70s by the Scottish architect Sir Basil Spence, the same architect behind the Coventry Cathedral.

There has been an uproar in this decision on Twitter with people asking that the building be saved and repurposed into a hotel or something. Hopefully, that happens but doubt it.

For the seventh time in eight years, Kuwait has been ranked the worst destination for expats, coming in last place in the Expat Insider survey (59th out of 59 countries), Al Anba newspaper reported.

According to the Expat Insider survey, Kuwait ranks last in the Quality of Life Index (59th), with especially poor results in the Leisure Options, Personal Happiness, and Travel and Transportation subcategories (59th for all).

Kuwait is also the worst expat destination worldwide in the Ease of Settling (59th), with 46 per cent of expats not feeling at home while 45 per cent find it difficult to settle down in the country.

This report came out before the long weekend and I’m not sure if it’s newsworthy or not anymore. On the one hand, Kuwait being the worst place in the world for expats is newsworthy, but it’s for the seventh time so it now feels like old news. I also don’t think the ranking is going to change next year since it doesn’t look like anyone even cares what expats think of life in Kuwait. The article mentions that “Kuwait expressed strong dissatisfaction with the report” which means they don’t believe things are as bad as the report makes it out to be. Anyway, here is the link to the article. Link

For such a big and really well-organized event, it’s sad to see the beach area trashed like that.

The Palestinian Culture Center has been operating in Kuwait since the early 1970s. Every year they hold an exhibition with the aim to support needy families as well as preserving the rich and vibrant culture of Palestine. Starting tomorrow and going on till Thursday, the center will be holding an exhibit at Dar Al Funoon.

The exhibit will have hand-stitched dresses, shawls, and cushions for sale, as well as handmade ceramics, books, and food aimed to preserve the Palestinian national identity and showcase how it adapts to modern times.

If you’re interested in passing by, here is the info:

Location: Dar Al Funoon
Date: Monday Oct. 18th – Thursday Oct. 21th 2021
Time: 10 am to 8 pm

They’re also on instagram @palestiniancc

It started off in 2008 as a group of domestic workers who got together to spend leisure time, cooking, and playing games. Then as the group got more popular, other domestic workers were coming to them for help, so they decided to do something about it.

“Before, nobody talked about domestic workers. They were there, but nobody could see them. But over the past 13 years, there have been a lot of changes.” – Ann Abunda

In 2010, they founded Sandigan Kuwait, a more serious group that advocates for the protection and welfare of domestic workers. They now assist and assess workers’ cases from different nationalities, and from different work sectors. They have a repatriation programme, offer legal aid, and provide psychosocial activities. In addition, every Friday they have a livelihood program for domestic workers.

It’s an inspiring story and you can read more about it on the International Labour Organization website ilo.org

via @AlHashemShaikha

Over the weekend the government announced that starting June 27th, only those who’ve been vaccinated will be able to dine at restaurants, visit large malls, go to the gym or visit the hair salon. Obviously, the reason behind this decision is to push people to get vaccinated, but many expat residents have signed up to get vaccinated since December and have yet to get an appointment. I think so at least because I still get comments on older posts of people complaining they registered in December or January and have still not gotten an appointment.

Seems pretty unfair so here is a quick poll to get a rough idea of how long people have been waiting for their appointment:

[poll id=”17″]

A lot of people who registered in December have been leaving comments that they still haven’t gotten their vaccine appointment. One reader just left the comment below that might be helpful and worth giving a shot:

All expats that I know who registered in December did not get vaccinated. I think there is a problem with the December data.

151 will not help you, go to the counter in Mishrif and tell them that you registered in December and still did not get vaccinated. They will redo your registration and with in 72 hours you will get an SMS.

If you try this and it works, let us know!

Every year the Palestinian Cultural Center holds an exhibition with a lot of handicraft and embroidery available to purchase. But, due to the pandemic that’s been put on hold and this year instead of an exhibition, there will be a four-day shop (a pop-up).

The Palestinian Culture Center aims to support needy families and preserve the rich and vibrant culture of Palestine. It does this by encouraging ladies to continue a beautiful handicraft, embroidery, which has been in Palestine for hundreds of years and ensuring that the tradition is carried on to the younger generation.

The Center has been in operation since the early 1970’s in Kuwait and then moved to Jordan after 1990. Today, the PCC, has over 450 women from the Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan working on these beautiful pieces. For these women, the payment they receive is a great support for their families. The PCC also aims at supporting education and helps various schools and education programs in Palestine as well as needy families.

As a charity organization we use a simple rule in all our pricing. Thirty-three percent of the sale cost of an item is given to the woman that produces the work, thirty-three percent goes towards covering the cost of the item, and the remaining amount is distributed to schools, orphanages and needy families mostly in Palestine.

So if you’re looking for something to do during the day, the pop-up runs from today until Wedneday. For more info check out the Palestinian Culture Center Instagram account @palestiniancc