Waste collection is one of the main obstacles to plastic recycling in the United Arab Emirates. As currently over 90% of plastic ends up in landfill in the UAE, the local recycling industry struggles to meet volume targets and often ends up relying on imported goods. According to the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemical Association, the Kingdom produces nearly 1.5 million tonnes of plastic bags, bottles, containers, and other types of waste with a recycling rate of just 4%.
To help address that low recycling rate, in October 2022 the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) introduced a plastic bottle and aluminium can return scheme at some of its premises.
Since then, the nearly 700 DEWA employees have recycled 656,315 plastic bottles and aluminium cans, equivalent to diverting 9,180 tonnes of waste from landfills.
The scheme uses reverse vending machines from Tomra. These machines read QR codes generated by DEWA’s Smart office app that employees used to recycle their bottles and cans. Employees are rewarded with points and enter a monthly raffle draw to win prizes. Until the end of June 2024, DEWA awarded 70 employees for their recycling efforts, the company said in a statement.
DEWA’s initiative followed Dubai’s approval of its integrated waste management strategy for 2021-2041 in January 2022. With a budget of AED 74.5 billion ($20.4 billion), it seeks to encourage innovation in waste management, recycling and energy conversion, complements a range of projects adopted by the executive council of Dubai in the areas of sustainability, environmental conservation, quality of life development and building a sustainable future.