How a culture of recycling can reduce waste generation in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia produces around 15 million tons of garbage every year, with 95 percent ending up in landfill, and just 5 percent of total waste recycled. (Shutterstock)
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Updated 28 January 2022
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How a culture of recycling can reduce waste generation in Saudi Arabia

  • Consumerism in GCC countries has created mountains of trash, most of the content of which is nonbiodegradable
  • “Circular economy” opens up huge opportunities for Saudis to reduce, reuse and recycle the waste they generate

JEDDAH: As is the case in many other parts of the world, a combination of population growth, urbanization and economic expansion has not only increased personal consumption across the Middle East but is also generating colossal amounts of waste.

Five Gulf Cooperation Council countries — Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait — rank in the top 10 worldwide in terms of per capita generation of solid waste.

Thanks to their oil wealth, consumer spending in these countries has grown over recent decades to become a key driver of domestic economies. But as in many advanced countries, a culture of consumerism has created mountains of trash, most of the content of which is nonbiodegradable and extremely harmful to the environment.

Saudi Arabia alone produces about 15 million tons of garbage a year, 95 percent of which ends up as landfill, polluting the soil and releasing greenhouse gases, including methane, into the atmosphere for decades.

What is not buried often ends up as litter on city streets, in the form of discarded polythene bags, fast-food containers, plastic bottles and empty soda cans.

Between the start of 2020 and the first half of 2021, Saudi Arabia recycled only 5 percent of its total waste, including plastic, metal and paper.

To reduce waste generation, protect fragile ecosystems and make the most of reusable materials, Saudi Arabia can rely on the “circular economy” concept, a closed-loop system that involves the 3-R approach: Reduce, reuse and recycle.

The leading agent of change in this effort is the Saudi Investment Recycling Company, which was established in 2017 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund.

FASTFACTS

* Plastic takes more than 400 years to degrade.

* Only 12 percent of plastic is incinerated worldwide.

SIRC seeks to divert 85 percent of hazardous industrial waste, 100 percent of solid waste, and 60 percent of construction and demolition waste away from landfills by 2035. The only types of waste not covered by its remit is that created by the military and nuclear energy, both of which are handled by specialist organizations.

The circular economy model opens up huge opportunities, whether in terms of products, energy creation or services, which can make a major contribution to the diversification of the Saudi economy away from oil and its derivatives, in line with the aims of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 reforms strategy.

Saudi Arabia aims to invest almost SR24 billion ($6.4 billion) in the recycling of waste by 2035 as it attempts to switch to a more sustainable waste-management system. It will invest about SR1.3 billion in construction and demolition waste, and about SR900 million in industrial waste. Investments in municipal solid waste will exceed SR20 billion, while investments in other types of waste will amount to more than SR1.6 billion.

There are several ways to create value in a circular economy. One of them is “waste-to-energy,” which involves drying and incinerating garbage, raw sewage and industrial sludge to power steam turbines.




Volunteers in Saudi Arabia removing waste from beaches to stop its flow back to the waters. (Supplied/World Clean Up Day)

Burning waste produces carbon dioxide but leaving it to decompose in landfill sites results in 20 to 40 times the amount of greenhouse-gas emissions, in the form of methane, over a period of many years.

Unsurprisingly, the circular economy approach is catching on. In 2020, when Saudi Arabia held the presidency of the G20, the Kingdom proposed to allies the concept of a circular carbon economy as a means of mitigating the accumulation of carbon in the atmosphere.

But a circular economy model cannot succeed without the active involvement of big companies, small-business entrepreneurs and the general public.

Experts say that the construction of recycling facilities in the Kingdom is only part of the solution; it must go hand in hand with efforts to instill in the Saudi population a culture of household recycling and responsible consumption.

“We have to invest in the infrastructure but, equally, we have to provide education and create outreach programs,” Ziyad Al-Shiha, the CEO of SIRC, told Arab News in October. “Once we achieve 25-35 percent recycling, we can say to the public: ‘Look, this is your effort and this is the result that we’re bringing back to you.’”

TIMELINE OF SAUDI ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS

2016: Launch of Saudi Vision 2030.

2017: National Renewable Energy Program announced.

2018: Launch of the National Environment Strategy.

2019: Saudi Arabia joins International Solar Alliance.

2020: Launch of Environmental Fund.

March 27, 2021: Launch of Saudi Green Initiative and Middle East Green Initiative.

Sept. 16, 2021: Farasan Islands added to UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Oct. 23, 2021: Saudi Arabia announces goal of Net Zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2060.

Oct. 23, 2021: Saudi Arabia joins Global Methane Pledge.

Progress has already been made in fostering environmentally conscious behavior at the community level. Saudi highways are better maintained now than before. Even in cities, drains are no longer clogged with cigarette butts, tissue paper, paper cups and discarded food packaging.

In part, such improvements are as a result of the introduction of penalties; the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing can now impose fines of $133 on anyone caught littering or spitting in a public place.

But concern about the environment and public interest in recycling and reducing household waste have also increased markedly, thanks to campaigns conducted by civil society groups.

One such group, Mawakeb Alajer, has worked for 17 years to encourage community-level recycling in Jeddah by providing sorting facilities where the public can drop off a wide range of recyclables, from scrap paper and waste plastic to unwanted furniture and even old wedding dresses.

“As a second-hand shop, we encourage people to give away what they don’t need to charity, which helps protect the environment by reducing waste,” Sara Alfadl, a spokesperson for Mawakeb Alajer, told Arab News.

“We believe that everyone plays a part in the community and we’re providing a service everyone can benefit from. We sort out everything we receive. This takes a lot of time, requires a lot of manpower and is hard. Thankfully, most of the items we receive, whether clothes or recyclable waste, are in good condition.”

In cooperation with local businesses, truckloads of recyclable materials are brought to Mawakeb Alajer’s facility where they are sorted and then sold, donated, or sent to be reused, recycled or repurposed. In the process, the group is helping to gradually change public attitudes.

“Awareness is still in its infancy but spreading nonetheless,” Alfadl said.

Schools have begun to play an important part in shaping attitudes among the next generation, by adopting “environmental literacy” projects that give pupils the chance to learn by participating in school-based recycling schemes and science projects.




Saudi mayor honors British expat, Neil Walker, for 27 years of beach cleaning and who inspired creative environmental initiatives in Alkhobar. (Supplied)

For their part, many Saudi businesses are adjusting to the circular economy model, in line with the Kingdom’s pursuit of sustainable-development goals.

Mona Alothman, the co-founder of Naqaa, a local provider of business-to-business environmental-sustainability solutions, said that many companies are now integrating recycling and waste reduction into their business models.

“It’s not just a phase,” she told Arab News. “Many Saudi companies are adopting ingenious ways to reduce, reuse and recycle their office supplies and better manage their waste, among other things.

“A lot has changed in recent years. Regulations have become stricter in order to adhere to international standards. Our company’s core ethos revolves around sustainability, and recycling is one part of the picture.

“Companies today are not only applying our recommended solutions to office waste but also initiating campaigns to promote and encourage people to be more conscious of how they throw away their trash.”

This multi-pronged approach, encompassing education, charity schemes, stricter rules and penalties, is encouraging the Kingdom’s business establishments to adopt eco-friendly practices and communities to think more about the effects of lifestyle on the environment.

Alfadl and her colleagues at Mawakeb Alajer believe there is a lot that Saudis can do to encourage their employers, neighbors and local authorities to implement more environmentally responsible practices in homes and workplaces.

“I believe that recycling will pick up fast here in Saudi Arabia,” Alfadl said. “With growing awareness, what was once a project or short-term initiative has become a necessity.

“Our approach was always bottom-up. When employees join the sustainability drive with their actions, it won’t be long before others do the same and create a community of people who follow the same approach.”


Thousands in Lebanon benefit from KSrelief healthcare services

Updated 10 January 2025
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Thousands in Lebanon benefit from KSrelief healthcare services

RIYADH: A project by Saudi aid agency KSrelief to improve healthcare services for Syrian refugees and their host community in Bebnine, Akkar Governorate, has continued in Lebanon.

Some 2,689 patients were seen at the Akkar-Bebnine Health Care Center in December with 6,194 services provided under pharmacy, laboratory, nursing, community and psychological health programs.

Of the total number of patients, 68 percent were women and 51 percent were refugees, reported the Saudi Press Agency.


Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief continues aid work in new year

Updated 10 January 2025
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Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief continues aid work in new year

  • The work reflects Saudi Arabia's ongoing commitment through KSrelief to help those most in need

RIYADH: The Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief has continued its humanitarian work at the start of 2025, the Saudi Press Agency reported recently.

In Syria, 892 families received food aid and health kits in the Afrin and Aleppo governorates of the war-torn country, benefiting 5,352 individuals.

The agency also distributed bags of flour, winter kits, and personal-care bags to 211 families in Syria’s Al-Rastan area, benefitting 968 individuals.

In Syria’s Rural Damascus governorate, KSrelief distributed bags of flour, food aid, personal-care bags, and shelter kits to 164 families.

In Pakistan, there were 2,821 food parcels, benefiting 18,638 people, distributed in the Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan areas of Punjab province, and the Hingol area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

KSrelief also distributed 1,082 clothing vouchers to families in Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan’s Amman, Zarqa and Balqa governorates.


Saudi Museum of Contemporary Art to host ‘Manga Hokusai Manga’ exhibition

Updated 10 January 2025
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Saudi Museum of Contemporary Art to host ‘Manga Hokusai Manga’ exhibition

  • Exhibition is homage to renowned Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai

The much-anticipated “Manga Hokusai Manga” exhibition will be held at the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art in JAX Diriyah from Jan. 15 to Feb. 8.

Held in collaboration with the Embassy of Japan and the Japan Foundation, the exhibition, ratified by the Kingdom’s Museums Commission, will showcase the works of the renowned Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai.

It will highlight the history and evolution of manga, and provide a perspective on how Hokusai’s classical illustrations have influenced modern visual arts, the Saudi Press Agency reported recently.

Hokusai published his first collection of art in 1814, featuring sketches of “daily life, landscapes and whimsical creatures,” according to a post on X by the museum.

The Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art aims to foster cultural exchange between local and international creators.

This article originally appeared on Arab News Japan


Kingdom readies itself for 3 days of rain and high winds

Updated 52 min 4 sec ago
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Kingdom readies itself for 3 days of rain and high winds

  • Warning of high waves along the Kingdom’s coastlines

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is bracing itself for rainfall across most parts of the Kingdom over the next three days after the National Center for Meteorology issues warnings on Thursday.

In a weather bulletin, the NCM warned of downpours accompanied by winds of up to 60 kph, and the possibility of torrential rain and hail. High waves are expected along the nation’s coastlines.

The regions of Al-Jouf, the Northern Borders, and Hail will have rainy conditions on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, rain is expected in the Tabuk and Madinah regions; on Saturday and Sunday in the Eastern Province, Asir and Jazan; and on Saturday in Qassim.

For the Riyadh and Al-Baha regions, rain is expected from Friday to Sunday.

The NCM urged the public to stay updated on the weather conditions in the Kingdom by checking the daily reports on its website, the Anwaa application, or its social media accounts.


Saudi Falcons Club CEO and Kazakhstan ambassador discuss ways to boost cooperation

Updated 10 January 2025
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Saudi Falcons Club CEO and Kazakhstan ambassador discuss ways to boost cooperation

RIYADH: The CEO of the Saudi Falcons Club, Ahmed Al-Hababi, met Kazakhstan’s ambassador to the Kingdom, Madiyar Menilbekov, in Riyadh on Thursday to discuss opportunities for cooperation and ways in which these might be enhanced to benefit mutual goals.

One of the topics was the Hadad Program, a leading initiative developed by the club with the aim of returning falcons to their natural habitats and saving the species from the threat of extinction.

Menilbekov praised the club for the important role it plays in enhancing falconry and preserving its cultural heritage.

The club said the meeting was part of its efforts to strengthen international partnerships in keeping with the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan for national development and diversification.