Ghada Ismail
For decades, waste in Saudi Arabia followed a familiar and largely unquestioned trajectory: collect, discard, and move on. Landfills expanded quietly beyond city edges, recycling efforts remained limited and fragmented, and waste was viewed almost exclusively as an operational burden rather than a recoverable resource. This approach, however, is no longer viable, either environmentally, economically, or socially.
As the Kingdom accelerates its Vision 2030 agenda, waste is being reframed as part of a broader economic opportunity. From food scraps and plastics to construction debris and industrial byproducts, materials once destined for landfill are now being reconsidered as inputs for new value chains. This shift sits at the core of the circular economy, a model that emphasizes reuse, recycling, and resource efficiency over extraction and disposal.
Driving this transition is a growing wave of Saudi startups applying technology to modernize waste management and recycling. Working alongside national entities and government-backed initiatives, these companies are reshaping how waste is collected, sorted, processed, and reintegrated into the economy. What is emerging is not simply a cleaner system, but a sustainability-driven sector aligned with Saudi Arabia’s long-term development goals.
Why Recycling Matters in Saudi Arabia: Cultural and Ethical Context
Saudi Arabia’s increasing focus on recycling is shaped by more than policy frameworks and economic targets. It is also influenced by long-standing cultural and ethical principles that emphasize responsibility, balance, and responsible resource management.
Within the Kingdom’s social fabric, moderation in consumption and avoidance of excess have traditionally been valued. These ideas, which are reflected in both cultural norms and religious teachings, reinforce the notion that resources should be used thoughtfully rather than wasted. In this context, recycling and circular economy practices resonate as practical extensions of deeply embedded values rather than imported sustainability concepts.
By extending the lifecycle of materials, reducing unnecessary consumption, and minimizing environmental harm, circular practices align naturally with a broader sense of accountability toward future generations. This perspective helps explain why sustainability initiatives increasingly gain public acceptance in Saudi Arabia. Recycling is not framed solely as an environmental obligation, but as a logical, responsible approach to managing growth and development in a resource-constrained world.
Saudi Arabia’s Circular Economy Ambition
Saudi Arabia generates millions of tons of waste each year, much of which has historically been sent to landfills. Recognizing the environmental impact and missed economic potential of this model, the government has placed waste diversion and recycling at the center of its Vision 2030 and Saudi Green Initiative objectives.
The ambition is clear: reduce landfill dependency, build advanced recycling infrastructure, and convert waste streams into sources of economic value. This includes municipal solid waste, construction and demolition materials, food waste, plastics, metals, and electronic waste.
At the forefront of Saudi Arabia’s effort to modernize and professionalize waste management is the National Center for Waste Management — commonly known by its acronym MWAN. Established by a Council of Ministers’ decree, MWAN serves as the Kingdom’s central regulatory authority for waste management, charged with setting strategy, regulating activities, and advancing the principles of a circular economy across the sector.
MWAN is responsible for organizing and supervising all stages of the waste lifecycle — including import, export, collection, transport, sorting, processing, storage, and the safe disposal of waste — with environmental protection and public health as guiding priorities. To drive long‑term transformation, the center issues licenses and permits to service providers and facilities, ensuring that companies operate in compliance with national standards and best practices.
A key focus for MWAN is creating an enabling environment for private investment and innovation. The center actively encourages investment in waste management systems — from recycling plants to advanced processing technologies — as a route to financial sustainability and value creation within the circular economy. Through strategic planning, research support, and training programs, it also works to build technical capability and foster partnerships with universities, research institutions, and international stakeholders.
Central to MWAN’s work is the National Waste Management Strategy, a comprehensive roadmap aimed at dramatically reducing landfill dependency, maximizing material recovery, and integrating circular economy principles into national practice. Under this strategy, the center seeks to divert the vast majority of waste from landfills through recycling, composting, and other value‑retentive pathways.
In doing so, MWAN plays a pivotal role not only in regulating the sector but in setting the conditions for innovative startups, investors, and service providers to thrive within a structured, forward‑looking framework that aligns with Saudi Arabia’s environmental and economic objectives.
National Champions Driving Scale:
Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC)
One of the most influential players in Saudi Arabia’s circular economy is the Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC), a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund. Established to lead the development of the Kingdom’s waste and recycling sector, SIRC operates across multiple waste streams through specialized subsidiaries.
Its activities span municipal waste, construction and demolition debris, industrial waste, metals, and hazardous materials. Beyond collection, SIRC’s mandate is to build an integrated recycling ecosystem capable of converting waste into reusable materials, energy, and industrial inputs.
Through investments in large-scale recycling plants, advanced sorting technologies, and waste-to-value infrastructure, SIRC provides the national backbone required for a functional circular economy. Just as importantly, it creates structured pathways for startups to integrate into larger value chains rather than operating in isolation.
Startups Turning Waste into Opportunity
While national entities deliver scale and infrastructure, Saudi startups bring innovation, speed, and technical specialization to specific waste challenges.
Lesser for Sustainability Solutions
Lesser for Sustainability Solutions represents a new generation of Saudi startups embedding circular economy principles into operational reality. The company develops sustainability-driven solutions that help organizations reduce waste, improve resource efficiency, and adopt smarter environmental practices.
By leveraging data and system-based approaches, Lesser focuses on transforming waste streams into measurable environmental and economic outcomes. Its work reflects a broader shift within the startup ecosystem, where sustainability is increasingly treated as a core business function supported by technology, rather than a peripheral branding exercise.
Tadweer Saudi: Tackling Food Waste
Food waste remains one of the most under-addressed challenges in Saudi Arabia’s waste landscape, despite its high environmental and economic cost. Tadweer Saudi is tackling this issue by focusing specifically on organic waste recycling.
The startup collects food waste from retailers, hospitality venues, and commercial outlets, converting it into organic compost and fertilizers. By closing the loop between consumption and agriculture, Tadweer demonstrates how biological waste can be reintegrated into productive cycles instead of decomposing in landfills.
Recyclee: Tech-Driven Waste Management
Recyclee represents one of Saudi Arabia’s emerging tech‑driven waste management startups. The company leverages digital tools — including data analytics, IoT, and platform‑based waste tracking — to help businesses simplify waste collection, enhance sorting processes, and gain real‑time visibility into waste streams.
By applying technology to traditional waste workflows, Recyclee aims to modernize operations, reduce logistical complexity, and support greater efficiency across collection and recycling processes. As Saudi cities expand and waste volumes grow, data‑enabled platforms like Recyclee are part of a broader trend toward integrating technology into waste management to help scale circular economy initiatives.
Technology as the Enabler
Across Saudi Arabia’s recycling ecosystem, technology is emerging as the central enabler of scale and efficiency. Digital platforms, analytics, smart collection systems, and automation are helping shift waste management away from manual, fragmented operations toward integrated, data-informed systems.
Technology enables more accurate tracking of waste flows and recycling rates, improved sorting and material recovery, optimized collection routes, and greater transparency across the value chain. For startups, this lowers barriers to entry and accelerates scaling. For national entities, it provides the data needed to measure impact and guide policy.
Challenges Still Ahead
Despite meaningful progress, challenges remain. Recycling infrastructure is uneven across regions, public participation in waste sorting is still developing, and scaling capital-intensive facilities requires long-term investment and confidence.
Addressing these gaps will require sustained collaboration between government entities, private investors, startups, and the public. Education, incentives, and regulatory clarity will be just as critical as technology in shaping the sector’s next phase.
From Waste to Value
As Saudi Arabia accelerates its journey toward a waste economy, the convergence of policy, technology, and entrepreneurial innovation is redefining what waste means. No longer merely a byproduct to be discarded, waste is being transformed into a resource; a source of economic value, industrial input, and environmental benefit.
What begins with recycling bins and digital platforms has the potential to reshape supply chains, industrial production, and consumer behavior across the Kingdom. If technology, regulation, and societal values continue to align, Saudi Arabia has an opportunity not merely to manage waste more efficiently but to redefine waste itself, transforming it into a long-term engine of economic value, environmental responsibility, and sustainable growth.
