“Abu Dhabi Takes Green Initiative: Launching First-Ever Facility for Recycling Material Recovery from Waste”

A new first-of-its-kind facility to recover recyclable materials from municipal solid waste will be developed in Abu Dhabi.

Tadweer Group’s greenfield Material Recovery Facility (MRF), with an expected capacity of 1.3 million metric tonnes per year, will be located within the Al Mafraq industrial area. It will cover an area of more than 90,000sqm, making it one of the largest MRFs in the region.

The key objective is to collect municipal waste and recover recyclables such as metals, plastics, and other materials. It will maximise the diversion of waste from landfill through recycling and preparing feedstock for the Abu Dhabi Waste to Energy facility. This will enable increased recycling, promoting a circular economy and supporting the group’s ambition of diverting 80 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s waste away from landfill by 2030.

The MRF will be developed as part of the organisation’s circular cluster, a series of facilities that will contribute to the circular economy and ensure that minimal waste ends up in a landfill. The long-term objectives for the facility include providing feedstock for other waste conversion processes and products, such as waste to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

“This aligns with our strategic vision to harness technology to extend the lifetime of recyclable materials for a sustainable future. The facility will also directly contribute to our long-term ambitions of waste conversion, as we take steps forward to achieve a circular economy, echoing the pillars of the UAE’s net zero agenda,” Ali Al Dhaheri, managing director and CEO, of Tadweer Group, said.

The facility will serve to promote local and foreign private sector investment and create employment and training opportunities for UAE nationals.

The bidding for the development of the facility will take place as part of a closed tender process. The awarding of the contract and engineering, procurement, and construction works are expected to begin at the end of 2024, with operations commissioning targeted for the end of 2026.