An integrated plan to improve the collection and recycling of waste in Riyadh has been launched by the National Waste Management Center, Riyadh Municipality and Saudi Investment Recycling Company. The firms signed an agreement to begin integrated waste management and recycling activities in the city.
As per the terms of the deal, the three firms will work on the execution of the waste management strategy in order to achieve strategic objectives for recycling for the capital city by 2035. The strategy includes recycling 81% of the 3.4m tonnes of annually produced municipal solid waste and 47% of the approximately five million tonnes of construction and demolition waste per year.
The strategy also aims to remove and recycle an estimated 20m tonnes of construction and demolition waste that is currently lying in vacant plots and on roadsides around the capital, according to Engineer Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al Fadley, the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and chairman of the board of directors of the National Waste Management Center.
He made the remarks after signing the deal with Engineer Tariq bin Abdul Aziz Al Faris, mayor of Riyadh region and Engineer Jeroen Vincent, the CEO of Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC).
This signing of the MoUs comes within the framework of efforts to preserve and protect the environment, and achieve environmental sustainability, which the ministry is working on in order to activate the national environmental strategy. The agreement intends to activate the investment pathway in the waste and waste management sector through an alliance with companies specialised in the field of waste management and treatment, said Al Fadley.
As part of an integrated waste management system, the SIRC will build modern recycling facilities to recycle all types of waste into recyclables such as fertiliser, paper, plastics and metals.
The first initiative within the framework agreement will be the recycling of construction and demolition waste into building materials for road construction and housing projects. This will be followed by the construction of a sorting facility for municipal waste, in conjunction with the Mayor of Riyadh region project City without Bins. The project aims at the dual source-sorting of household waste in Riyadh, Al Fadley explained.
Vincent added, We are proud and honored to be part of this agreement that will enable our role as waste management sector development company by establishing state-of-the-art recycling facilities. This is a great opportunity for the city of Riyadh and the local industry. Our initiative will not only contribute to a cleaner city but will also unlock a large volume of materials for the paper, plastic and metals industry.
