How to recycle plastic, glass, paper, and household waste in the UAE

We’ve found an excellent guide by Gulf News to ensure eco-friendly and convenient waste disposal for you.

Did you know that on average, each UAE resident generates waste at one of the highest rates in the world? This is around 1.8kg per day, according to the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE).

As the prospect of overflowing landfills and plastic-filled oceans looms, you must be wondering how you can help. Ensuring all your household waste is appropriately recycled is a sure step in the right direction, and here’s a guide to making sure you can do precisely that conveniently.

In the UAE, each emirate has recycling centers under their municipalities authorized to collect waste for recycling and other small centers and bins. It can be hard to regularly drop off waste at recycling centers located very far from home, so here’s the complete picture of all centers in the UAE, their addresses, and other details to find out how you can recycle conveniently.

Dubai

In Dubai, you can deliver your recyclable waste to one of the Municipality’s Smart Sustainability Oases branches or other centers listed below, or you can arrange for pickup services from Planet Green Recycling or Washmen, a laundry service offering recycling collection services.

Smart Sustainability Oasis branches

Built with recycled or used materials, Dubai’s municipality-authorized smart recycling centers are called Smart Sustainability Oases. They are open 24/7, have sensors to monitor their bins’ capacity level, and are also equipped with smart screens for eco-friendly messages.

These recycling centers receive 18 types of recyclable materials:

• Paper;
• Cardboard;
• Plastic;
• Metal Packages;
• Glass;
• Used clothes;
• Fabric waste;
• Rubber;
• Leather;
• Wood;
• Electronic waste;
• Batteries/Others.

There are 13 branches in Dubai operating at the following locations, where you can go to drop off your household waste:

• Quranic Park, Al Khawaneej First;
• Mirdif Park;
• Al Rashidiya Parks;
• Nadd Al Hamar Park;
• Hatta Centre;
• Al Karama Park;
• Al Satwa Park;
• Al Manara Centre – Al Safa Second;
• Umm Suqaim Park – Umm Suqeim second;
• Al Barsha Second Pond Park, Al Barsha Second
• Al Tawar centre, Al Tawar second;
• Muhaisnah 1 Park, Muhaisnah 1;
• Al Nahda 2 Pond Park, Al Nahda second.

Dubai Recycles

The Dubai Municipality also has an online initiative that allows residents to put up items they wish to dispose of in an eco-friendly manner. So, individuals, corporations, and government entities can use all list items that they wish to give for recycling, and interested parties can contact them to collect the items.

This is to help users exchange their unneeded products, second-hand used devices, and surplus devices. As per the website, the following products can be posted:

•       Plastic (pet bottles, toys, tupperware containers, etc.);
•       Paper (books, notebooks, newspapers, magazines, etc.);
•       Metals (food tins, nails, and screwdrivers, pipes, machinery, engine blocks, water heaters, and tanks, etc.);
•       Cardboard (cardboard packaging, cardboard tubes);
•       Wood (furniture, raw wood, logs, wooden crates);
•       Cans (aluminum cans, steel or tin cans);
•       Glass (windows, doors, glass bottles, any color or clear glass);
•       Electronic waste (personal computers, monitors, keyboards, televisions, laptops, fax machines, mobile phones, light bulbs, etc.);
•       Rubber (tires, inner tubes, car parts);
•       Textile (clothes, bags, loose fabrics);
•       Leather (shoes, furniture, bags).

How to recycle household items on Dubai Recycles

1. Visit the website https://dubairecycles.dm.gov.ae/en/aboutus/Pages/default.aspx
2. Click on login. If you have a UAE PASS account, login in with UAE PASS. If not, click on registration services and register as an individual or representative from the business sector or government sector.
3. Click ‘Add a Post’ on ‘My profile.’
4. Once the post is approved and made public; interested parties can contact you if interested in collection or delivery and vice versa.

Ways to recycle from home in Dubai

Suppose transportation to recycling centers is not feasible. In that case, you can request collection services from Planet Green Recycling LLC or Green Truck or use the Zeloop app for finding the nearest collection point for plastic bottles and metal cans.

Planet Green Recycling LLC

Address: 26th St, Al Qusais Industrial Area 3

Materials recycled: Glass, paper and cardboard, plastic waste, fabric and textile, pressurized cans, personal care products and cosmetics, lights, bulbs, and e-waste.

To recycle at Planet Green, you can deliver paper, cardboard, and e-waste to their location for free recycling. For certain items, however, you would need to pay a fee. For example, for plastic waste, they charge Dh5 per kg for a total quantity below 100kg and Dh2.5 per kg if the quantity is more than 100kg.

You can also arrange collection services for a cost of Dh125 per trip.

Green Truck (Enviroserve)

Materials recycled: Plastics, paper, glass, aluminum waste.

Green Truck is a private recycling transportation service and provides weekly collection services at a subscription fee of Dh120 a month.

They will place a bin at your premises and collect it weekly. As per their website, the waste is segregated and distributed to local recyclers.

App for recycling plastic bottles

An app that focuses on only recycling plastic bottles is the Zeloop App for Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, available for Apple and Android devices. It will direct you to the nearest deposit point for the bottles. Not only is the recycling service for free, but you can also earn points and rewards that can be redeemed.

Other locations in Dubai where you can recycle are listed below and indicated on the map above.

Emirates Environmental Group

Address: Jumeirah 1, Villa No. 117A, JMR 68

Materials recycled: Glass, paper, mobile phones, plastic, toner, and aluminium cans.

Greenland Recycling LLC

Address: DIRC Complex, Dubai Investment Park 2, Dubai

Materials recycled: Personal care products like perfumes and body creams and shampoo bottles, cosmetics, consumer electronics, optical media, branded materials.

Shampoo bottles, conditioner and body lotion containers, perfumes and diffusers, roll-on containers, hand and body cream/ lotion containers, toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, travel toiletry kits, shaving razors and foam tubes, aerosol cans.

Individual customers can drop off non-contaminated and segregated household recyclables at their warehouse; aluminum will be recycled for free.

E-cyclex

Address: Al Qusais Industrial Area 4

Materials recycled: Electronics, plastics, metals, glass, clothes, paper, and cardboard.

You can recycle these for free by dropping them off at the Ecyclex location.

Waitrose Recycling Station

Address: Umm Al Sheif

Materials to recycle: Plastics and tetra packs, waste paper and cardboard, glass bottles, and aluminum cans.

Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) District 12 Recycle Centre

Materials recycled: plastic, cardboard, paper, cans.

Dubai Sports City Recycle Centre

Materials recycled: Paper, cardboard, plastic, cans.

Spinneys recycling center

Address: 6 4 A St, Al Safa 2, Dubai

Materials recycled: Cans, plastic, glass, paper.

The recycling center, Sustainability City

Address: The Sustainability City, Dubai

Materials recycled: Cardboard, paper, glass, metallic, plastic, general waste.

The Greens recycling center

Address: The Greens, Dubai

Materials recycled: Paper, glass, plastic.

Cardboard and clothes recycling center

Address: Emarat Petrol Station, Al Bustan

Materials recycled: Cardboard and clothes.

Cardboard Recycling Station

Address: Umm Suqeim, Jumeirah 3 – Dubai

Materials recycled: Cardboard

Imdaad

Imdaad offers nine collection vehicles, 291 recycling points, and 53 recycling centers in Dubai for residents.

Oasis Centre Mall in Al Quoz

Materials recycled: Paper and plastic waste.

Citymax Hotel in Al Barsha

Materials recycled: Paper and plastic waste.

The Beach in Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR)

Materials recycled: Paper and plastic waste.

The Promenade in Dubai Marina

Materials recycled: Glass, paper, and plastic waste.

Recycling Bin in Jebel Ali

Materials recycled: Metal, plastic, and paper waste.

Retail Centre in Arabian Ranches

Materials recycled: Clothes, cans, glass, paper, plastic waste, bulky items.

Tower Building in Dubai Studio City

Materials recycled: Glass, paper, and plastic waste.

The Village Shops in The Greens

Materials recycled: Cans, glass, paper, and plastic waste.

The Meadows Souk or The Lakes Club

Materials recycled: Glass, metal, plastic, and paper waste.

Jumeirah Lake Clusters (JLT)

Materials recycled: Cans, glass, paper, and plastic.

Spinneys in Dubai Silicon Oasis

Materials recycled: Clothes, cans, glass, paper, and plastic waste.

Burjuman Metro Station, behind Citibank

Materials recycled: Cans, paper, and plastic waste

Emirates Driving Institute in Al Qusais

Materials recycled: Plastic waste.

Near Toys R Us in Dubai Festival City

Materials recycled: Cans, paper, and plastic waste.

Emirates Aviation College in Al Garhoud

Materials recycled: Plastic and paper recycling.

Rashidiya Shopping Centre in Al Rashidiya

Materials recycled: Cardboard, cans, paper, and plastic waste.

Safa Park

Materials recycled: Cans, cardboard, paper, plastic.

Sharjah

Bee’ah is a leading UAE waste management company and manages recycling in the emirate of Sharjah.

You can drop off household waste at Sharjah’s large recycling centers or depots that are located in:

• Al Nahda, near Lulu, Sharjah
• King Faisal Mosque, Sharjah
• National Park, near Sharjah Airport
• American University of Sharjah, Sharjah

There are also 626 other residential recycling bins located at various street corners. To find out what is nearest to you, check the locations here on the Bee’ah website’s map.

App for recycling plastic bottles in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah

An app that focuses on only recycling plastic bottles is the Zeloop App for Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, available for Apple and Android devices. It will direct you to the nearest deposit point for the bottles. Not only is the recycling service for free, but you can also earn points and rewards that can be redeemed.

Bee’ah Call-in service

To dispose of large and bulky items that you can’t transport yourself, you can use B’eeah’s ‘You Call, we Haul’ services:

1. Contact the Beeah Recycling Center at 8008263333
2. Fill out a form, pick a time slot for the locations

Abu Dhabi

The Abu Dhabi Waste Management Centre, Tadweer, is in charge of waste collection and recycling in the Emirate.

You can recycle other materials like plastic, paper, glass, bottles, mobiles electronics, cardboards, discarded food items, and cans in their recycling center beside Khalidiya Park and other locations in the city.

You can follow these steps to recycle your household waste:

• Call 800 555 – the Abu Dhabi Government services number.
• Select the option for Tadweer.
• Provide the call center agent with your name, contact number, location, house number, and details of the items to be picked up.
• The call center will then coordinate with the relevant organizations to schedule a pick-up or inform you of convenient options.

You can also visit any of the following recycling centers to recyclable materials such as batteries, plastics, metal packages, and others.

Locations:

1. Al Musawah St – Zone 1 – Abu Dhabi
2. Zone 1E5 – Abu Dhabi
3. Park Residences – Zone 1 – Abu Dhabi
4. Arabian Gulf x 2 (two waste mines)
5. Al-Aryam Island – Abu Dhabi (Six waste mines)

Averda

Averda is a sustainable waste management services provider, which has three recycling centers in Abu Dhabi at the following locations:

Jimi Al Ain – 24.258131,55.739505

Sec 54, Al Khalidiyah, Abu Dhabi – 24.4700154,54.3436785

Sec 14, Al Khalidiyah, Abu Dhabi – 24.479998, 54.358710

Washmen recycling

In partnership with Bee’ah, the laundry service Washmen arranges for pickup of recyclable waste in Dubai and Abu Dhabi of these materials:

• Plastic
• Paper
• Washmen waste (hangers, plastic covers, etc.)

It is free when a laundry order has been placed, but a minimum of Dh45 is the payment if only for recycling. To access the service, download the Washmen app and place an order, filling out all recyclables in a washbag. A washmen driver will pick up the designated bags.

Abu Dhabi: how to recycle bottles and cans from home for free

1. Download the Recapp app on iOS or Android webstores.
2. Create an account with your location and schedule a pick-up time.
3. They will collect plastic bottles and metal cans from your home in Abu Dhabi and recycle them for free.
4. App users earn points on recycling that can be redeemed into gifts offered by partners.

Ras Al Khaimah

The Ras Al Khaimah Waste Management Agency has designated community centres such as recycling centers and food waste treatment facilities to encourage residents’ engagement in recycling initiatives. They can be found at the following locations:

Drop-off recycling centers

• Al Rams
• RAK Mall
• Al Dhaith (My City Center)
• Al Khuzzam
• Al Hamra Mall
• Food composting Hubs
• Al Nakheel
• Al Married
• RAK (Fruits and Vegetables) Market
• Al Khuzzam
• Al Hamra Mall

According to the RAK Waste Management Agency, here’s what you would need to do to recycle your household waste conveniently and free of cost in the emirate:

Reserve two special bins inside the house: One bin for food waste, which should not include tissues and eating utensils.

The other bin is for recyclable materials such as plastic, glass (which should be wrapped with paper before disposal), paper, metals, and cartons.

The recyclable material should be clean and dry.

Tie the bags very well for disposal.

While the general waste bags can be disposed of in the trash bin, the bags with recyclable materials can be dropped off at the nearest recycling center at any of the locations above.

Ajman

Suppose you are resident in the Musherief area in Ajman. In that case, you can separate your waste for recycling in the two skip bins provided – one for recyclables such as plastic, paper, glass, and cardboard, for example, and the other for general waste. The AIMS group company, the largest integrated environmental solutions provider in Ajman, collects the segregated waste for recycling.

In other areas in Ajman, your collected waste is segregated and recycled at the plants themselves.