Saudi Arabia to build first recycling facility by year-end

Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC), a subsidiary of the government’s sovereign wealth fund, plans to build the first recycling facility for construction debris in the capital, Riyadh.

"The first phase of construction is expected to start by the end of the year," Jeroen Vincent, the company’s chief executive, told Bloomberg. 

 “The new waste-sorting and recycling facility is only the beginning of a series of similar facilities to be launched within the next three years, with a broader goal of recycling all kinds of waste, such as fertilizers, paper, plastic and metals," Vincent added.

SIRC, the National Waste Management Center and the Riyadh Municipality recently signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) to start recycling activities in the capital. The plan included recycling 81 percent of the 3.4 million tons of municipal solid waste, and 47 percent of the 8 million tons of production volume of construction and demolition waste annually by 2035.

Established in 2017 by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, SIRC aimed to contribute over SAR 37 billion to the gross domestic product of the Kingdom, attracting up to SAR 6 billion in inward investments and creating around 23,000 new jobs by 2030.