Saudi PIF-owned recycling company says sector could be worth more than $18bn

RIYADH: The CEO of Saudi Arabia’s biggest waste company said the low level of recycling in the Kingdom is a lost opportunity worth as much SR70 billion ($18.7 billion).
Saudi Arabia currently recycles less than 1 percent of its waste, Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC) CEO Ziyad Al-Shiha told Aleqtisadiyah.
SIRC is a unit of the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund.
The Kingdom produces 45 million tons of waste, half of which is from demolition and construction projects, a quarter from municipalities with the remainder from medical and industrial waste.
Construction waste can, for example, be re-used again after being crushed and turned into aggregates, he explained.
Al-Shiha stressed the need for household waste separation as a first step in efforts to develop an efficient recycling industry.
The company is in the process of establishing partnerships with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, the National Center for Waste Control and other bodies that will formulate possible regulations to boost the recycling sector.
Saudi Arabia currently spends some SR4 billion worth on waste collection alone.
The Saudi Investment Recycling Company was established by the Public Investment Fund to support the environmental sustainability goals of Vision 2030.