Abu Dhabi waste management company Tadweer Group has awarded a key contract to Spanish environmental solutions company Urbaser to develop the emirate’s first greenfield material recovery facility, a project designed to process 400,000t of waste annually.
The facility will be capable of processing 200,000t of municipal solid waste and 200,000t of commercial and industrial waste each year, thus boosting Tadweer’s efforts to divert 80% of Abu Dhabi’s waste away from landfill by 2031.
Scheduled to become operational in 2028, the facility will strengthen Abu Dhabi’s ability to recover valuable materials, reduce reliance on landfill and support the emirate’s transition towards a more circular waste management model. The modern, state-of-the-art facility will use automated sorting and recovery systems, supported by optical technologies and AI, to improve the accuracy of material separation and increase recovery efficiency.
This will support the production of high-quality recovered materials for reuse or further processing in our waste-to-energy facility currently under development in Abu Dhabi, it stated.
Group CEO Etienne Petit said through this partnership, Tadweer Group continues to develop future-ready infrastructure that transforms waste into resources, strengthens Abu Dhabi’s material recovery capabilities and supports the UAE’s wider circular economy agenda.
“This milestone marks a strategic step in transforming how we manage waste at scale. Through our partnership with Urbaser, we are combining international operational expertise with advanced sorting and recovery technologies to support Tadweer Group’s ambition to divert 80% of waste away from landfill by 2031 and contribute to a circular waste management system for Abu Dhabi,” he stated.
According to him, the agreement covers both the construction and operation of the facility. Urbaser will deliver the construction phase. Once operational, the facility will be managed for 5-years through a joint venture between Urbaser, holding 60%, and Tadweer Group, holding 40%, he added.
