Abu Dhabi: Technology firm Emirates Biotech and United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) are collaborating on a two-year pilot project to develop the UAE’s first integrated facility for converting organic waste into renewable energy and compost, according to a report by Gasworld.
The plant, to be established near the UAEU campus in Al Ain, will process mixed food waste, including streams containing compostable packaging. The facility will have a processing capacity of up to 40 kg of organic waste a day.
The project will run from August 2026 to August 2028, with installation and commissioning targeted for completion by August 2027. Researchers will assess the technology’s technical performance as well as its environmental and economic viability.
The process will combine anaerobic digestion and composting. Organic waste will first be converted into biogas through anaerobic digestion, while the resulting digestate will be processed into nutrient-rich compost.
Researchers will also examine the possibility of converting the biogas into renewable hydrogen at laboratory scale.
Dr Aman Kulshrestha, chief technology officer at Emirates Biotech, said the pilot is intended to demonstrate an integrated approach to organic waste management and resource recovery. He said the model could potentially increase waste diversion and support the use of compostable packaging within a circular waste system.
Food waste makes up nearly 40% of the UAE’s daily municipal solid waste, according to the project partners, with a substantial portion currently going to landfill.
The pilot will therefore assess whether food waste and compostable packaging can be processed together while recovering useful products and reducing the amount of material sent to landfill.
Professor Zafar Said Sher, UAEU’s project lead, said the research would examine a practical end-of-life route for food waste and compostable packaging while contributing to the UAE’s circular economy, food security and Net Zero objectives.
The initiative will also give students and researchers hands-on experience in waste-to-resource technologies. Dr Rami, associate provost for research at UAEU, said industry-academic collaboration would be key to moving research towards commercially scalable applications.
According to the project partners, an integrated organic waste valorisation facility, if successfully scaled up, could potentially reduce CO2 emissions by 89% compared with landfilling.
The pilot is expected to generate technical data and operating guidelines that could support the development of larger modular waste-processing facilities in the UAE and other markets.
