A snapshot of the Solid Waste and Recycling
in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia touching on business opportunities
Hafidh AlSamarrai, C.Eng.,
Ph.D., M.Eng., B.Sc.
FBCS, SMIEEE, MIOA, MITE
President
Global Business Development and Growth Inc.,
Toronto, ON, Canada
hafidh@gbdgi.net
and
Abdulrahman AlSamarrai, B.A Economics, TO
Economics Analyst
Abdulrahman@gbdgi.net
And
Khaleda Wardak, B.Sc.
King Abdulaziz University-Jeddah-Saudi Arabia
Vice Chair, PA Western Saudi Arabia IEEE Section
khaleda_wardak@yahoo.com
Introduction:
Solid Waste should be looked at as part of the comprehensive picture within the country and
its environmental status in general. It is not at all possible to isolate the solid waste
management and recycling from other activities. It is also a complex issue because it is
significantly related to socioeconomic activities in the country, therefore, it is continuously
changing and it is affected by a multitude of internal and external factors.
Saudi Arabia has paid attention to solid management and its activities since long time ago,
and has also moved into the involvement and the participation of the private sector in the
environmental sector. Saudi Arabia has also made significant investments in this field.
International Environmental Indices:
Saudi Arabia has been rated within the modest performers' countries category and ranked 82
among 132 Countries in the world according to the 2012 Environmental Performance Index
(EPI) published by Yale University (1). The EPI has five categories each of which is rated on the
scale of: Strongest, Strong, Modest, Weaker and Weakest Performers. The PEI rating provided
some other information about the Kingdom and these included: the population of the
Kingdom is 27,448,086 and its GDP per Capita is $20,374. The EPI rating seems reasonable
because the low rating was mainly because of the climate change and water
components/factors of the EPI index. The EPI index has no components which are directly
related to the subject of our paper (Solid Waste and Recycling). However, the Environmental
Sustainable Index (ESI) (2), which is published in 2005 and based on five variables, namely:
Environmental Systems, Reducing Stresses, Reducing Human Vulnerability, Social and
Institutional Capacity and Global Stewardship has very relevant variables to the topic of our
paper. The Kingdom's ESI is 37.8 and it is ranked at 136 among the total of 146 Countries. The
ESI uses the value of $11,377 as the Kingdom's GDP/Capita which was used by the index as
the base to compare the ESI with the peer group which has the range of ($5,869 - $12,673)
which has the average ESI score of 52.1. The country’s Environmental Sustainability Index
score and the average Index score for the countries in the subject country’s peer group as
defined by GDP per capita. Peer groups were assigned by dividing the countries of the index
into five equal groups, sorted by GDP per capita (PPP). The ESI report states that they use
income to assign peer groups not because they wish to privilege the view that income
determines environmental performance. To the contrary, they say, one of our conclusions is
that within similar levels of economic performance countries exhibit significant variation in
their levels of environmental sustainability. By comparing a country’s Index score with that of
others in its peer group, one can get a useful measure of how effective its environmental
efforts are. In this paper we are simply quoting what the ESI report and we are neither
discussing, agreeing nor disagreeing with it. We shall be using some of the report's results to
present important findings about solid waste management.
There are two relevant ESI variables/indicators to the topic of our paper, namely, reducing
waste and consumption pressure, and private sector responsiveness. The Kingdom scores in
these indicators are -0.16 and -0.32 (ranked at 73) respectively, these are compared with the
peer group average scores of -0.13 and 0.16. These results show that the Kingdom is in good
position compared to the peer group with regards to solid waste, despite the fact that its peer
group is mostly represented by developed countries. Saudi Arabia is also ranked 49 among
the 146 countries at a score of 64.4 in the Reducing Human Vulnerability component, and
ranked at 118 with score of 31.3 in the Social and Institutional Capacity component, and
ranked at 88 with score of -0.28 at the Environmental Governance indicator. These figures
should shed some light on the environmental status in the Kingdom and on the solid waste
aspects as well.
Solid Wastes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:
The Ministry of Municipality and Rural Affairs (MOMRA) reports show that the total solid
waste generation in the Kingdom is reaching 13 Million Tons and the average per capita
generation is at more than 1.3 Kg per day, and the waste cleansings in different cities in the
Kingdom is reaching the total number of 22.3 million people (3).
According to EcoMENA (4), the Kingdom has been witnessing rapid industrialization, high
population growth rate and fast urbanization which have resulted in increased levels of
pollution and waste. Solid waste management is becoming a big challenge for the government
and local bodies, with each passing day. With population of around 29Millions, Saudi Arabia
generates more than 15Million tons of solid waste per year. The per capita waste generation
is estimated at 1.5 to 1.8 kg per person per day (4). We can notice that these figures which
have been quoted by EcoMENA are different from the figures quoted by MOMRA(3).
Solid waste generation in the three largest cities – Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam – exceeds
6Million tons annually which gives an indication of the magnitude of the problem faced by
local authorities and the level of strain it imposes on the environment. More than 75% of the
population is concentrated in urban areas which make it necessary for the government to
initiate measures to improve recycling and waste management scenario in the country. (4)
Solid waste characterization studies of different waste streams conducted by AlSamarrai, et
al (5), and in the joint study conducted by Global Business Development and Growth Inc. and
SAIC Environment Energy Infrastructure (6), and in GDBG's electronic surveys (7),(8),(9) have
shown that very important recyclable materials exists in the different solid waste streams with
significant volumes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These materials consists of, and not
limited to, plastics, aluminum, cardboard, paper, steel, wood, concrete, glass, etc. The solid
waste streams studied so far covered municipal solid waste, waste electrical and electronic
equipment and construction and demolition waste.
Market Size and share:
Figure -1 shows the Revenue Share Trends by Disposal Route of Africa & Middle East
Industrial Waste Recycling Markets as reported in the Global Industrial Waste Recycling &
Services Markets (10) :
Figure -1 : Revenue Share Trends by Disposal Route
Figure-2 shows that the recycling revenue share in the Africa and Middle East which includes
Saudi Arabia accounts for about 11%, while it accounts for about 29% in Europe. This shows
that there is a high potential for the recycling market to develop and expands this market(10).
Figure-3: Top 15 Country Markets with Industry Type Oriented Volumes
Figure-4 shows the Industrial Waste Volume in Saudi Arabia and Table-1 shows the Saudi
Arabia Industrial Waste Recycling and Disposal Services Market View.
Figure-2 : Revenue Share Trends by Key Countries Route
Fig-3 shows the top 15 Country Markets with Industry Type Oriented Volumes which shows that
Saudi Arabia has a higher market than both Australia and Canada and very close to Brazil which
should be an interesting for all those who are interested in these markets.
Figure - 4: Industrial Waste Volume in Saudi Arabia
Industrial Waste
Generated
58.15
(Million Tonnes , 2011)
Collected
47.67
Industrial Waste Recycling and
Disposal Services Market
Market Size ($ billion, 2011)
6.93
CAGR (2011-2017)
10.5%
Collection
1.21
Recycling
0.612
Incineration
0.544
Landfill
4.55
Revenue by Waste Service Type
($ billion, 2011)
Table-1 Saudi Arabia Industrial Waste Recycling and Disposal Services
Market View
GBDG's study which was conducted in cooperation with SAIC (10) has shown that there is a
global, regional and country level market for the recycled materials. In our study, we have
paid special attention to the location where our market research is conducted because we
believe that optimizing the transportation of C&D Waste materials between Source and Plant
or Direct Buyers is an important factor for the project to succeed. Proximity to supply and
demand market is crucial towards minimizing costs and efficient and profitable delivery.
Considering the location of the prospected facility is in Jeddah, the gathered data would be
indicative in analyzing the current market conditions. Figure-5 shows the coverage of our
market research and electronic market analysis study.
Figure - 5: Location of Different Companies Location
As noted by Figure-5 , 73% of respondents, who represent the potential target market, to
ensure that buyers of the recycled materials would not need to travel long distances, resulting
in shorter delivery times, better client relationship management, and thus, satisfied
customers. Proximity to clients and resources would yield:
1.
2.
A more efficient supply chain management,
Better client relationship management, Potential capabilities for business expansion
outside Jeddah to other cities in the kingdom.
GBDG and SAIC's study has shown that there are 16 Major Saudi Companies in Waste Market
in addition to other players in the solid waste and recycling market in the Kingdom. Other
players include but not limited to Dallah, SKAB, Zaharan and many others. In addition to these,
there are several governmental recycling plants in the Kingdom, all of which handles MSW.
Some of these plants are the recycling plant in the Royal Commission in Yanbu, Hail, Eastern
Province, etc.
Figure- 6 shows the results obtained from GBDG's study of the WEEE electronic study
depicting the average expenditure of organizations on Electrical and Electronic Equipment
versus the number of employees in the organizations studied (7).
Figure- 6 shows the average expenditure of organizations on Electrical and
Electronic Equipment vs the number of employees
Figure- 7 shows the results obtained from the same GBDG's study of the WEEE electronic
study depicting the methods used by different organizations to sell their Waste Electrical
and Electronic Equipment(7).
Figure- 7 shows the methods used by different organizations to sell Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Figure- 8 shows the results obtained from the GBDG's study of the household WEEE e-survey
study depicting the possession of different households of the Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (8) (9).
Response
Chart
Percentage
Mobile Phones
94%
Computer/PC’s
75%
Laptops
92%
Game Consoles
36%
Television Sets
83%
iPods/Radios
50%
Printers
72%
DVD Players
58%
Picture &Video Cameras
64%
Dishwasher
17%
Washing Machine
69%
Grill
44%
Toaster
50%
Kettle
44%
Figure- 8 shows the responses from households on their possession of Electrical
and Electronic Equipment
Market Potential and Business Opportunities for the private sector:
The ESI (2) results stated above show that there is an excellent chance for the private sector
to move in and participate in these activities.
Our market analysis shows that the global revenue from recycling stands at US$ 158.26 Billion,
out of which the Middle East and Africa share stands at US$ 3.22 Billion and the Kingdom
share stands at US$ 612 Million. This shows the viability of the market and the huge potential
to expand in the future. The Kingdom’s share of the market is expected to reach the total of
US$1,248.48 Million by 2017 (10).
The Ministry of Municipality and Rural Affairs (MOMRA) states that there are more one
thousands projects in the solid waste which amounts to SR 7.8 Billion (3).
The above findings is very much supported by other findings in our study, whether these
studies are secondary or primary i.e. the ones which we have conducted by GBDG or by
others and they are supported by studies conducted by other researchers (11), (12), (13).
References
1. EPI 2012 Environmental Performance Index and Pilot Trend Environmental
Performance Index – Yale University- 2012
2. 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index Benchmarking National Environmental
Stewardship Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy Yale University Center for
International Earth Science Information Network Columbia University – 2005
3. The Website of the Ministry of Municipalities and Rural Affairs – Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. http://www.momra.gov.sa/About/RelatedSites.aspx
4. EcoMENA, Powering Sustainable Development in MENA
http://www.ecomena.org/solid-waste-management-in-saudi-arabia/
5. AlSamarrai, H.S., et al. "A Practical Approach to Municipal Solid Waste Management
Recycling in the Gulf Region" SADACA Environmental Group – 1996.
6. Solid Waste Characterization in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Global Business
Development and Growth Inc., (GBDG) and SAIC Environment Energy Infrastructure
Internal Report – Jan 2013
7. Corporate Waste Electrical and Electronic Waste (WEEE) - electronic survey:
http://ieee.fluidsurveys.com/surveys/R80053/waste-electrical-and-electronicequipment-study/
8. Personal and Household Waste Electrical and Electronic Waste (WEEE) - electronic
survey:
http://ieee.fluidsurveys.com/s/DWEE/
9. AlSamarrai, H.S, et al "The Current and Future of Generation of Waste Electrical and
Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia "Sixteenth Gulf
Engineering Forum- Jeddah- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - February 2013
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Screening and Identification of Country and of Industry Market Hot Industry Market
Hot Spots - Final Report - Frost & Sullivan- September 2012
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SAIC Environment Energy Infrastructure - Internal Report – May 2012
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Projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia " The International Conference on the
Environmental Effects of Development organized by Ministry of Municipalities and
Rural Affairs: 21-23 Sept. 1997
13. AlSamarrai, H.S. "Financing of Environmental Projects" – Journal of Islamic Cities –
1999.