Free door-to-door recycling service comes to Dubai

Recapp, the UAE’s first free-of-charge door-to-door recycling service, has announced its expansion into Dubai. Residents can now schedule pickups for recyclable materials at their convenience. The Recapp service is currently available to residents in Umm Suqeim, Jumeirah, Business Bay and Downtown, Al Barsha, MBRM City – District One – Meydan, Arabian Ranches 1, and Springs, Meadows and The Lakes.

Jérôme Viricel, general manager of Recapp at Veolia Middle East, said: “We are thrilled to bring Recapp to Dubai after achieving tremendous results in Abu Dhabi, where we have empowered thousands of residents to take up recycling by providing a free, accessible, convenient service. Launching Recapp in Dubai will enable us to significantly expand our base of recyclers, furthering our mission of supporting local communities as they strive to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.”

Launched in November 2020 in Abu Dhabi by Veolia Middle East, Recapp has built a community of 15,000 registered users in Abu Dhabi and collected 150 tonnes of recyclables, including transparent and opaque plastic bottles and aluminum cans.

Recapp offers an easy and efficient way to schedule pick-ups for plastic bottles and aluminum cans. After segregating recyclables from general waste at home, residents can download the app from the App Store or Google Play, and schedule a pick-up time at their convenience. Recapp will then collect the recyclables from the user’s doorstep and recycle them, completely free of charge.

The collected recyclables will be transported to Recapp’s newly-opened warehouse in Al Quoz, where the plastic bottles and aluminum cans will be segregated and baled, with a daily segregation capacity of one tonne.

Each time a user recycles, points are accumulated based on the weight of the collected recyclables, and the user can redeem the points with the company’s reward partners.

Alongside Agthia with Al Ain Water and 1971 Store, Carrefour, Upfill, and De L’Arta, Recapp has also added Cotton Home to its portfolio of reward partners. Cotton Home is a local high-quality bedding supplies brand that creates fabrics from fibre made of recycled plastic. This strategic partnership will enable the recovery of plastic to give it new life, reflecting the company’s goal to close plastic loops and support the local circular economy.

Recapp is collaborating with Agthia, and has begun building partnerships with Coca-Cola, Nestlé, FrieslandCampina, PepsiCo and Unilever, with the goal of capturing recyclable post-consumer packaging and ensuring it is effectively recycled.

These efforts are in line with the UAE Circular Economy Policy to adopt sustainable consumption and production patterns.