The Solid Waste Recycling Centre in Mesaieed recovered more than 37,000 tonnes of plastic and metal in 2025, indicating the growing the role of the country's waste-treatment infrastructure in reducing landfill disposal and increasing the recovery of reusable materials.
According to figures reported by the Ministry of Municipality, the centre sorted and recovered around 25,000 tonnes of plastic and 12,000 tonnes of metal during last year, bringing the combined volume to around 37,000 tonnes. Plastic represented around 67% of the recovered materials, while metals accounted for the remaining 33%. The otherwise landfill waste materials that used to be unnecessary burden on the local environment was accordingly converted in reusable materials of good economic value that could considerably benefit various related industry with good and sustainable sources of raw material, enhancing the local efforts of encouraging circular business practices. Meanwhile, recycled plastics can be processed into new products and packaging, while recovered metals can be reintroduced into manufacturing and construction supply chains. Further, using recycled materials would reduce demand for virgin resources and the environmental impacts associated with their extraction and processing.
The Mesaieed facility is part of Qatar's broader waste-management infrastructure, which handles municipal solid waste through a combination of sorting, recycling, organic waste treatment and energy recovery. Its operations contribute to reducing the volume of waste requiring landfill disposal while recovering materials with potential economic value.
In the meantime, official figures presented by the Minister of Municipality at the Sixth Recycling Towards Sustainability Conference and Exhibition in October 2026 show that 45% of municipal solid waste was diverted from landfills in 2025. During the same year, the national Waste Treatment Centre generated more than 276,000 megawatt-hours of electricity, processed over 10,000 tonnes of used tyres and produced more than 34,000 tonnes of compost. Qatar also produced approximately 3.9mn tonnes of recycled construction materials at Rawdat Rashid.
In addition, private-sector investment in this sector has been considerably and rapidly expanding, with Al Afja recycling industrial area accommodating 61 designated facilities, comprising 29 operational factories, 19 under construction and 13 in development. The Ministry selected nine investors in 2025 to establish new recycling projects, with lease agreements signed with four investors in October 2026.
Related official efforts include the Zero Waste initiative, development of a national digital waste-management system and investment in sorting, recovery and landfill infrastructure, in addition to the ongoing intensive awareness efforts to promote separation at the source of household and public waste through the distribution of designated recycling bins across various areas and key facilities all over the country.