Dubai: Dubai Municipality has honoured Dubai Airports for its outstanding achievements relating to sustainable waste management. The recognition came during a visit by His Excellency Eng. Marwan Ahmed bin Ghalita, Director General of Dubai Municipality, accompanied by several executive and administrative leaders of the municipality, to review Dubai Airports’ waste management system.
Dubai Municipality acknowledged Dubai Airports’ success in diverting 100% of its waste from landfill since May 2026 to date, in addition to reducing overall waste generation by 5% and achieving a 37% recycling rate. These results reflect Dubai Airports’ commitment to implementing sustainable waste management practices and advancing the city’s transition towards a more efficient circular economy in line with the objectives of the Dubai Integrated Waste Management Strategy 2021-2041.
Integrated approach
This achievement also testifies to the success of the integrated approach to reducing waste and maximising resource utilisation across airport facilities, led by Dubai Airports in collaboration with its partners across the oneDXB airport community. The approach boosts operational efficiency and strengthens long-term environmental performance.
The visit included a field tour, during which Dubai Airports showcased its sustainable waste management ecosystem and related operational initiatives, including waste segregation, treatment, and recycling. The Dubai Municipality delegation was also briefed on the measures implemented to expand resource recovery across airport facilities.
The visit involved a ceremony recognising Dubai Municipality and Dubai Airports employees and organisational units that played an active role in supporting such efforts through ongoing coordination, technical and specialised assistance, and contributions to the development of the waste management ecosystem.
The recognition highlights the importance of integrating the roles of Dubai Municipality teams across different areas of expertise and illustrates how these joint endeavours have helped translate sustainability objectives into measurable day-to-day outcomes.
Institutional partnership model
His Excellency Eng. Marwan Ahmed bin Ghalita, Director General of Dubai Municipality, said: “We are proud of Dubai Airports’ outstanding results in sustainable waste management, reflecting its commitment to applying best practices in recycling and waste diversion from landfill. This success represents a strong example of an effective institutional partnership with Dubai Municipality. It also demonstrates that achieving sustainability objectives begins with integrated efforts, collaboration between entities, and the exchange of expertise, leading to tangible progress in improving resource management efficiency and advancing the principles of the circular economy, in line with the objectives of the Dubai Integrated Waste Management Strategy 2021-2041.”
He added: “At Dubai Municipality, we continue working with our partners to promote best practices in integrated waste management and recognise models that deliver outstanding results in this field. This contributes to our endeavours to make Dubai a more sustainable, attractive, and liveable city while reinforcing its position as the world’s cleanest city.”
Majed Al Joker, Chief Operating Officer at Dubai Airports, said: “This recognition is a testament to Dubai Airports’ success in embedding sustainability principles into its daily operations. Achieving 100% waste diversion from landfill alongside reducing waste generation and increasing recycling rates demonstrates the effectiveness of our integrated approach focused on resource efficiency and maximising resource recovery across airport facilities.”
He added: “We are proud of accelerating the adoption of sustainable practices in collaboration with Dubai Municipality and our partners across the oneDXB airport community. We will continue to build on this progress by developing new initiatives that reduce the environmental impact of our operations, enhancing the sustainability of the aviation sector and contributing to Dubai’s long-term objectives.”
Technical and operational support
Dubai Municipality teams supported these efforts through effective coordination with specialised recycling facilities across the emirate as well as the Warsan Waste-to-Energy Centre. The ongoing support has helped create reliable treatment pathways for the diversion of airport waste from landfill.
The support included addressing logistical, administrative, and operational challenges that could affect the continuity of waste diversion and recycling operations. These efforts have contributed to maintaining the results achieved and ensuring their long-term sustainability.
To enhance environmental protection and resource efficiency, Dubai Municipality works with various entities across the emirate to develop an integrated waste management system by encouraging sustainable practices, including segregation at source, recycling, and recovery.