Report for Middle East

Oversupply of low-cost virgin plastic resin has driven down prices, making recycled plastics more expensive and less attractive to manufacturers. This is weakening market demand for recyclates and hurting recyclers’ revenues.

In the Gulf Cooperation Council region, the dominance of low-cost virgin plastics from petrochemicals is undermining the business case for recycling, which often cannot compete economically. As a result, many recyclers are struggling to sell their materials profitably. At the same time, recycling processes - both mechanical and chemical - are energy-intensive, and so rising energy costs have pushed up operating expenses and thus cut profit margins.

In many markets, recycled-content mandates and other supportive policies have either been delayed or remain unclear, making it hard for businesses and investors to plan a long-term recycling infrastructure.

Despite policy pushes, recycling rates remain relatively low in Saudi Arabia and the UAE at approximately 10%.