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Globally, governments and private industries are finding innovative methods to shift to circular economy models for sustainable growth. Circular economy models aim to maximize resource value and eliminate waste by improving the design of materials, products, systems, and businesses. Large organizations that are redevising their business strategies towards circularity can expect greater stability and efficiency among their supply chains. This will have a positive implication for the economy and the environment. The GCC has a high potential for circular economy models as the country is facing the adverse effects of their current waste management practices, which are mostly linear models. By embracing circular economy models, GCC countries can achieve sustainable growth, which is the objective of their federal government.

Municipal waste management is a major concern in the GCC. The total waste generated is expected to increase from 128 Mn MT in 2019 to as high as 164 Mn MT per annum by 2025, across the GCC. The existing landfilling strategies will not be able to handle this increase. This will result in a need for alternative mechanisms to tackle waste.

The critical gap in the present waste management value chain is source segregation. The GCC countries do not follow adequate source segregation but have an efficient collection and transportation system.