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UAE: Throwing away food? This app helps recycle waste without leaving your house
Discarded food is turned into nutrient-rich compost — or 'brown gold' — that revitalises desert soil for agriculture
- PUBLISHED: Thu 13 Feb 2025, 5:30 AM
Food waste in the UAE exceeds 50 per cent during Ramadan and over 30 per cent on regular days, according to the co-founder of ReLoop, an app turning food waste into sustainable resources.
Co-founded by Youssef Chehade and Mohammad Abdulmoti in 2021, ReLoop is a climate tech solution that makes recycling "as easy as ordering food online", offering doorstep collection services.
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Chehade, a chemical engineer raised in the UAE, grew up in a household that valued sustainability and resourcefulness. “We were raised on preserving our blessings and only buying what is necessary and reusing or fixing rather than throwing things away,” said the 35-year-old Lebanese expat.
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His global travels exposed him to various recycling initiatives, inspiring him to innovate feasible methods for waste reduction. "We see how much food is wasted while millions globally suffer from hunger. We wanted to create a solution that helps preserve this blessing.”
This drove him to start Ecyclex International Recycling in 2012 with former fellow college student Abdulmoti, as a part time business which grew to embrace three recycling facilities across the country — Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
“Then, in 2021, we launched ReLoop, a climate tech mobile and web app that brings technology and digitalisation to the recycling industry, allowing both households and companies to recycle from their doorstep through the phone.”
ReLoop has already diverted more than one million kilos of food waste from landfills since its inception in 2021. The company’s approach integrates digital innovation with holistic recycling operations, turning discarded food into nutrient-rich compost — or "brown gold" — that revitalises desert soil for agriculture.
Services offered include food waste assessments, segregation bins, awareness programmes, waste collection, and compost distribution to local farmers.
“We see how much food is wasted — above 30 per cent in normal days and around 50 to 60 per cent in Ramadan — which proves the blessings we live with and the need to protect them,” he said. “Around nine million people die of hunger around the world according to UN studies, so we wanted to do something to preserve this blessing in the UAE.”
ReLoop collaborates with national initiatives like ne’ma, the UAE National Food Loss and Waste Initiative, and the UAE Food Bank. The app has played a crucial role in food waste reduction at major events, including Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, Formula 1, Coldplay concerts, and the Al Hosn Festival.
Through his food rescuing interventions, Chehade said he noticed that people are unaware of the amount of food waste their events or venues will potentially generate. “But after putting a segregation and recycling system, they realise how much of it is thrown in the trash.” Chehade said he noticed a drop in food wastage following waste reduction messages and initiatives launched by the government.
Most recently, through ne’ma’s partnership with Taste of Abu Dhabi, ReLoop helped divert 310kg of food waste, preventing 775kg of CO2 emissions. Building on this momentum, ne’ma and ReLoop are set to implement similar measures at Taste of Dubai, taking place this weekend from February 14 to 16. The initiative aims to educate 25,000 expected visitors on practical food waste reduction strategies.
"By providing real solutions and raising awareness, we aim to inspire long-term behavioural change," said Khuloud Al Nuwais, Chief Sustainability Officer at Emirates Foundation and Secretary General of ne’ma. To ensure effective food waste management at the event, trained personnel will be deployed to assist with waste segregation. Vendors will receive guidance on waste reduction, while all collected food waste will be composted and repurposed for agricultural use, she added.
