At KAUST, we prioritize reducing waste as the most effective way to lessen environmental impact. Initiatives like minimizing single-use plastics and promoting reusable items are key. For reuse, our community is encouraged to donate or repurpose items, with partnerships established with charitable organizations and the KAUST Thrift Shop-Second Chance. Recycling is our final step, where materials are processed and repurposed. Cardboard is the most recycled material at KAUST, with ongoing efforts to improve waste management and sustainability.  

Reduce is at the top of KAUSTs waste hierarchy and our most preferred option. The most effective way to reduce waste is to not create it in the first place e.g., avoiding excess packaging, and one-time use items. Production of a new product emits greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change and requires a lot of materials and energy - raw materials must be extracted from the earth, and the product must be fabricated and then transported to wherever it will be sold.  

Some of the waste avoidance initiatives implemented by KAUST include restricting the single-use plastic bag in the supermarket, establishing bottle filling stations for drinking water, reducing the use of the single-use plastic bag in gardening waste collection, etc.  

Reuse is the second most preferred option. Reuse includes repairing broken items, finding new purposes for, or donating old and unused items, and using things like reusable shopping bags and water bottles as alternatives to single-use items.  

Our reuse program helps the KAUST community to share usable goods. We have partnered with well-regarded and registered charitable organizations in Saudi Arabia that receive community-donated reusable items. Some of the collected reusables are also transferred to KAUST’s Thrift Shop-Second Chance.  

Below are some of the options available to our community to prevent usable material from landfill.  

Community sale groups: KAUST Community sale group on social media are a great tool to share usable goods in the neighborhood.  

Donation: If you wish to donate, reach out to us either through email or FM helpdesk and we will arrange for a pick-up. You can also drop off the re-useable items at our Reuse Center located at Waste Transfer Station.  

Recycling becomes the most preferred option when reduce or reuse cannot be achieved. Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as trash into products, materials or substances whether for the original or other purposes. After collection, recyclables are brought to the waste facility at KAUST to be further sorted (limited), cleaned, and compacted into bales. Compacted recyclable bales are temporary stored onsite and then sold to our recycling partners.