Circular Economy : Circularity gains a regional champion as CPA joins Recycling Expo Middle East 2026

When the Circular Packaging Association (CPA) takes its place as Official Knowledge Partner of Recycling Expo Middle East 2026, it marks a shift the region's waste sector has been waiting for: the move from commitment to delivery. The appointment will see CPA convene industry, policy and innovation leaders around the event in Dubai on 22–23 September 2026, and shape much of what is discussed there — steering regulatory and policy debate towards scalable circular packaging and recycling systems across the Middle East.

The numbers behind the partnership explain why it matters to anyone working in waste and resource management. Across the region, packaging waste is estimated to account for 14–20% of municipal waste — a stream that is largely reusable and, on CPA's own research, worth up to AED 1 billion a year to the UAE economy if it can be converted from waste into a resource.

For an industry long accustomed to handling packaging as a disposal problem, the framing here is deliberately different. The value CPA points to is not theoretical: it rests on treating recovered packaging as feedstock rather than residue, and on building the policy frameworks, infrastructure and market systems that allow that value to be captured at scale.

Mohamed Ali Eldabaa, Chairman of Circular Packaging Association said: "Advancing circular packaging in this region means moving beyond dialogue into delivery. Our research shows that even small-scale recovery, just 60 tonnes of materials, can cut emissions by 45%, and that converting packaging waste to resource could generate up to 1 billion AED annually for the UAE economy alone. The opportunity is real, but capturing it requires the policy frameworks, infrastructure, and market systems to work together. From EPR design to viable end-markets for recycled materials, the challenges are interconnected, and our partnership with Recycling Expo Middle East represents a platform to bring stakeholders closer to the outcomes the region needs."

Through the collaboration, CPA will play a central role in shaping the event's programme, contributing expertise, thought leadership and expert speakers to discussions on strengthening circular supply chains and recovery systems across the Middle East.

The priority themes read as a practical checklist for the sector. They include strengthening reverse logistics and collection systems; improving the traceability and verification of recycled content; building economically viable end-markets for recovered materials; advancing effective extended producer responsibility (EPR) models; and accelerating design-for-recyclability to improve real-world outcomes. Taken together, they reflect a recognition that the bottlenecks in reprocessing are interconnected rather than isolated.

Beyond the operational priorities, additional sessions will examine how circular supply chains can build resilience for the packaging sector. That includes the role of locally sourced recycled materials — such as recycled PET (rPET) — in supporting in-country value creation and bottle-to-bottle systems, a model that keeps material and economic value within the region rather than exporting it.

For the organisers, the value of the tie-up lies in convening the full value chain in one place.

Jake Cody, Event Director at Recycling Expo Middle East also mentioned: "Partnering with the Circular Packaging Association is an important step in strengthening collaboration across the UAE and wider GCC circular economy ecosystem. The work CPA is leading around sustainable packaging, policy, and industry engagement reflects many of the critical conversations shaping the region's future."

He added: "At Recycling Expo Middle East, our goal is to unite stakeholders from across the value chain to share knowledge, address regional challenges, and support practical progress toward a more circular economy. We are proud to welcome CPA as a Knowledge Partner and look forward to working together to help drive the industry forward."

The collaboration is aligned with the UAE's Circular Economy Policy 2021–2031 — the first such policy issued in the GCC — and with the region's broader ambitions around resource efficiency and sustainable growth. For a waste industry watching circular economy rhetoric mature into something investable, it is a useful signal: a sign of growing momentum to translate commitments into practical systems at scale.