Rather than positioning recycling as a corporate responsibility side project, the collaboration is structured to integrate recycling directly into communities—spanning residential neighborhoods, schools, and retail spaces. This proximity tackles one of the biggest challenges in waste management: accessibility.
Dubbed “Sparklomats,” the machines use machine learning to automatically identify and sort recyclable containers. In return for recycling, users receive reward points they can redeem for discounts on Mai Dubai products and services—tying environmental action to everyday value. This points-based incentive system goes live in May.
Sparklo has already collected more than 90 million containers across the region, with 81 million of those processed in the UAE alone. For Mai Dubai, the rollout represents a move to connect its sustainability ambitions—such as its 100% solar-powered bottling plant—with a broader infrastructure that empowers customer participation in waste reduction.
Beyond the tech, the partnership reflects a business model aligned with the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 strategy and National Circular Economy Policy. It moves beyond isolated green campaigns and into systems thinking: by enabling bottle collection, sorting, and theoretical reuse within the same commercial ecosystem, the model begins to close the material loop.
Mai Dubai CEO Abraham Kah notes the initiative is designed to extend the company’s sustainability practices beyond its facility walls. For Sparklo, the deployment is also a proof point: a validation that when recycling is easy and directly beneficial to consumers, participation increases—and so does impact.
This approach reframes sustainability as a shared value proposition rather than a compliance obligation. By embedding circular practices into daily life and offering clear business incentives, both companies are contributing to what could become a regionally replicable model for tech-enabled environmental progress.
The commercial sector will be watching closely. If successful, this partnership could shape how other industries in the Gulf integrate environmental targets with operational and customer-facing strategies—especially in regions where infrastructure remains a barrier to widespread recycling.
