About The Waste Lab
The Waste Lab is a Dubai-based sustainability organisation that turns food and organic waste into compost. Founded by Tatiana Antonelli Abella, it works with households, businesses, schools and communities to divert organic waste from landfill and return it to the soil as a natural fertiliser.
Food and organic waste make up a large share of household and commercial waste in the UAE. When organic waste is sent to landfill, it decomposes without oxygen and produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Composting instead breaks down organic matter with oxygen, producing a nutrient-rich material that can improve soil health.
The Waste Lab collects organic waste from its partners and processes it into compost. The resulting compost can be used in farming, landscaping and gardening, helping improve the sandy soils common in the UAE, which struggle to retain water and nutrients.
Education is a major part of its work. The organisation runs workshops and programmes that teach people how composting works, why food waste matters and how to reduce waste in their daily lives. Working with schools helps build awareness among young people, while corporate programmes help businesses engage employees in sustainability.
For businesses such as restaurants, hotels and offices, working with The Waste Lab can help them reduce the waste they send to landfill and support their sustainability reporting. Many companies in the UAE now have targets for waste reduction as part of their environmental commitments.
Community initiatives, such as neighbourhood collection programmes, make it easier for residents to separate and compost their food waste.
The UAE has set targets to reduce food waste and increase the diversion of waste from landfill, and national initiatives have raised awareness of food waste as an environmental and food security issue.
Composting also supports local agriculture and greening efforts by providing an alternative to imported or synthetic fertilisers.
The Waste Lab shows how local, community-based action can tackle a major waste stream, and Startups UAE lists it among Dubai's circular economy initiatives.
Food and organic waste make up a large share of household and commercial waste in the UAE. When organic waste is sent to landfill, it decomposes without oxygen and produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Composting instead breaks down organic matter with oxygen, producing a nutrient-rich material that can improve soil health.
The Waste Lab collects organic waste from its partners and processes it into compost. The resulting compost can be used in farming, landscaping and gardening, helping improve the sandy soils common in the UAE, which struggle to retain water and nutrients.
Education is a major part of its work. The organisation runs workshops and programmes that teach people how composting works, why food waste matters and how to reduce waste in their daily lives. Working with schools helps build awareness among young people, while corporate programmes help businesses engage employees in sustainability.
For businesses such as restaurants, hotels and offices, working with The Waste Lab can help them reduce the waste they send to landfill and support their sustainability reporting. Many companies in the UAE now have targets for waste reduction as part of their environmental commitments.
Community initiatives, such as neighbourhood collection programmes, make it easier for residents to separate and compost their food waste.
The UAE has set targets to reduce food waste and increase the diversion of waste from landfill, and national initiatives have raised awareness of food waste as an environmental and food security issue.
Composting also supports local agriculture and greening efforts by providing an alternative to imported or synthetic fertilisers.
The Waste Lab shows how local, community-based action can tackle a major waste stream, and Startups UAE lists it among Dubai's circular economy initiatives.