du unveils Ericsson Connected Recycling initiative in UAE with AlShaya Group

UAE – du has partnered with Ericsson to launch the Ericsson Connected Recycling (ECR) platform in the UAE, with AlShaya Group as the inaugural customer.

The initiative aims to transform waste-to-landfill streams into circular material flows through digital traceability and trading of secondary raw materials.

Under the new commercial reseller agreement, du will deploy the ECR platform to enable full visibility and control over waste management.

The end-to-end digital solution connects and optimizes the reverse supply chain, turning waste data into actionable insights.

Through an app, web portal, and marketplace, ECR facilitates traceability of waste streams, provides analytics for operational efficiency, and allows businesses to trade recyclable materials in real time.

The platform is designed to help organizations reduce environmental impact, enhance financial performance, and improve accuracy in sustainability reporting.

For AlShaya Group, operator of global retail brands including Starbucks, H&M, and The Cheesecake Factory, the deployment represents a concrete step toward achieving zero waste and embedding circular practices into its operations across the UAE.

“This partnership demonstrates how digital transformation can drive tangible sustainability outcomes,” said a du spokesperson.

“By using connected technologies, we’re helping organizations close the loop on waste while creating measurable business value.”

The hospitality sector, in particular, stands to benefit from ECR’s “recycling-as-a-service” model, gaining real-time traceability of recovered materials such as plastics, paper, and metals.

The system can also scale to handle Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), expanding its reach into more complex recycling streams.

Similar technology-driven sustainability projects are gaining momentum globally. Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia’s stc launched a digital waste management initiative to track e-waste and promote material recovery through IoT and blockchain tools.

In Europe, Vodafone partnered with Circular Computing to refurbish and trace IT assets, while Dell Technologies continues to use AI-enabled recycling platforms to recover materials from old hardware for reuse in new devices.

By combining data analytics, connectivity, and sustainability, du and Ericsson’s collaboration places the UAE at the forefront of digital circularity innovation, showcasing how technology can bridge the gap between waste management and value creation in a greener economy.

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