Jordan’s National Roadmap for the Circular Economy offers the Kingdom an opportunity to reshape its relationship with resources by moving from a consumption-based model toward a productive one that turns waste into economic value, improves water and energy efficiency, and opens new avenues for investment and job creation.
اضافة اعلان
Environmental and economic experts told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that the success of the roadmap, whose vision extends to 2050, depends on the ability to translate national priorities into viable projects. This would make environmental sustainability a driver of economic growth and strengthen Jordan’s competitiveness amid challenges including water scarcity, rising energy costs and increasing waste.
A circular economy is an economic system designed to eliminate waste and reduce resource depletion by keeping products, materials and components at their highest possible level of usefulness and value for as long as possible.
The Cabinet approved the adoption of the National Roadmap for the Circular Economy, which serves as a national guiding framework supporting the government’s efforts to transition toward a circular economy.
The roadmap was prepared by the Ministry of Environment in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply and the Royal Scientific Society. It provides a national framework for moving toward a more efficient and sustainable economy based on the optimal use of resources, increased reuse and recycling, economic growth and environmental and natural resource protection, in line with the Economic Modernisation Vision, particularly its “Sustainable Environment” driver.
The roadmap establishes a long-term national path through 2050 aimed at strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of the national economy, maximizing the use of local resources and improving quality of life while balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability. It seeks to shift from an economic model based on consuming resources and disposing of waste to one based on reuse, remanufacturing and recycling, turning recoverable waste into productive resources while reducing resource depletion, waste and pollution.
Omar Al-Shoushan, head of the Federation of Environmental Associations, said the success of the national roadmap requires moving from planning to practical implementation by translating national priorities into viable projects and investments that can reduce production costs, create jobs and improve the efficiency and protection of resources.
He added that the circular economy represents an opportunity for Jordan to address water scarcity, high energy costs and increasing waste by transforming waste from an environmental and economic burden into productive resources that can be utilized across multiple sectors, supporting sustainable economic growth.
Al-Shoushan stressed the importance of building on the existing legislative framework, particularly the Waste Management Framework Law No. 16 of 2020, by strengthening its implementation mechanisms and reviewing related legislation. He also called for investment and financing incentives to encourage the private sector to expand reuse, recycling and resource-recovery projects.
He noted that existing initiatives, including biogas recovery and electricity generation from waste at the Al-Ghabawi landfill, provide practical examples of how waste can be used to produce energy and reduce emissions. He stressed the need to build on these experiences and expand them based on feasibility and environmental impact studies.
He also highlighted the importance of benefiting from international support, particularly from the European Union and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, to develop the infrastructure required for the circular economy, transfer technology and strengthen the institutional and technical capabilities of relevant authorities.
Al-Shoushan called for launching pilot projects in governorates to sort waste at source, recycle organic waste and produce compost and biogas, paving the way for successful models to be expanded. He also stressed the need for financing facilities for small and medium-sized enterprises, stronger public-private partnerships and incentives for industries to use recycled materials in their production processes.
He emphasized the importance of developing systems for waste collection, sorting and treatment, providing the necessary infrastructure and connecting recycling facilities with markets and industries that can use recovered materials. This would ensure the sustainability and economic viability of projects rather than limiting them to initiatives with a narrow impact.
Al-Shoushan said the agriculture, food processing, construction and tourism sectors offer promising opportunities for applying circular economy principles by using agricultural, food and industrial waste to produce fertilizers, animal feed and energy, recycling construction and demolition waste, and improving the efficiency of water, energy and raw material use.
Dr. Dureid Mahasneh, chairman of the board of EDAMA Association for Energy, Water and Environment, stressed the importance of using low-cost, clean renewable energy to support other sectors, particularly water, by employing it to extract water from deep sources, desalinate and transport it. This would improve water availability and create opportunities to diversify economic activities.
He said providing water and energy at affordable prices would support the expansion of economically valuable agricultural production that takes into account limited water resources and minimizes energy consumption, while improving productivity and resource efficiency.
Mahasneh also highlighted the importance of using renewable energy to transition toward clean transportation, which would reduce air pollution and operating costs while improving production efficiency. He stressed that integration between the energy, water, agriculture and transport sectors is a key foundation for building a greener, more sustainable and efficient economy.
Sustainable economy expert Mohammad Asfour said the success of the national circular economy roadmap requires regulatory frameworks that oblige companies to take responsibility for collecting their products after use and recycling them. This would reduce waste sent to landfills and help transform waste into economically valuable resources.
He pointed to promising investment opportunities, including converting olive and agricultural waste into fertilizers and energy sources, recycling construction and demolition waste, and reducing food loss and waste. Such activities could create new productive sectors and improve resource efficiency.
Asfour stressed the importance of establishing an effective partnership with the industrial sector in developing circular economy policies and procedures and helping businesses identify opportunities to reduce waste in their production processes. He noted that industrialists have direct knowledge of where waste occurs and how costs can be reduced and production efficiency improved.
He added that the success of the circular economy system also requires changing consumption patterns and social behavior by promoting waste sorting at source and encouraging consumers to purchase recycled products.
The National Roadmap for the Circular Economy aims to address key economic and environmental challenges, particularly water scarcity, reliance on energy imports and increasing waste, by improving waste management and generating economic value from it.
The roadmap identifies five national priority areas: circular sourcing and efficient use of materials, turning waste into resources, circular approaches to water, and efficient energy systems. Its applications focus on agriculture, mining and food industries, construction and tourism.
The roadmap places particular emphasis on improving water-use efficiency in Jordan, encouraging the reuse of treated wastewater, rainwater harvesting and water recycling in production processes. It also seeks to turn waste into economically valuable resources by promoting sorting, recycling, composting and energy recovery, as well as using agricultural, industrial and food waste to produce new materials and products. This would reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills and create new economic activities.
The roadmap supports efforts to reduce food loss and waste and increase the use of agricultural and food waste by converting it into animal feed, fertilizers, biogas and other usable products. The National Food Security Strategy also targets a 50 percent reduction in food loss and waste by 2030.
It also encourages the industrial sector to improve the efficiency of raw material, water and energy use and strengthen cooperation among industrial facilities so that waste from one facility can be used in the production processes of another. This would help reduce waste and maximize the economic value of available resources.
The roadmap also promotes more sustainable practices in the construction and tourism sectors through the reuse and recycling of construction and demolition waste, reducing food waste in tourism facilities and improving water and energy efficiency.
It creates opportunities for economic activity and investment in recycling, manufacturing and green technology, while encouraging innovation and greater participation by the private sector and small and medium-sized enterprises. This would support the development of new productive activities and jobs linked to the circular economy.
The proposed guiding measures include developing legislation and policies related to the circular economy, integrating circular economy principles into government procurement, raising public awareness, expanding cooperation among industrial facilities, and reviewing and amending legislation governing priority sectors.
The roadmap also strengthens coordination among government institutions, the private sector, municipalities, academic institutions and civil society by proposing joint mechanisms for governance, monitoring and measuring progress, supporting the development of sector-specific plans that can be implemented according to national priorities.
Source: Petra
