What The Waste Lab does

The Waste Lab is a women-owned, Dubai-based impact startup founded in 2021 that operates two core services for organic waste diversion: an off-site composting subscription (bins, scheduled pickups, guidelines, impact reporting, and a rewards layer) targeted at homes, businesses, and events without on-site composting space, and an on-site composting consultancy (system design, training, impact reports) for restaurants, hotels, schools, communities, and events with available space. The underlying technology is natural decomposition of organic food waste into nutrient-rich compost, wrapped in an interactive digital platform that coordinates collection logistics, customer engagement, and impact reporting. The platform does not employ proprietary AI/ML components based on available information.

The company monetizes through monthly off-site subscriptions and professional-services fees for on-site consulting, with pricing provided on a quote basis rather than published tariffs. Its go-to-market is dual-track: direct B2B sales into UAE hospitality and food-service (anchor logos include Hilton, Majid Al-Futtaim, and Coffee Planet), paired with a community-led B2C subscription motion supported by workshops delivered in partnership with Ma'an (Abu Dhabi government) and MyFarm Dubai. By July 2025 the company reported cumulative impact of approximately 4.8 million kg of food scraps rescued, 844,241 kg of compost produced, 5,656 metric tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions avoided, and 167 onboarded partners.

Capitalization has been modest and primarily non-dilutive: approximately USD 150,000 raised in early 2022, a USD 50,000 grant via the 2023 Standard Chartered / DIFC Innovation Hub Women in Tech accelerator, and subsequent support from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) in early 2025. The company is privately held, with co-founders Lara Hussein (CEO) and Ceylan Üren (CDO) leading the team of 11–50 employees. Strategic positioning aligns with the UAE's national target to halve food waste by 2030 and with UN SDGs 11, 12, 13, and 15.

Name

The Waste Lab

Legal name

The Waste Lab

Website

https://thewastelab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Waste Lab is a women-owned, Dubai-based startup founded in 2021 that converts organic food waste from UAE households, hospitality, schools, and events into nutrient-rich compost via off-site subscription pickups and on-site composting consultancy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic Waste Composting Services

NAICS

Waste Collection (56211), Waste Treatment and Disposal (5622)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Commercial Food Waste Programs & On-Site Solutions (Cafeterias, Grocers, Hospitality) (BPALAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Organics & Composting Programs (Food Waste, Green Waste) (BPABALAC), Food Waste Reduction & Diversion Services (Donation, Animal Feed, Source Reduction Programs) (EUAIAEAH)

Keywords

• Organic waste management
• Composting services
• Food waste diversion
• Waste sorting solutions
• Circular economy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Off-Site Composting Subscriptions: Subscription or ad-hoc service for homes, businesses and events including bins, guidelines, pick-up service, impact report, rewards and more. No space required for on-site composting.
2. On-Site Composting Services: Consultation, compost system design, trainings, impact reports and more for restaurants, hotels, schools, communities, events and any establishment that generates food scraps and has space to compost on-site.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Waste Lab is a women-owned, Dubai-based impact startup that collects organic food waste from homes, businesses, and events and converts it into nutrient-rich compost through natural decomposition. It operates two core services: an Off-Site Composting subscription/ad-hoc service (bins, guidelines, scheduled pick-ups, impact reports, rewards) for clients without composting space, and an On-Site Composting service (consultation, system design, trainings, impact reports) for establishments with on-site space.

Product overview

The Waste Lab offers an interactive digital platform for organic waste management, providing two core composting services: Off-Site Composting (subscription/ad-hoc service with bins, pick-up, impact reports, and rewards) and On-Site Composting (consultation, system design, and training for establishments with space to compost). The platform enables community participation in proper organic waste sorting and produces healthy compost for local soil, farms, and food production.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Off-Site Composting Subscription or ad-hoc service for homes, businesses, and events that have no space to compost on-site. Includes provision of bins, sorting guidelines, scheduled pick-up of food scraps, impact reports, and rewards for eco-friendly behavior. Targets residential households and any organization seeking food-waste diversion without dedicated on-site infrastructure.
• On-Site Composting Consultation, compost system design, training, and impact-reporting service for restaurants, hotels, schools, communities, events, and any establishment that generates food scraps and has space to compost on-site. Delivered on the client's premises, providing a turnkey on-site composting solution with educational and reporting components.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,824,236 kg food scraps rescued as of July 2025
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Ma'an (Abu Dhabi Government)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership with Abu Dhabi Government program to deliver community workshops on composting and sustainable waste practices. Collaborated on family-oriented community events during UAE's Year of Family to build connection between residents and sustainability.
• MyFarm DubaicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner in community workshops combining composting education with urban edible garden building. Supported Abu Dhabi community workshops series focused on hands-on soil education and sustainable practices.
• HiltoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor hospitality client partnership where The Waste Lab converts food waste from hotel operations into nutrient-rich compost. Hilton is one of the company's key enterprise clients in the hospitality sector.
• Majid Al-FuttaimcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor hospitality and retail group partnership for food waste diversion from their commercial properties. Represents significant enterprise client relationship for The Waste Lab.
• Coffee PlanetminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner business that generates food scraps for The Waste Lab's composting operations. Represents the company's broader network of food waste source partners across the UAE.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Winnow Solutions: Winnow provides AI-driven food waste measurement and reduction software for hospitality and foodservice kitchens globally. Highly comparable to The Waste Lab's hospitality-focused B2B food-waste value proposition, although Winnow focuses on measurement and reduction rather than downstream composting.
• Leanpath: Leanpath sells food waste tracking and prevention solutions to commercial kitchens, hotels, universities, and hospitality operators. It is a direct comparable to The Waste Lab's hospitality B2B motion, with overlap in target customers, ESG reporting outcomes, and sustainability positioning.
• Kitro: Kitro offers automated food waste measurement for hospitality kitchens, helping operators quantify and reduce food waste. It addresses the same problem (commercial food waste) for overlapping customers (hotels, restaurants) but at the measurement layer rather than the diversion/composting layer where The Waste Lab operates.
• Orbisk: Orbisk provides AI-based food waste monitoring for hospitality and foodservice, similar to Winnow and Leanpath. It competes for the same hospitality ESG and cost-saving budgets as The Waste Lab, with comparable enterprise sales motion and sustainability impact reporting.

Emerging players

• Too Good To Go: Too Good To Go runs a marketplace app connecting consumers with surplus food from restaurants and retailers to prevent food waste. It addresses the same underlying UAE/global food waste problem as The Waste Lab but via surplus redistribution rather than composting.
• Olio: Olio is a community-sharing app that redistributes surplus food between households and local businesses. It targets a similar household behavior change and community engagement outcome as The Waste Lab's residential subscription and rewards model, though through sharing rather than composting.
• ReFeed Global: ReFeed Global provides food waste collection and surplus food redistribution services to foodservice and retail clients, converting inedible waste into biogas or animal feed. It shares The Waste Lab's food-waste-as-resource thesis and B2B hospitality/retail customer focus, though with different downstream treatment.

Regional players

• Imdaad: Imdaad is a Dubai-based integrated facilities management company offering waste management, environmental, and sustainability services across the UAE. It is a relevant regional comparable because it competes for the same UAE enterprise and municipal food/organic waste budgets, albeit at much greater scale and with broader service offerings.
• Farnek Services: Farnek is a UAE-based facilities management and green cleaning company with sustainability and waste management offerings. It serves the same hospitality and commercial real estate clients as The Waste Lab and could compete or partner for organic waste collection contracts in the UAE.

Broad incumbents

• Bee'ah: Bee'ah is the Sharjah-based (and UAE-expanding) environmental and waste management giant operating collection, recycling, and treatment infrastructure across the UAE. It is a broad incumbent that could rapidly scale into organic waste composting services, representing both a potential partner and the most likely large-scale competitive threat to The Waste Lab.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/thewastelab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-waste-lab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Waste Lab