For millennia, people in the Middle East have relied on date palms for their livelihoods, harvesting the fruit and weaving the fronds into baskets and mats. Saudi Arabia is home to approximately 37 million date palms, and businesses are now seeking to unlock new value from the waste left behind after the harvest.
Date palm residues are being transformed into engineered wood, furniture, and biodegradable plastics, while researchers explore further industrial applications. At Aramco, scientists have developed a leak-sealing material made from date pits to prevent fluid loss during drilling operations. Previously, such sealants were most commonly made from calcium carbonate; while inexpensive, excessive use of calcium carbonate can damage surrounding rock formations.
Faisal Al-Howikan, CEO of Jarid Al-Mustaqbal, explains that discarded date palm fronds are shredded and compressed into boards. Initially used for souvenirs, the product line expanded to include trays for cafés and restaurants, and is now used to manufacture furniture such as tables and chairs. The company is also experimenting with grinding date palm fronds into powder to create bioplastics for items like cutlery and water bottles.
Meanwhile, Polymeron is converting agricultural waste-including date palm residues-into biodegradable plastic pellets. CEO Rodrigo Jimenez Sandoval states that the initiative aims to address Saudi Arabia's annual output of approximately 3 million tons of plastic waste. Unlike "oxo-degradable" plastics, which break down into microplastics, Polymeron's material is designed to be fully biodegradable.
Sandoval notes that applying this technology to specific sectors of the Jeddah market could replace about 21,000 tons of conventional plastic and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 44,000 tons. He adds that collecting and processing agricultural waste can create a new revenue stream for farmers.
Cost remains a challenge. Although domestically produced bioplastics avoid import costs and the impact of oil price fluctuations, their costs remain higher than those of conventional plastics. Sandoval notes that new government policies supporting biodegradable materials could help narrow this gap, though scaling up production will require significant investment in machinery and equipment, as well as ongoing research.
