October 2020

Nodoka Nakamichi, QUBE

Inspired by Qatar’s goal of fostering a more sustainable and environmentally conscious society, ‘upcycling’ is becoming increasingly popular in households and businesses across the country. This involves waste and unwanted materials being transformed into quality compost that offers a variety of uses.

Nodoka Nakamichi, co-founder and director for marketing and public relations at Qatar Upcycling & Biodegradables Enterprise (QUBE) describes how the company has taken strong steps in their initiative to reduce food waste in Qatar. Using their advanced machinery, food waste can be processed into compost within 24 hours on site, in contrast to traditional methods that take many weeks.

“Upcycling food is a relatively new international movement, so determining how to integrate it into Qatar has been a learning experience. Fortunately, the community has embraced this concept and the interest is continually growing, which has been very motivating,” Nodoka says.

As drivers for sustainability in Qatar, QUBE have held various types of events ranging from composting workshops to collaborations, where they take the machines onsite to demonstrate how much food waste can be regenerated.

Moving their education to the online world, QUBE also utilise their social media platform to provide tips, virtual workshops and support for other sustainable organisations locally and internationally.

“Some of my favourite initiatives on our social media have been our #LoveYourLeftovers campaign, and collaborations with some of the wonderful companies in Qatar like sharing zero food waste recipes.”

Moving towards the Qatar National Vision 2030, companies like QUBE are helping to provide people and organisations with the ability to create lasting change at work and home. “It’s important to us that we teach individuals at home that they don’t necessarily need machines to reduce food waste or to live a sustainable life, everyone can make an impact.”