Sandra Saad

Lebanese environmental activist pioneering recycling initiatives in the Middle East

Sandra Saad is a Lebanese environmental engineer and entrepreneur who has made significant contributions to sustainable development in the Middle East. Born in 1985, she co-founded Green Heart in 2010, a social enterprise that revolutionized waste management practices in Lebanon through innovative recycling programs. Her work addresses the region's critical garbage crisis while empowering marginalized communities through job creation in the circular economy sector.

Through her organization's Recycling Villages initiative, Saad developed a model where communities collect and sort recyclables to earn points exchangeable for basic goods. This approach has diverted over 12,000 tons of waste from landfills while providing livelihoods for 500+ families. Her TEDx talk "Waste as a Resource: Building a Circular Economy" has been viewed over 2 million times globally.

In 2017, she launched EcoMENA, a digital platform connecting environmental professionals across the Middle East. Her advocacy led to Lebanon's first plastic bag ban in 2021. Saad's work has been featured in National Geographic and Forbes Middle East, and she advises the UN Environment Programme on youth engagement strategies.