Dubai expat builds mini Burj Khalifa using 2 million recycled chopsticks
Students at The Arbor School are helping build the structure by bundling chopsticks, auditing waste, and calculating its environmental impact/ Image courtesy:Khallej Times
In a city known for its architectural audacity, one Dubai-based entrepreneur is taking sustainability to soaring new heights quite literally. Charles Jabbour, a Lebanese businessman with a deep-rooted passion for environmental innovation, is in the final stretch of constructing a six-metre-tall replica of the Burj Khalifa, made entirely from recycled bamboo chopsticks.
But this is no quirky art installation. The project, dubbed the Burj Bambusa, is a carefully engineered symbol of how cities like Dubai can rethink waste and embrace the circular economy, one disposable utensil at a time.
The Big Idea: Giving Chopsticks a Second Life
Jabbour's vision was born not from a desire to impress, but to confront a quiet yet staggering reality: millions of disposable chopsticks are used and discarded in Dubai every week. He estimates that the two million chopsticks being used in this project represent roughly one week's worth of consumption across the city's restaurants.
'We are using close to two million chopsticks, which I believe is about the equivalent number used at restaurants in a week in Dubai,' Jabbour told Khaleej Times, a local news outlet.
Rather than let that volume go to waste, Jabbour has been collecting these utensils from across the city for the past 18 months, working in partnership with well-known restaurant brands like The Noodle House, Wagamama, and Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Deira Creek.
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Staff at these venues help gather used chopsticks, which Jabbour's team later sanitises, processes, and repurposes.
The scale of his ambition extends beyond this one project. Through his company, Art & Culture LLC, Jabbour operates a micro-factory in Dubai under the ChopValue franchise, a global circular economy venture based in Vancouver. There, discarded chopsticks are transformed into sleek, functional products such as tables, chopping boards, coasters, and even custom furniture, all through a carbon-neutral, community-based production model.
'As it currently stands, the majority of chopsticks in restaurants are used once and then thrown out,' he noted.
'This represents a tragic waste of resources, including wood, energy, and water, but also represents a great opportunity.'
A School Project That's Bigger Than Education
To bring his vision to life, Jabbour partnered with The Arbor School in Al Furjan, a progressive academic institution known for embedding sustainability and ecological literacy into its curriculum.
The school, in collaboration with Jabbour's team, has named the project the Burj Bambusa, and students have been hands-on in nearly every phase of construction.
From waste audits and structural design assessments to bundle preparation and environmental impact calculations, students, teachers, and parents alike have contributed to building the six-metre tower. The initiative has become a powerful educational tool, illustrating what can be achieved when environmental theory meets action.
'By getting the school involved, we can demonstrate to the next generation how an item with a very short lifespan, treated as waste by many, can still have an enduring new purpose,' Jabbour told Khaleej Times.
The Arbor School has embraced the project not just as an exercise in construction, but as a full-circle lesson in circular design, resourcefulness, and collaboration, all cornerstones of a sustainable future.
From Skyscraper to Side Table: A Lifecycle with Meaning
Once completed, expected within three weeks of its May start, the structure won't simply stand as a temporary monument. Jabbour plans to relocate it briefly for public viewing, after which the same chopsticks will be dismantled and reprocessed into long-lasting products.
'There is a little bit of irony that these chopsticks will actually be around for longer now than they would have been for the purpose for which they were first designed,' Jabbour reflected.
'That is reassuring to know, and even better for the forests, our ecosystem, and the planet.'
This sentiment strikes at the core of Jabbour's message: sustainability is not just about avoiding harm; it's about actively extending the life and value of everyday materials. His operations are currently geared toward diverting 250 tonnes of chopsticks annually from UAE landfills, an environmental intervention that's both measurable and meaningful.
'The project also shows the power of up-cycling,' Jabbour added,
'and how this imaginative and growing sector can develop not only attractive new products using items destined for landfill but also create jobs for those who wish to pursue a sustainable career direction.'
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