Recycling in action: Partnering with municipalities to get results

SIG’s Cidade+ Recicleiros programme in Brazil is helping municipalities invest in effective systems for the selective collection of waste so recyclable packaging can be separated for recycling.

In this second blog about the programme, we take a deeper look at how it’s delivering results for municipalities, communities and the environment.

“The programme covers all the bases for setting up an effective municipal recycling system – from public policy and infrastructure to communications,” says Erich Burger, Corporate Director at Recicleiros, the NGO partner behind the programme and responsible for its implementation.

Getting results

Cidade+ Recicleiros is already making a difference. It’s helping cities manage waste. It’s creating much needed job opportunities. And it’s helping the environment by diverting waste from landfill and recycling materials to be used again.

“Recicleiros has helped us a lot,” said Silvino Cintra, mayor of the city of Piracaia. “We have already managed to get the selective waste collection system going and the waste pickers have gone through a process of training and qualification. The project is generating jobs in our city.”

Astolfo Mendes is Environmental Manager of the municipality of Naviraí, where there was no selective waste collection system before. “The Cidade+ Recicleiros programme helped to set up and support the cooperative that now runs the waste collection system in Naviraí,” he said.

Many of the workers are from vulnerable communities and it’s bringing them much needed regular income (see our previous blog). “This has been a big win in the social area,” said Mendes. “And there are obvious environmental benefits from recycling waste instead of taking it to be buried in landfills.”

Raising awareness

The programme isn’t just about putting the infrastructure in place. It’s also about improving knowledge and awareness of recycling.

Casemiro de Abreu was one of 12 municipalities chosen to take part in the Cidade+ Recicleiros through the first public notice selection process in 2018. It’s now in the process of implementing a selective waste collection programme.

“This experience has been valuable and rewarding,” says Denise Rambaldi, the municipality’s Secretary of Environment and Sustainable Development. “We have learned a lot and we understand better how to implement selective collection in the municipality.”

Raising awareness among communities is also a big part of the programme to help them realise the importance of recycling their packaging.

“In areas where Cidade+ Recicleiros is operating, you can see that people are more conscious about their responsibilities to the environment,” says Burger. “And they really understand why it’s important to do their bit by recycling.”

Securing a long term solution

Cidade+ Recicleiros is clearly getting results. And what sets it apart from other recycling programmes is that it’s designed to last.

“Crucially, it’s a market-based solution,” says Burger. “That means it’s sustainable in the long term.”

As Mendes points out, one of the advantages of the Cidade+ Recicleiros programme is that it is tapping into private funding through national legislation that requires businesses in Brazil to support recycling of the products and packaging they sell.

“Bringing us resources from the reverse logistics law has helped us to implement the selective collection system we wanted,” he says.

SIG was the first business to invest in the programme and is playing an important role in encouraging other businesses to get involved.

“SIG immediately saw how innovative the programme is and understood its potential to play a fundamental role in developing recycling in Brazil,” says Burger. “Since then, SIG has invested each year and has helped to connect us with other partners that can help us expand the programme.”

In one of our next blogs, we’ll look at how the programme adds value for the businesses that are investing in it.