Recycling in action: Collaborating on waste collection

A strong focus on recycling in Brazil has inspired businesses, cities and communities to come together to create exciting new models to increase the rate of used packaging being recycled.

We’ve already seen how the so+ma partnership is rewarding recycling in the city of Curitiba. In this blog, we look at SIG’s Cidade+ Recicleiros programme, an innovative partnership that’s helping municipalities establish effective systems to collect and separate consumer waste for recycling to deliver sustainable improvements in recycling rates over the long term.

Watch the video to see how the programme works.

Coming together to support waste collection systems

Just 3% of all waste collected across Brazil is recycled. SIG is partnering with the Recicleiros Institute, an NGO, on a programme that aims to enable recycling of 55% of recyclable materials in participating cities.

The Cidade+ Recicleiros programme offers municipalities assistance to develop and implement selective collection systems for consumer waste and establish processing units to separate materials ready for recycling – and connect these units to the recycling market.

There is a clear need for such support as more than 500 municipalities applied to join the programme in response to each of the public notices held so far – one in 2018 and one in 2019. Following the first public notice, Cidade+ Recicleiros is now up and running in five cities in regions across the country. It’s reached over 145,000 citizens and created 224 jobs for waste pickers so far. Twelve more cities are participating in the second round.

Cidade+ Recicleiros is expected to recover around 250,000 tonnes of post-consumer waste for recycling in the first five years. It will reach an estimated 1 million citizens and create around 1,500 jobs for waste pickers.

This promotes environmental sustainability by diverting waste from landfills and making recyclable materials available for reuse. And the programme also bring social benefits for communities.

Supporting vulnerable workers

The city of Naviraí is one of the first to benefit from the Cidade+ Recicleiros programme. Before, the city had no formal system for selective collection of waste for recycling. Some people picked up waste from the streets, but only around half of it was recyclable and their income depended on what they collected that day and what scrap dealers would pay for it.

Through the Cidade+ Recicleiros programme, the city now has a formal system for selective collection, supported by a cooperative of workers who are trained to identify and separate different types of waste that can be recycled, including used packaging.

Many of the waste pickers joining the cooperative are among the most vulnerable people in society and struggle to find other work. The Cidade+ Recicleiros programme has made a real difference to their lives by offering them infrastructure, training and support, giving them greater security and providing a reliable income for the first time.

“It’s a real comfort knowing we have the support of the programme and the safety of not being alone,” says Marcela Ajala, the president of the cooperative in Naviraí. “We face many challenges every day and I can't tell what it would be like without that support.”

Getting communities on board

Jaine Silva, a member of the cooperative, said it was her dream to create an example for others to follow. The big question was, would people in the community respond? And the answer has been a resounding yes!

“People are responding really well,” Jaine says. “We pass by on the street and the children run outside to see us as if we were superheroes.”

The collection truck even plays music like an ice cream truck to announce its arrival and encourage people to recycle. It sings out: “The recycling truck is coming, don’t let your packaging go to waste!”

And it’s working. The Cidade+ Recicleiros programme in Navirai is growing and aims to process 250 tonnes of recyclable material a month within the next few months. What was once thrown away as rubbish is now seen as a resource.

“We’ve been going for four months now and the population has been really receptive to the work we do,” adds Marcela. “We get a warm welcome from people when the truck passes by and some residents make a point of bringing their recyclable material directly to us.”

Watch the video to hear more from Marcela, Jaine and their colleagues about the benefits of the programme.

Lasting impact

Cidade+ Recicleiros has been specifically designed to ensure sustainable results in the long term.

By enabling more consumer waste to be recycled, the programme empowers cities to keep it going by investing in segregated waste collection services what they would have spent on fees to dispose of waste in landfills.

Municipalities receive assistance for a period of five years. To participate, local governments must pass a law to guarantee selective collection continues and funding is maintained even if there is a change in administration.

Cooperatives running waste collections and processing units get training and assistance for the first two years. And the programme also includes campaigns to raise awareness among citizens.

Over 400 businesses are also investing in Cidade+ Recicleiros as a way to meet their obligations to support recycling under national regulations. We’ll explore how the programme adds value for businesses in one of our next blogs.